Hotel Anchovy

A Ritz Bros. Short Subject.

Hired as the new manager, house detective and bellhop, the Ritz Brothers pull out all the stops in an effort to ensure that no customer ever checks out of the HOTEL ANCHOVY.

Fans of Al, David & Jimmy Ritz will particularly enjoy this little film, which abounds in slapstick humor. Seekers after sophistication will search elsewhere.

Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.

In "Hotel Anchovy", the Ritz brothers do their best to imitate the zany style of the Marx brothers, and while their antics do provide a couple of laughs, it's not anywhere near the level of even an average Marx brothers comedy. Watching a mediocre imitation like this helps you to see just how much skill it takes to create really quality comedy.

The setting and activity have several similarities to "The Cocoanuts", whether intentional or not, with the Ritz trio doing their best to run a hotel. Al, Harry, and Jimmy are not short on energy by any means, bringing chaos and non-stop chatter everywhere they go, and they do deliver an occasional good gag or funny line.

But there is too much chaos for chaos's sake, without the restraint or timing that would have helped to make some of the better gags stand out. So, although it does have a couple of good moments, most of it doesn't just work all that well.

In 1934, Educational Pictures hired the stage act of the three Ritz Brothers to make this comedy short for its second-string "Coronet" series. They were a good fit for the studio since both were based in New York and Educational was often quick to try new starring acts due to its typical low budgets (belied once in this film where somebody bumps into a wall and the whole room shakes). This short was the first film appearance by the Ritz Brothers, and my first time seeing them.

They're probably most famous today for not being the Marx Brothers, and it's clear that they're akin to that more famous team in comedy style. I don't think they're as funny as the Marxes, but that doesn't mean I don;t think they're funny. They are here, and so is this short, which has the same kind of manic energy and illogic-logic that makes the Marx Brothers films special.

The Ritzes, who almost remind me of three Grouchos in their characterization, are hired to keep guests in a hotel, and the gags and pieces of business follow with increasing rapidity and silliness. They're not above a physically impossible gag or too either -- for instance a request for water leads to it being poured through the phone at a guest. His "You dirty..." leads to "The water's dirty? We wash it twice a day!" If some of the gags are too silly or don't work, it doesn't matter because another one is coming by the time you have the chance to react. Sometimes one can tell they are formerly a musical act, as in the funny and surreal bits when they convince guests to stay by building the rhythm of their complaints into the rhythm of some music, and their timing with the fast material is great and certainly quasi-musical. There's a great macabre scene where they try to keep their commission (they get $100 for every guest who stays and lose $100 for every guest who leaves) by trying to convince a man to commit suicide other than by jumping out the window, and it all leads to a wild, funny, and very well-executed conclusion with all three Ritzes impersonating the same mustachioed man.

There isn't much plot to this short, but there is just enough of a basic story to leave room for the antics without seeming intentionally mysterious or negligent about what on Earth is going on. It seems too bad from this evidence that the Ritz Brothers moved on from short subjects. This one was highly funny, and I'll be looking for their other films in the future.

This comedy short by the Educational Film Corp. was made in 1934 and stars the Ritz Brothers. It's the first film of the Newark born brothers whose comedy routine closely aped that of the Marx Brothers. The trio made fewer than two dozen movies together and individually. They worked first at 20th Century Fox and then at Universal.

While they could be very funny, they didn't have the writers, scripts and studio backing that the Marx Brothers had. They started in mostly B movies and had small routines in others. So, after 1943, they quit Hollywood and went back on the nightclub circuit.

But this short is a good picture of the Ritz's and their talents. The brothers have various jobs in the "Hotel Anchovy," and when they learn that Miss Whitney, the owner, must sell because she's bankrupt, they do their best to help her. With disguises and antics they try to keep the hotel's guests and also get prospective buyers to bid up so Miss Whitney can come out ahead.

There's slapstick, buffoonery and mayhem ala Marx Brothers in this 18-minute film. It's packed with fun, action and humor. It's a good look at a comedy group that might have risen to the top but didn't.

Considering that I have thoroughly detested every full-length Ritz Brothers film I have watched, my hopes were not very high for "Hotel Anchovy". On the positive side, it couldn't be any worse than their other films!!!

The Ritz Brothers have been hired to work at the hotel. Then they learn that the owner is broke and unless she can find another buyer, they're in trouble. She instructs them to keep the guests here--to prevent them from leaving and bring in more at any cost. She wants to impress the potential buyer by having them see that the place is full. In the process, they run about the hotel like banshees and the humor is all pretty low-brow--sort of like The Three Stooges on amphetamines. Most of it really isn't very funny (big surprise) but it is fast and easy to watch. It gets a little when another buyer, Mr. Pierce, shows up....again and again and again! Not entirely bad as its energy and silliness is somewhat endearing....as if that is a glowing endorsement!