L'explorateur en folie

Once again, this Marx Brothers film is different from most comedies in that is features a mile-a-minute gags, either verbal or sight, constant silliness and some music thrown in the mix. All of it runs the gamut from very clever to stupid. However, if it gets stupid hang around another minute or so and you'll find something to laugh at.

One problem, especially with this film, is that some of the humor is dated and/or topical, meaning what was funny back then isn't necessarily now or the subject Groucho or Chico is talking about was big news back then but unknown now.

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed this and found a lot of funny material. I enjoy the Marx Brothers clever stuff and their slapstick. I particularly appreciated Groucho apparently ad-libbing one scene. In a few others he acted like he was ad- libbing, turning his head and talking to the camera. You don't see much of that stuff, and it's funny.

Two of the three songs were instrumentals, and they seemed to take away from the pace of the story. Groucho's song, "Hooray For Captain Spaulding," is a classic.

Some consider this to be the best Marx Brothers movie but I found several others I liked a lot more, such as "Horse Feathers" and "Duck Soup," just to name two.

One of the Marx Brothers' earliest films, "Animal Crackers" is not nearly as refined as some of their later comic masterpieces, but it is a lot of fun. Some of the sequences are just as good as anything in their greatest films.

As in most of their movies, the actual plot is amusing but simple, and serves mostly as an excuse to tie together the various comic bits and songs. Compared with their later movies, this one seems much more stage-bound, and there is more screen time given to the other actors, slowing things down somewhat. But when Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo get their chance, they usually deliver.

Particularly funny in this one is a hilarious bridge game that matches Harpo and Chico against two society women. Zeppo gets a few good moments, too, as the secretary to "Captain Spaulding" (Groucho). And of course Captain Spaulding's theme song is always a favorite.

Though the Marx Brothers would later make even better movies, "Animal Crackers" is great entertainment in its own right, and well worth watching.

The Marxes second film is an even more uncinematic production than their first ("The Cocoanuts"). The camera barely moves throughout the picture, and matters are not helped at all by the fact that the print is in fairly poor condition, with entire frames missing from several scenes. And, as usual, the film contains far too much music. Nevertheless, the brothers (and especially Harpo and Chico, who in my opinion have all the funniest scenes) are amazingly lively for a 1930 film, and they make it worth seeing after all. (**1/2)

The Marx Brothers' second movie is one of their funniest, despite suffering from some of the same limitations of the early sound era as their first film, The Cocoanuts. It's a great movie with the Marx Bros. at their zany best. Groucho is Captain Spaulding, Chico is Signor Emanuel Ravelli, Harpo is The Professor, and Zeppo is....well, who cares who Zeppo is? He actually gets a funny scene in this movie, taking dictation from Groucho. That's uncommon as he was usually just the straight man. The movie's plot, such as it is, revolves around a painting stolen at a party thrown by a rich dowager (Margaret Dumont) for famed explorer Capt. Spaulding. The guys are all funny and the movie's full of memorable sketches, songs, and one-liners. Lllian Roth is enjoyable as half of the obligatory romantic subplot. That's a rarity for the Marx Bros. movies, where typically the two young people shoehorned in for a romantic subplot are the worst part of the picture. Roth's charming presence makes it more bearable this time. Special mention to the amazing Margaret Dumont, who was a vital part of the success of the best Marx movies. Here she even gets to do some physical comedy in a hilarious scene with Harpo.

I love the Marx Bros' Paramount films for their energy and eccentricities. From this movie until Duck Soup, the boys were at their best, in my opinion. Yes, they made some good ones after that but they were more polished and structured than the Paramount movies. Animal Crackers is a classic with many great jokes and routines, including "Hello I Must Be Going," breaking the fourth wall, the bridge scene, "elephant in my pajamas" and pretty much every line of dialogue Groucho has.

For many years, ANIMAL CRACKERS was a "lost" film. Paramount owned the audio, and Universal owned the Visual elements (It may of been vice-versa) During the re-birth of Marx Brother popularity, ANIMAL CRACKERS mad it's way back into theatres in the Fall of 1974.

It was a thrill to see the movie in a theatre (the best place to see a classic comedy). The plot concerns a wild, out of control explorer's (Groucho Marx) visit to a Long Island estate. He comes across stuffy snobs and a questionable musician for hire (Chico Marx and his lunatic partner, Harpo.) Groucho's dialog is superb. His verbal assaults on stuffed shirts are priceless "It's not safe to ask this man a simple question" Groucho says to the audience when he talks to a pompous "art critic".

Chico and Harpo provide the more manic visual antics, especially when they steal the birth mark of above mentioned art critic. Even straight man Zeppo gets to be funny and silly.

The only real problem with the film is well voiced in critic's Richard Anobile's review "This is a RECORDING of a stage play. The camera barely moves. it just sits there and records the Marx Brothers" Still in all, see ANIMAL CRACKERS to enjoy the joy of Marx mayhem