Thursday, June 7, 2018
523 - A Night in Casablanca, United States, 1946. Dir. Archie Mayo.
Rolazoides, the manager of the Hotel Casablanca, has just been found dead.
That is the third murder of a Hotel Casablanca manager in six months.
Round up all likely suspects.
No, not the usual suspects. All likely suspects. That was a different movie.
They round them up.
Lieutenant Pierre Delbar has a theory. The Hotel Casablanca used to be under the control of Nazis. Perhaps they hid their stolen treasure there. He was once a pilot forced at gunpoint to fly one of their planes filled with treasure. He crash-landed in Casablanca in order to thwart their plans. But when he returned to the plane the treasure was gone.
Perhaps the treasure remains hidden in the hotel.
Perhaps someone is murdering the managers to try to gain control of the hotel.
The Governor General, Monsieur Gandalou does not believe Lt. Delbar's theory. His associate explains.
"We're not concerned with clearing your name. Our only interest is in solving these murders. . . . And finding a new manager."
They are going to find a new manager all right. Someone who does not know of their recent past. Or of the mortality rates of the position.
Presenting Ronald Kornblow.
That would be Groucho Marx to you.
With help from Rusty and Corbaccio.
Played of course by Harpo and Chico respectively.
Just the man to run a hotel.
Just the man to run the Hotel Casablanca. No, it is not Rick's Cafe Americain.
It is something, well, a little bit lighter.
Casablanca came out in 1942. The calendar year after U.S. involvement in WW2 began.
A Night in Casablanca came out in 1946. The calendar year after WW2 ended.
Now if Kornblow can just protect the hotel and its hidden treasure from the post-war Nazis who wish to retrieve it.
And if he can just keep himself from getting killed.
Thursday, June 7, 2018
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
522 - The Big Store, United States, 1941. Dir. Charles Reisner.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
522 - The Big Store, United States, 1941. Dir. Charles Reisner.
Where everything is a good buy. Goodbye!
Cyd Charisse's husband Al Morris made a name for himself playing saxophone in an orchestra that included future great Woody Herman.
Al Morris then changed his name to Tony Martin and became a pop crooner, with hits for years.
Then he went into movies and starred in everything from Shirley Temple's Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) to Judy Garland's Ziegfeld Girl (1941)--also starring Jimmy Stewart, Hedy Lamarr, Lana Turner, Jackie Cooper, and Eve Arden--to Bob Hope's Here Come the Girls (1953), to singing in Nicholas Ray's Party Girl (1956), starring Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse, Lee J. Cobb, and John Ireland.
Along the way he starred in a little Marx Brothers movie called The Big Store (1941).
Tommy Rogers owns half of the big store, the Phelps Department Store, as he and his aunt Martha have inherited it after the sudden death of their uncle, Hiram Phelps.
(Hiram, you may remember, was the real first name of Hank Williams. It was a more common name back then.)
Tommy wants to sell out, because he wants to open a music school.
But evil store manager Grover is plotting to murder him, marry his aunt, and murder her in order to become the owner of the store.
Really.
This is a musical comedy, right?
Yes, it is.
Aunt Martha is on to Grover. So she hires none other than Wolf J. Flywheel to provide store security and get to the bottom of things along the way.
And Flywheel brings his associates with him, the crack team of Ravelli and Wacky.
Can you tell how this is going to go?
Because Flywheel is played by Groucho Marx, he chases after Aunt Martha.
The film is filled with sight gags, slapstick, and singing. It was the last film the Marx Brothers made with MGM. They made a couple more with United Artists and continued their careers separately.
Margaret Dumont plays aunt Martha Phelps in her seventh and final film with the Marx Brothers.
Virginia Grey plays Tommy Rogers' girlfriend Joan Sutton.
Douglass Dumbrille returns from A Day at the Races (1937) to play villain Grover.
522 - The Big Store, United States, 1941. Dir. Charles Reisner.
Where everything is a good buy. Goodbye!
Cyd Charisse's husband Al Morris made a name for himself playing saxophone in an orchestra that included future great Woody Herman.
Al Morris then changed his name to Tony Martin and became a pop crooner, with hits for years.
Then he went into movies and starred in everything from Shirley Temple's Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) to Judy Garland's Ziegfeld Girl (1941)--also starring Jimmy Stewart, Hedy Lamarr, Lana Turner, Jackie Cooper, and Eve Arden--to Bob Hope's Here Come the Girls (1953), to singing in Nicholas Ray's Party Girl (1956), starring Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse, Lee J. Cobb, and John Ireland.
Along the way he starred in a little Marx Brothers movie called The Big Store (1941).
Tommy Rogers owns half of the big store, the Phelps Department Store, as he and his aunt Martha have inherited it after the sudden death of their uncle, Hiram Phelps.
(Hiram, you may remember, was the real first name of Hank Williams. It was a more common name back then.)
Tommy wants to sell out, because he wants to open a music school.
But evil store manager Grover is plotting to murder him, marry his aunt, and murder her in order to become the owner of the store.
Really.
This is a musical comedy, right?
Yes, it is.
Aunt Martha is on to Grover. So she hires none other than Wolf J. Flywheel to provide store security and get to the bottom of things along the way.
And Flywheel brings his associates with him, the crack team of Ravelli and Wacky.
Can you tell how this is going to go?
Because Flywheel is played by Groucho Marx, he chases after Aunt Martha.
The film is filled with sight gags, slapstick, and singing. It was the last film the Marx Brothers made with MGM. They made a couple more with United Artists and continued their careers separately.
Margaret Dumont plays aunt Martha Phelps in her seventh and final film with the Marx Brothers.
Virginia Grey plays Tommy Rogers' girlfriend Joan Sutton.
Douglass Dumbrille returns from A Day at the Races (1937) to play villain Grover.
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
521 - Go West, United States, 1940. Dir. Edward Buzzell.
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
521 - Go West, United States, 1940. Dir. Edward Buzzell.
Groucho meets his match.
S. Quentin Quale, in this case. He knows how to play the con. He shows up at the train station to Go West. (That is, after all, all he has to say at the ticket counter. Give me a ticket to Go West.)
The line is long. He stands at the back of the line and calls out, "Tickets for the West at this window!"
Everybody abandons the line. Goes to where he called them from the back of the line. He goes to the front of the line. He asks for a ticket.
"That'll be $70, please."
He gives him $60. Tells him not to count it. He counts it. "There's only $60 here."
"I told you not to count it."
S. Quentin Quale plays a game with the ticket man, but the ticket man is too smart for him. Quale fails to get his ticket.
Enter Joe and Rusty Panello. AKA, Chico and Harpo.
This is where Groucho meets his match.
He hustles them for money and puts it in his pocket. He gives back small change.
But Harpo has fishing line attached to it and pulls it out of Groucho's pocket. Taking back his money while keeping the change.
They end up with all of Quale's money.
They all end up out West anyway.
The Pinellos get the deed to some land. It is worthless. Except that the railroad is about to come through. Going through the land. Making the holders of the deed rich.
Mayhem ensues.
Along with singing and dancing. And Chico's playing of the piano, and Harpo's playing of the harp. A homemade one. Made from an Indian loom.
There is a showdown on a train.
As the clock ticks.
And a deadline looms.
The Marx Brothers might come to the rescue.
If they do not destroy everything first.
521 - Go West, United States, 1940. Dir. Edward Buzzell.
Groucho meets his match.
S. Quentin Quale, in this case. He knows how to play the con. He shows up at the train station to Go West. (That is, after all, all he has to say at the ticket counter. Give me a ticket to Go West.)
The line is long. He stands at the back of the line and calls out, "Tickets for the West at this window!"
Everybody abandons the line. Goes to where he called them from the back of the line. He goes to the front of the line. He asks for a ticket.
"That'll be $70, please."
He gives him $60. Tells him not to count it. He counts it. "There's only $60 here."
"I told you not to count it."
S. Quentin Quale plays a game with the ticket man, but the ticket man is too smart for him. Quale fails to get his ticket.
Enter Joe and Rusty Panello. AKA, Chico and Harpo.
This is where Groucho meets his match.
He hustles them for money and puts it in his pocket. He gives back small change.
But Harpo has fishing line attached to it and pulls it out of Groucho's pocket. Taking back his money while keeping the change.
They end up with all of Quale's money.
They all end up out West anyway.
The Pinellos get the deed to some land. It is worthless. Except that the railroad is about to come through. Going through the land. Making the holders of the deed rich.
Mayhem ensues.
Along with singing and dancing. And Chico's playing of the piano, and Harpo's playing of the harp. A homemade one. Made from an Indian loom.
There is a showdown on a train.
As the clock ticks.
And a deadline looms.
The Marx Brothers might come to the rescue.
If they do not destroy everything first.
Monday, June 4, 2018
520 - At the Circus, United States, 1939. Dir. Edward Buzzell.
Monday, June 4, 2018
520 - At the Circus, United States, 1939. Dir. Edward Buzzell.
Mr. J. Cheever Loophole.
Groucho Marx sure does get some names in his movies.
The Wilson Wonder Circus is in trouble.
Jeff Wilson and Julie Randall love each other.
Jeff owns the circus. Julie sings while riding and working with horses.
But Jeff owes money to John Carter. And John Carter intends to foreclose on him. He gets the strong man Goliath and the little person, Little Professor Atom, to collude with him.
Mr. Loophole has his own help, in the form of Antonio and Punchy, played respectively by Chico and Harpo.
And Chico is back to playing the piano.
And Harpo is back to playing the harp.
And all of them string together a series of sight gag and wordplay set pieces. Because a Marx Bros. movie has a bit of a plot but is also a series of gags set up one after the other. Along with songs. And brilliant piano and harp performances by the brothers.
Will John Carter take over the circus?
Will Jeff Wilson keep it?
Will Loophole, Antonio, and Punchy defeat Carter, Goliath, and Atom?
Does it even matter?
The point is to laugh along the way.
As each gag gives way to the next one.
520 - At the Circus, United States, 1939. Dir. Edward Buzzell.
Mr. J. Cheever Loophole.
Groucho Marx sure does get some names in his movies.
The Wilson Wonder Circus is in trouble.
Jeff Wilson and Julie Randall love each other.
Jeff owns the circus. Julie sings while riding and working with horses.
But Jeff owes money to John Carter. And John Carter intends to foreclose on him. He gets the strong man Goliath and the little person, Little Professor Atom, to collude with him.
Mr. Loophole has his own help, in the form of Antonio and Punchy, played respectively by Chico and Harpo.
And Chico is back to playing the piano.
And Harpo is back to playing the harp.
And all of them string together a series of sight gag and wordplay set pieces. Because a Marx Bros. movie has a bit of a plot but is also a series of gags set up one after the other. Along with songs. And brilliant piano and harp performances by the brothers.
Will John Carter take over the circus?
Will Jeff Wilson keep it?
Will Loophole, Antonio, and Punchy defeat Carter, Goliath, and Atom?
Does it even matter?
The point is to laugh along the way.
As each gag gives way to the next one.
Sunday, June 3, 2018
519 - Room Service, United States, 1938. Dir. William A. Seiter.
Sunday, June 3, 2018
519 - Room Service, United States, 1938. Dir. William A. Seiter.
Jumping butterballs!
The boys are trying to put on a play, but the real play is going on up in their hotel room.
Producer Gordon Miller (Groucho Marx) has run up a $1,200 tab at the White Way Hotel. (White Way refers to "The Great White Way," which is a nickname for Broadway, referring to the long line of street lamps that line the streets.)
He and his entourage--Harry Binelli and Faker Englund, played by brothers Chico and Harpo Marx respectively--are staying in a suite, and his twenty-two actors are staying in rooms on the 19th floor. But Miller has not paid a dime on his tab.
Hotel manager Joseph Gribble (Cliff Dunstan) has allowed this to go on because he is Miller's brother-in-law, and he is trying to float him long enough to get his play up and running so that the money can come rolling in.
But Gribble's boss, Gregory Wagner (Donald MacBride), discovers the overdue tab, and he demands that the men pay or evacuate immediately.
Meanwhile, the play's bright-eyed author Leo Davis (Frank Albertson) shows up from home, having burned his bridges behind him, thinking he is about to launch a glorious career. When he discovers the men in the room manipulating circumstances to bide their time, he gets swept up into the shenanigans.
Yet he also has a girlfriend, Hilda Manny, played by none other than an underage Ann Miller, and his googly schoolboy feelings for her might also get in the way.
Miller knows that as long as they can continuously occupy the room, without leaving for any reason, then Wagner cannot kick them out. So they stay. They grow hungry. They feign illness. They kidnap a doctor. They chase a turkey around the room. They feign suicide by poison. Anything to delay until some money comes in.
Miller has his actors hide out in the hotel ballroom to keep Wagner thinking they are no longer in the hotel.
But he has an actress who comes through for him. Christine Marlowe, played by none other than Lucille Ball, has found a backer, a representative for the very rich Zachary Fisk, who is coming to write a check for $15,000. If only they can get it in time.
And if only the backer does not back out when the representative sees the chaos going on in the room.
Somehow, some way, Gordon Miller is going to get this show mounted. Nothing can stop him, for the show must go on.
Whether there is any money or not.
And regardless of what he has to do to get the money and to get the show on.
Being a producer is about having unflinching, unwavering will power.
And when that producer is Groucho Marx, it is displayed through never-ending zaniness.
519 - Room Service, United States, 1938. Dir. William A. Seiter.
Jumping butterballs!
The boys are trying to put on a play, but the real play is going on up in their hotel room.
Producer Gordon Miller (Groucho Marx) has run up a $1,200 tab at the White Way Hotel. (White Way refers to "The Great White Way," which is a nickname for Broadway, referring to the long line of street lamps that line the streets.)
He and his entourage--Harry Binelli and Faker Englund, played by brothers Chico and Harpo Marx respectively--are staying in a suite, and his twenty-two actors are staying in rooms on the 19th floor. But Miller has not paid a dime on his tab.
Hotel manager Joseph Gribble (Cliff Dunstan) has allowed this to go on because he is Miller's brother-in-law, and he is trying to float him long enough to get his play up and running so that the money can come rolling in.
But Gribble's boss, Gregory Wagner (Donald MacBride), discovers the overdue tab, and he demands that the men pay or evacuate immediately.
Meanwhile, the play's bright-eyed author Leo Davis (Frank Albertson) shows up from home, having burned his bridges behind him, thinking he is about to launch a glorious career. When he discovers the men in the room manipulating circumstances to bide their time, he gets swept up into the shenanigans.
Yet he also has a girlfriend, Hilda Manny, played by none other than an underage Ann Miller, and his googly schoolboy feelings for her might also get in the way.
Miller knows that as long as they can continuously occupy the room, without leaving for any reason, then Wagner cannot kick them out. So they stay. They grow hungry. They feign illness. They kidnap a doctor. They chase a turkey around the room. They feign suicide by poison. Anything to delay until some money comes in.
Miller has his actors hide out in the hotel ballroom to keep Wagner thinking they are no longer in the hotel.
But he has an actress who comes through for him. Christine Marlowe, played by none other than Lucille Ball, has found a backer, a representative for the very rich Zachary Fisk, who is coming to write a check for $15,000. If only they can get it in time.
And if only the backer does not back out when the representative sees the chaos going on in the room.
Somehow, some way, Gordon Miller is going to get this show mounted. Nothing can stop him, for the show must go on.
Whether there is any money or not.
And regardless of what he has to do to get the money and to get the show on.
Being a producer is about having unflinching, unwavering will power.
And when that producer is Groucho Marx, it is displayed through never-ending zaniness.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
518 - A Day at the Races, United States, 1937. Dir. Sam Wood.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
518 - A Day at the Races, United States, 1937. Dir. Sam Wood.
Groucho Marx plays Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush.
Margaret Dumont plays Mrs. Emily Upjohn.
Maureen O'Sullivan plays Judy Standish.
Douglas Dumbrille plays J.D. Morgan.
Allan Jones plays Gil Stewart.
Mrs. Upjohn is staying at the Standish Sanitarium, and she insists that Dr. Hackenbush be her personal doctor.
Mrs. Standish gives Mrs. Upjohn what she wants, because Mrs. Upjohn is rich, and a donation by her would keep the sanitarium from being bought out by banker J.D. Morgan.
He wants to convert it to a gambling hall.
Gil Stewart is dating Judy Standish, and he wants to save the sanitarium as well. He is a nightclub singer, and he has been putting away his money to invest it in a racehorse. Named Hi-Hat.
He buys the horse from none other than Mr. Morgan himself.
If Hi-Hat wins, his earnings can pay for Judy's sanitarium and it can be saved.
The only problem is that now that he has spent all his savings to buy the horse, he has no money left with which to feed him.
Chico Marx plays Tony, a sanitarium employee.
Harpo Marx plays Stufy, Hi-Hat's jockey.
Tony knows what to do. He raises money by selling tips to Dr. Hakenbush. In code. And by selling him books to decipher it.
Everything comes to a head at the horse race. The action sequence. Cut to the chase.
Which horse will win?
Will the sanitarium be saved?
Will Hackenbush be exposed as a quack?
Let us sing a few songs along the way.
Are you ready, ladies and gentlemen?
And they're off!
518 - A Day at the Races, United States, 1937. Dir. Sam Wood.
Groucho Marx plays Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush.
Margaret Dumont plays Mrs. Emily Upjohn.
Maureen O'Sullivan plays Judy Standish.
Douglas Dumbrille plays J.D. Morgan.
Allan Jones plays Gil Stewart.
Mrs. Upjohn is staying at the Standish Sanitarium, and she insists that Dr. Hackenbush be her personal doctor.
Mrs. Standish gives Mrs. Upjohn what she wants, because Mrs. Upjohn is rich, and a donation by her would keep the sanitarium from being bought out by banker J.D. Morgan.
He wants to convert it to a gambling hall.
Gil Stewart is dating Judy Standish, and he wants to save the sanitarium as well. He is a nightclub singer, and he has been putting away his money to invest it in a racehorse. Named Hi-Hat.
He buys the horse from none other than Mr. Morgan himself.
If Hi-Hat wins, his earnings can pay for Judy's sanitarium and it can be saved.
The only problem is that now that he has spent all his savings to buy the horse, he has no money left with which to feed him.
Chico Marx plays Tony, a sanitarium employee.
Harpo Marx plays Stufy, Hi-Hat's jockey.
Tony knows what to do. He raises money by selling tips to Dr. Hakenbush. In code. And by selling him books to decipher it.
Everything comes to a head at the horse race. The action sequence. Cut to the chase.
Which horse will win?
Will the sanitarium be saved?
Will Hackenbush be exposed as a quack?
Let us sing a few songs along the way.
Are you ready, ladies and gentlemen?
And they're off!
Friday, June 1, 2018
517 - A Night at the Opera, United States, 1935. Dir. Sam Wood.
Friday, June 1, 2018
517 - A Night at the Opera, United States, 1935. Dir. Sam Wood.
Mr. Otis B. Driftwood.
The name alone says it all. Dead, aimlessly meandering timber. Groucho Marx plays him. And he meanders. He drifts. With a cigar in his fingers, an odd mustache possibly painted on, a bent back, and a wide highstep.
517 - A Night at the Opera, United States, 1935. Dir. Sam Wood.
Mr. Otis B. Driftwood.
The name alone says it all. Dead, aimlessly meandering timber. Groucho Marx plays him. And he meanders. He drifts. With a cigar in his fingers, an odd mustache possibly painted on, a bent back, and a wide highstep.
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