Starring The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, and Harpo), Kenny Baker, Florence Rice, and Margaret Dumont
Directed by Edward Buzzell
Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by E.Y Harburg
A Day at the Races was a hit in 1937, but things had changed at MGM in the two years between the making of that film and this one. Producer Irving Thalberg passed away a few months before the release of Races. He was one of the people who was instrumental in bringing the Marxes from Paramount and had been their biggest supporter at MGM. Louis B. Mayer, who took over as head of the studio, was far less receptive to the Marxes' wacky brand of comedy. How do the Marxes manage to get involved with a circus that's on the verge of going under, a gorilla carrying a club, and an amorous trapeze artist? To find out, let's begin backstage at the Wilson Circus and see what's going on behind the scenes...
The Story: Jeff Wilson (Baker) owes $10,000 on his circus to John Carter (James Burke), who intends to use it as a front for his gangster activities. Jeff's hidden the money in the cage of Gibraltar, their star gorilla (Charles Gemora). Carter's men Goliath the strongman (Nat Pendleton) and little man Professor Atom (Jerry Maren) knock him out and steal the money. If Jeff can't make the circus a success, he won't be able to marry his horse trainer fiancee Julie Randall (Rice).
Fortunately, Jeff has help in the form of circus employee Tony Pirelli (Chico) and Goliath's assistant Punchy (Harpo). Tony called lawyer J. Cheever Loophole (Groucho) to figure out who wants the money and why. Loophole tries to get the money off of Burke's trapeze artist girlfriend Peerless Pauline (Eve Arden), but she outsmarts him. Tony and Punchy don't do any better searching Goliath's room. Loophole finally goes to Jeff's wealthy Aunt Suzanna Dukesbury (Dumont) to convince her that the circus would be perfect for her big Newport party. Carter, however, is ready to do anything, even burn the circus down, to keep that money from being found.
The Song and Dance: The Marxes do manage to get a few genuinely good gags and sequences here. Chico and Harpo have a great time searching Goliath's room as they destroy his pillows and let the feathers fly. Arden has her own fun being one of the very few people who ever managed to put one over on Groucho. Dumont doesn't come in until more than half-way through the movie, but she does get shot out of a cannon in the finale. Even some of the music comes across. Groucho gets one of his best numbers from any of the movies with the hilarious "Lydia the Tattooed Lady"; Chico's version of "Beer Barrel Polka" is pretty nifty, too.
Favorite Number: We open and close with the big circus number "Step Up and Take a Bow." Julie sings it to her horses in the first few minutes; Jeff performs it during the show in the end. Julie and Jeff sing the nursery rhyme-inspired ballad "Two Blind Loves" twice. It's originally heard as a duet over a cup of coffee while they wait for the circus train to leave. Jeff sings it alone later, when they're worried the circus may close. Harpo does the bizarre chorus number "Swingali" with big Dudley Dickerson and a group of black children on the circus grounds. He plays several different instruments for them, ending with his harp performance of "Blue Moon." Chico amuses the circus people with "Beer Barrel Polka" on the piano during the train trip.
The number for the books is Groucho's "Lydia the Tattooed Lady." Groucho follows "Beer Barrel Polka" with this wild rendition of Harburg's hilarious comic ditty about the infamous tattoo artist who has just about everything in history you can imagine drawn on her shapely chest. Groucho really throws himself into the song, shaking and swinging with abandon, and Chico has fun accompanying him. It's by far the film's best moment.
Trivia: Buster Keaton was supposed to supply gags for this film, but his lengthy and stylized sequences didn't mix well with the Marxes' looser form of comedy. When the Marxes complained, Keaton basically said he was doing what he'd been paid to do.
What I Don't Like: Actually, no matter what the Marxes thought, Keaton's longer comedy sequences aren't the problem here. While the songs generally fit in better than the ones in A Day at the Races did, other than "Lydia" and the harp and piano performances, they still seem a bit off. "Three Blind Loves" is especially bad, with a sing-song melody and drippy lyrics that are far from Harburg or Arlen's best work. There's way too much emphasis on the cliche "save the circus" story, too. Baker and Rice are horribly bland, and we see far too much of them. Frankly, I would have rather seen more of the fairly funny Arlen or brought Dumont in earlier to play off Groucho.
The Big Finale: Marx Brothers fans will want this one for "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" and some great gags near the beginning and end. Everyone else is better off starting with Night at the Opera or Day at the Races for a taste of the Marxes at MGM.
Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.
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