The Marx Brothers Collection (A
Night at The Opera/A Day at The
Races/A Night in Casablanca/Room
Service/At the Circus/Go West/The
Big Store) starring Groucho Marx,
Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Lucille Ball,
Ann Miller
Lots Of Laughs For The Dollar
When it comes to long-awaited treats like The Marx Brothers Collection,
you can never get too much of a good thing. These seven comedies cant
compare to the sheer lunacy of the five classics (The Cocoanuts, Animal
Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup) that the
Marx Bros. made for Paramount between 1929 and 1933 (available in The

Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection), but when uber-producer Irving
Thalberg signed Groucho, Harpo, and Chico to an MGM contract in 1935
(by which time sibling costar Zeppo had become the teams off-screen
manager), he knew just how to cure their box-office blues. As a result, A
Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races were critical and commercial
hits, lavishly produced according to the Tiffany studios golden-age formula
of glamorous set pieces and musical numbers combined with sensible
plots that smoothly integrated snappy, well-written Marxian antics. Opera is
the jewel of this set, with timeless scenes (the Stateroom, the Groucho-
Chico contract negotiation, etc.) that rank among the greatest bits of silver-
screen comedy... not to mention Grouchos flirtatious insults at Margaret
Dumonts upper-crust expense. A Day at the Races deserves near-equal
acclaim (Get-a your tootsie-fruitsie ice cream!), but Thalbergs death in
1937 dealt a devastating blow, and the Marxes suffered from studio
indifference, resulting in a succession of comedies that are timelessly
enjoyable even as they fall prey to diminishing returns. By the time they
made Go West and The Big Store, the Marxes were out of their element,
and a few of the musical interludes indulge racial stereotypes that were
common in the studio era. Despite this, these movies remain fresh and
frantic, and Warner Bros. (holder of the RKO and MGM libraries) has done
a marvelous job of packaging The Marx Brothers Collection to nostalgically
approximate the filmgoing experience of the 1930s and 40s, with vintage
shorts (Our Gang, Robert Benchley comedies, MGM cartoons, etc.) from
the time of each features original release. Archival materials are slim but
worthwhile (especially Grouchos 1961 interview with TV talk-show host Hy
Gardner), and while Glenn Mitchells commentary on Races is sparse and
superficial, Leonard Maltin brings his usual superfans enthusiasm and
encyclopedic knowledge to bear on a full-length Opera commentary track.
The new documentaries are somewhat redundant, but essential viewing
for Marx Bros. neophytes. With all seven films presented in pristine
condition, this is definitely a Marx Brothers Collection worth having. --Jeff
Shannon
Personal Review: The Marx Brothers Collection (A Night at The
Opera/A Day at The Races/A Night in Casablanca/Room Service/
At the Circus/Go West/The Big Store) starring Groucho Marx,
Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Lucille Ball, Ann Miller
It's all there at a bargain price. No reason to add more to the millions of
words on the subject. To me, Margaret Dumont is the fifth member of the
team. The films without her are never as good.
For `Duck Soup,' 'Animal Crackers,' `The Cocoanuts,' and some other
classics, you have to go to a different box set.
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The Marx Brothers Collection (A Night at The Opera/A Day at The Races/A Night in
Casablanca/Room Service/At the Circus/Go West/The Big Store) starring Groucho Marx,
Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Lucille Ball, Ann Miller 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest
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