"The Marx Brothers were magical." "lrrepressible." "Nourishing." "Revolutionary." "Joyous." "Wild." "Zany." "Disrespectful." "Jewish." "Multi-molto-faceted." "inventive." "Funny." "Hilarious." "Classic." "Knew every move they were doing." "Their comedy?" "There's the physical comedy, verbal comedy, musical comedy." "You couldn't not get a laugh out of that stuff." "It's so joyous..." "... Ithink,theircomedy." "And even though it can be very naughty and wicked..." "... it'snotreallymean." "Because in a way, they kind of tweak the nose of authority." "Isn't that awfully large for a pill?" "It was too small for a basketball, and I didn't know what to do with it." "Say, you're awfully large for a pill yourself." "It's antiestablishment." "And that technique was not invented by the Marx Brothers..." "... butI thinkit was carried to a degree..." "... thatwasso hilariousthatitmade them the giants that they were." "They make you look at something that needs looking at." "And they cut it down when it should be cut down." "And those are our-- lt's our court jesters." "These are comedians who, today..." "... 70yearsaftertheybegan, or maybe 80..." "... arestillverypopular all over the world." "That's different." "You don't have to pay me, but you can't fire me." "A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races..." "... hadthebenefitoftheproduction genius of Irving Thalberg." "A Night at the Opera was successful." "The Marx Brothers were early Hollywood profit participants..." "... intheirownfilms." "Sothey actually did quite well, personally." "A Day at the Races. I think of it as a true successor to A Night at the Opera..." "... becauseit'sstructured much in the same way." "Same sort of story..." "... andtheromanticcouplethat the Marx Brothers were trying to help." "Margaret Dumont as the dowager who was in a position to help." "And then the bad guys who tried to stand in the way." "And the Marx Brothers trying to save the day." "Everything but the kitchen sink is in these movies." "There's always, you know, Busby Berkeley musical numbers." "A love story with the ingénue and the handsome young guy." "Slapstick comedy." "Slapstick musical numbers." "I mean, it's like, "What isn't there in these movies?"" "And, I mean, if you look at Day at the Races..." "... there'salsoan entirejazznumber that happens." "Thalberg did have that brilliant idea..." "... oftakingthembackinto theirmost natural milieu, which was the theater..." "... andtakingblockscenesfrom the movies they were going to do at MGM..." "... andstagingthemfor liveaudiencesso they could see where the laughs were." "So they could play it a certain way, cut the film a certain way." "They were used to being on a stage." "They'd started out in vaudeville." "So also, working in front of a live audience there..." "... andinNewYork, when they did Cocoanuts..." "... andAnimalCrackers,was , you know, right up their alley." "What they owe to the stage is very apparent." "In the tutti-frutti scene, in the sanity clause..." "... thatcamerais locked." "There's no coverage." "You don't need coverage." "These are two men." "They could be in front of a drop in a vaudeville house." "And in fact, they are." "They're just in a drop in front of a cinematic house." "And they're doing the routines, timed..." "... basedontheexperience which they got..." "... bydoingthoseroutines for a live audience." "It was a wonderful idea." "Absolutely wonderful." "Sun-Up is the worst horse on the track." "l notice he wins all the time." "Just because he comes in first." "Don't you believe they're crazy... ." "They knew every move they were doing." "See, they'd been on tour with A Day at the Races." "So they knew where the laughs came, the jokes came." "And again, it's what made it so funny." "All that material was tested." "It was proven." "Irving Thalberg understood the Marx Brothers so well..." "... andgavethemeverythingthey  needed to make the best pictures." "One strange choice that he made was the director..." "... ofA Nightat theOperaandA Day  at the Races." "A man named Sam Wood." "He was not a comedy director." "He was really a dramatic director." "And of course, this rubbed Groucho the wrong way, as many things did." "And so it was not always a pleasant time on the set." "The other thing that Sam Wood liked to do..." "... wastotake take after take after take." "And some of these things, even small scenes..." "... thatweren'tcomedicscenes, somebody walking in a door..." "... SamWoodwouldwanna shoot it 20 times." "And this infuriated Groucho." "I don't know how the other brothers felt about it." "But in any event, it did not lead to a nurturing relationship." "There's a great story which I hope is true." "I hope this isn't apocryphal. lt's such a great line, you want it to be true." "is that one day, out of frustration, Sam Wood, in talking about Groucho, said:" ""Well, I guess you just can't make an actor out of clay. "" "To which Groucho replied, "Nor a director out of Wood. "" "Oh, hold me closer." "Closer." "Closer." "If I hold you any closer, I'll be in back of you." "Zeppo was one of the Marx Brothers for a long time." "But by the time A Night at the Opera came out..." "... hewasno longer one of the brothers." "Zeppo we knew as the handsomest of the brothers." "And he soon took himself out of the mix and became their manager." "And so his job then was-- He played the romantic leads." "That's what Tony Martin did in The Big Store..." "... andAllanJonesdid  in A Day at the Races." "And Allan Jones was this wonderfully handsome fellow..." "... whohadagreatmoviecareer." "The real heroes of those two movies, and, I guess, any Marx Brother movies..." "... werethepeoplethathad to be around while Groucho..." "... was,youknow, doing these verbal... ." "You know, using his mouth as a trampoline..." "... andjustjumping all over the place with lines..." "... extraneousandbeyondextraneous." "I have a few questions I would like to ask you." "I've got a question I'd like to ask you." "Steinberg, what do you do with your old razorblades?" "And they had to stand there..." "... andpretendeitherthatthey  didn't hear him or it didn't matter." "And then they were meant to start pushing the story again." "But that was tough duty to stand there..." "... andhavehimrip off  three or four lines..." "... thathadnothingtodo with anything except comedy." "There is no such thing." "She looks as healthy as any woman I've met." "You don't look like you ever met a healthy woman." "What?" "No history of the Marx Brothers could be complete..." "... withoutmentioning Margaret Dumont." "Splendid, splendid." "Right this way, Mrs. Upjohn." "Dr. Hackenbush will show you, then I insist that you apologize to him." "Come, Hugo." "Margaret Dumont was the perfect straight woman." "I mean, what she brought to those movies was just..." "... youknow,unmeasurable." "So much of their comedy was anarchic..." "... andattackedestablishments of one kind or another." "including Margaret Dumont, who was an establishment by herself." "She was this very rich, sort of very elegant woman." "But, you know, she had to have let Groucho make love to her..." "... andactuallyseemtowant him to be in love with her." "Which, given his antics, was a little hard to swallow." "He was saying the worst things in the world." "She went blithely about." "How would you like me to dance away from you?" "I'd be satisfied if you'd dance off my feet." "I would say that she supplied something to the Marxs..." "... particularlyGroucho,thatwas  invaluable in many of those movies." "I don't think those movies would have been as good without Dumont..." "... orsomeoneequally as stuffy as she was." "She was a big asset." "There's something funny about the relationship between Groucho..." "... andMargaretDumont, because all he does is insult her..." "... anduseherand takeadvantage of her and try to get her money." "She sort of knows she's being insulted, and she knows she's being put off..." "... butit'slikeshe 'sstill loves him somehow." "I never should have mistrusted you." "Isn't there anything I can do to make you forgive me?" "You could take over the notes from Miss Standish." "Then would you forgive me?" "Well, it would help." "Emily, I can't hide it any longer." "I love you." "Oh, Hugo." "Groucho was always very jealous of Chico's success with women..." "... becauseChicojusthad thischarm." "And it was notorious that Chico could just nod at a girl..." "... and,youknow,she wouldmelt ." "He was famous not so much for the Italian accent or the piano stuff..." "... ashisabilityto,  what they say in England..." "... wereferto as "pullingbirds."" "Getting girls." "He was amazing." "I mean, they tell stories about Chico pulling up alongside somebody..." "... ata stoplight,youknow..." "... andiftherewas amotel between there and the next stoplight..." "... heandthatnew stranger would be having tea." "And he could basically get any girl he wanted." "Groucho had to put a lot more effort into it..." "... whichhealwaysresented." "And so the stories were that, on the set of A Day at the Races..." "... hewassomewhatfond of Maureen O'Sullivan." "And I guess he took a shot here and there..." "... butI don'tthink he got very far with her." "He couldn't get you, so he took six other girls." "Now, Groucho, every morning... ." "I had" " We worked a lot at Santa Anita." "And I had a dressing room..." "... aportabledressingroom." "He would come over, and he would try his jokes out on me..." "... at,like,7inthemorning." "He'd try to be funny." "I said, "Groucho" ... ." "Finally, I said, "Groucho, look." "I really don't like funny men. "" "I said, "So let's just not be funny anymore." "Let's just be friends if we can. "" "And we became great friends." "I was devoted to him, and he was to me, I think." "I really think so." "I could have been in love with him." "Now, that sounds very strange." "But maybe comedy and romance are close." "I don't know." "I've tried to analyze that." "You know, like tears and laughter." "You hear tears and laughter are close..." "... maybecomedyandromanceareclose ." "I don't know." "But he was a very idealistic, very intelligent man." "Very kind." "Very nice." "And no more jokes." "I mean, unless they were really funny." "He couldn't help it." "That's all right." "Groucho..." "... neededtobe funny." "And not for anybody else." "He could quip anywhere." "On an elevator." "He'd never stop quipping." "In life." "Just the way he quipped in those movies." "Groucho just... ." "Of course he liked laughter." "But I think he liked, he enjoyed his own response to his own mind." "I had lunch with him once." "Breakfast, actually." "And the waiter said, "What will you have?"" "And Groucho said, "Omelet. "" "That's all." "As the waiter started to take other orders..." "... IheardGrouchomumble to himself, "Christian soldiers. "" "I mean, he just, you know, he didn't need an audience." "He was irrepressible." "And that's why the people loved him so much, because he was irrepressible." "He stopped the action of many, many things." "But he always had something worth hearing, worth laughing at." "But running a sanitarium calls for a man with peculiar talents." "I've got the most peculiar talents of any doctor you ever met." "I'm satisfied with Mrs. Upjohn's recommendations." "If you'll excuse me, I'll go and bring in the rest of the staff." "Why don't you go out and bring in something." "Preferably your resignation." "The references were stylish." "The musical references were stylish." "Elegant." "You know, in the midst of the chaos that they created around them." "You know, Harpo would sit down and play..." "... themostbeautiful classical composition." "And when he" " His face changed." "There was such a wonderful thing that happened..." "... whenhesatbehindthat harp ." "He was this crazy, zany man who every kid in the world..." "... coulddo." "Everyone ofus..." "... whenwewere13years old, could do the Harpo face." "And then, Chico." "A mildly good pianist." "Not bad." "But found a way to make a piano entertaining..." "... byshootingat thetop notes..." "... andwiththeglissandoandtheshot." "And we waited for those moments." "And I think they always had a reason..." "... tofindapianoanda harp in every scene." "In every movie, at least, there was always a scene..." "... wherethatwaswaitedfor and appreciated by an audience." "It was an age when people did more than just what they did." "Groucho did the walk..." "... andtheleeringand the lines." "And Harpo did the harp..." "... andthecomedy,the pantomime, which is even harder." "And Chico doubled as a straight man and a comic..." "... anda pianoplayer..." "... and,whentheoccasionrequired, as in Day at the Races..." "... thefriendof MaureenO'Sullivan." "He could do a straight scene, help push the plot forward." "And I think that's traceable to their experience in the theater..." "... whereyouhadtodoeverything." "No question about it..." "... itwastheMarxBrothers." "Each one had their turn at bat, and each one hit a home run." "Dr. Hackenbush!" "Look at the settings of the Marx Brothers' films..." "... andyouhaveanoperahouse , you have a college in Horse Feathers." "You have an ocean liner in Monkey Business." "Then they do A Day at the Races." "The setting is in a sanitarium." "So that was sort of odd." "This way to the Standish Sanitarium." "Standish San" " Standish San" "This" " This way to the Standish" "Stand" " Free bus." "Free bus." "The word "sanitarium" back then didn't mean... ." "Didn't have the connotation that it does now." "People would go to a "sanitarium" basically for rest." "It didn't necessarily mean that they were nuts." "This is Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush, your new chief of staff." "And now, doctor, I'd like you to meet Miss Standish." "Oh, doctor." "Doctor." "Just a moment, while I calm these paralytics." "Oh, dear." "Doctor." "I think that was just an excuse to have some sort of business for the ingénue..." "... thatwasin troublethat the Marx Brothers would try to save." "You're the prettiest owner of a sanitarium I've ever seen." "It also provides a great opportunity..." "... forMargaretDumont as the hypochondriac..." "... andGrouchoas thisquack, this horse doctor..." "... who'sposingas arealMD." "She makes you believe in her mysterious attraction to Groucho..." "... andinhertotal kind of belief in him..." "... eventhoughhe 'sclearly, you know, just a fraud." "Groucho was very fond of that character, Dr. Hackenbush." "And even in later years, sometimes he would write letters to friends of his..." "... ortofamilymembers, and he'd sign them "Dr. Hackenbush. "" "It just became a favorite character of his." "He was always fond of it." "I'm getting a fine tootsie-fruitsying right here." "Get your ice cream." "The great thing about A Night at the Opera  andA Dayat theRacesisthat they both have these great set pieces..." "... thesedialoguescenes that have become classics." "And one of the great sequences from A Day at the Races..." "... isthetootsie-fruitsie-ice-cream sequence..." "... whereGrouchois tryingtobuy a tip, a race tip, from Chico." "And Chico can't just sell him the tip." "He has to sell it to him in code." "And then he has to buy a book to understand the code." "He has to buy another book to figure out that book." "And what made me laugh was this trying" "Keeping a cigar intact in his mouth." "Then the books between his legs with a piece of paper in his hand." "Get your ice cream." ""Z-V-B-X-R-P-L is Burns. "" "Yeah, that's right." "I also laughed at the staging of it." "They take two steps to the right, two steps to the left, two steps to the right." "It was primitive, but it was funny." "And again, this is one of those classic scenes that was honed on stage..." "... whentheMarxBrotherstook  scenes from the film on stage..." "... tohonethem in front of a live audience." "The timing became so precise in these scenes that Chico's daughter, Maxine..." "... toldmethatshe wouldsit in the audience in the theater..." "... whentheywere doing these scenes..." "... andshewouldhaveitin herhead by seeing it over and over again..." "... thatifGrouchogavealine..." "... sheknewexactly,"One,two, three," when Chico would do his line." "Chico would do his line, and she could count in her head:" ""One, two," and know that Groucho would give his line at that point." "That's how finely tuned these scenes became on the road." "That scene today, I say, "Gee, that doesn't fit into their characters..." "... thatthey'vedeveloped over the years." "Groucho is the guy who conned everybody. "" "Groucho is usually victimizing everyone else." "There's something fun about seeing Chico turn the tables on him." "Groucho knows he's getting a shellacking..." "... buthe'ssortofcommitted, he's invested." "He can't just turn around and walk away." "He's gotta see this thing through to the end." "No, you haven't got that book." "You've got it, huh?" "I'll get it in a minute, though, won't I?" "Get your tootsie-fruitsie." "I'm getting a fine tootsie-fruitsying right here." "It's not about surprise, so much." "You see from the beginning where it's going." "But it's the comedy of something building and just taking a premise..." "... andjustgettingbigger and bigger and bigger with it." "Seeing how long they can stretch it out." "There's a kind of real delight that you can take..." "... injustseeingthis so perfectly executed." "And following along with it in the rhythm, almost like, again..." "... apieceof musicthatyouknow the piece of music..." "... andyouknowwherethenotes are..." "... andyouenjoy listening to it being played..." "... evenmorebecauseyou knowit." "Any Marx Brothers fan, when you go into the doctor's office..." "... andyoulookatthechart ,youcan't not think of the letters Z-V-B-X-R-P-L..." "... whichisthecodename forthehorse that Chico gives Groucho." "I had that same horse when I had my eyes examined." "I cannot help thinking of that whenever I go to a doctor's office for an eye exam." "Oh, Hackenbush!" "Oh, what's the matter with him?" "One of the standard things that appeared in a lot of Marx Brothers movies was..." "... Harpocouldn'ttalk, and every now and then..." "... Harpowouldhavesomething very, very urgent and timely..." "... tocommunicateto Chico." "And so Chico generally understood Harpo pretty well." "During these scenes, it would just get so frantic." "Harpo would basically be playing a game of charades with Chico..." "... totryto communicate." "What happens is that Harpo is trying to communicate to Chico..." "... thatheknowsthatDr.Hackenbush is about to be framed." "And he's doing it through pantomime." "This routine is so simple." "We've all done this, and we've all played charades." "You know, they're very clown-like, clearly." "I mean, Chico's even wearing sort of the commedia dell'arte felt, brimless hat." "Buffalo Bill goes ice-skating?" "Of course, the timing again..." "... isperfecttiming." "You know, just so fast." "They were perfectly in sync." "She got a woodpecker?" "She got a headache?" "Dr. Hackenbush..." "... there'sa woman..." "... sheknockon thedoor!" "You know, it's when you go to the theater and you see..." "... theRockettesalldothehighkicks at the end." "You're there..." "... andyou'reseeing..." "... alevelof skilland efficiency that's remarkable." "That's what you're seeing with these guys." "You're just seeing two guys who are the best, the only ones that were doing that." "And it's just so satisfying." "You wanna know what Harpo's saying too." "And maybe you've guessed before Chico does." "Chico's acting as a translator." "So either way you win." "Oh, she's going to frame him!" "Oh, come on." "Hurry up." "It's like saying, "God is good. "" "You know, it's like saying... ." "What? "Grapes are sweet. "" "The Marx Brothers in that scene, two of the Marx Brothers, are just perfection." "In all my years of medicine-- ln your years of medicine." "You don't know the first thing about medicine." "And don't point that beard at me." "It might go off." "In the end of Day at the Races... ." "And Margaret Dumont was on the table." "And he had an adjustment." "And the table went like this:" "And Margaret Dumont's body goes flying in through the air." "She still kind of keeps this attitude..." "... of,like,"Yes,he'smydoctor, and he's fabulous." "And he knows there's something wrong with me..." "... whennooneelsecan find anything wrong. "" "She was a hypochondriac, and they knew they couldn't get to it." "The concept that they'll never get to it..." "... becausetheycontinuetowash  their hands struck everybody funny." "Struck me funny too." "Oh, dear." "Come, gentlemen." "Let us begin." "You shouldn't have done that." "Now we're all unsterilized." "What's the matter with you?" "Well, I must say, I've seen quicker examinations." "Maybe, but you'll never see a slipperier one." "She gives you the entry point of those scenes." "Because otherwise, if everything is chaotic" "There needs to be kind of still center." "That things can move around." "And she kind of provides that." "And then everything can, like, fly off from that." "And it really works fabulously." "There was water, and there was a horse that came through." "It was magical." "What nobody anticipated was that Irving Thalberg..." "... attheageof37..." "... woulddiein themiddleofproduction of A Day at the Races..." "... fromdoublepneumonia." "And it was a shock to everybody." "First of all, he was a young man, obviously." "He was 37." "He was so revered and so respected." "And he was so smart." "And he was so good to the people who worked for him." "He was so good to the Marx Brothers..." "... thatitwasareal wallop.ltwas just a punch in the stomach to all of them." "Especially Groucho, who even, in the last years of his life..." "... wouldreflect on Irving Thalberg and talk..." "... abouthowmuchrespecthehadfor him, what a blow it was when he died." "From really a firsthand..." "... storyfromGroucho..." "... hethoughtthetwo  they made for Thalberg..." "... werethebestones they ever made." "It had only been a couple years earlier they thought..." "... theyweregonnabeoutofthe movie business." "Duck Soup had bombed." "And Thalberg did come along..." "... andkindof savedtheircareers, because he loved them." "I mean, he thought their comedy was terrific." "With Thalberg's death in 1 937, with him out of the picture..." "... theMarxBrothershad  to answer to Louis B. Mayer." "And unlike Thalberg, Louis B. Mayer did not really respect the Marx Brothers." "I don't think he really understood them." "My guess is, he didn't think they were that funny..." "... andwasn'tthatinterestedingiving them everything the studio had to offer." "And after Thalberg's death, in a sense..." "... theirpicturesbecame more like B pictures." "They still did some good pictures..." "... buttheydidn'treallyhave thecare and all the encouragement..." "... thattheyhad under Thalberg's reign." "And Groucho did not like Mayer." "There is a story of... ." "There's a story that, when Thalberg was alive..." "... thatMayercameuptoGroucho on the set and said:" ""How's it going, Groucho?" "How's the picture going?"" "Groucho said, "What do you care?" "We don't work for you." "We work for Thalberg," which was not a smart thing to say to Louis B. Mayer..." "... oneoftheM's ofMGM." "And Mayer held a grudge and supposedly never forgot that." "And so after Thalberg's death..." "... Mayerwasn'tinterestedingiving them everything they needed..." "... tomakethebestpictures." "It is interesting to think what would have happened if Thalberg had lived..." "... whattheirnextfew films would have been like." "Most Marx Brothers fans would consider A Day at the Races..." "... theirlasttrulygreatpicture..." "... withsubsequentfilms having great moments in them..." "... andgreatscenes and some great dialogue." "But 1 937 was sort of the end of the road for them..." "... asfaras ,youknow, being at the top of their game." "A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races..." "... thesefilmsarealmost 70 years old now." "The fact that they're being issued on DVD..." "... forcontemporaryaudiences tells you something." "There is still an audience for them." "People still enjoy them." "It's hard to analyze exactly what the appeal is..." "... beyondthefactthatthey were just  masters at what they did." "I think the legacy of the Marx Brothers..." "... isthefactthatthey were  such a great combination." "Chico on the piano, Harpo on the harp..." "... andGrouchowithhis funnywit." "They were all so different." "They just sort of really... ." "They played well together." "They're greater than the sum of their parts." "The legacy is the legacy of laughter." "Their comedy..." "... isageless." "If they're legendary, it's because the material holds up..." "... andupandup, you know?" "And it's the... ." "I don't know why something endures." "But if it endures long enough, it's art." "And I think they did create art between them." "The Marx Brothers." "Groucho, Harpo, Chico." "Delicious."