Much better than the first two Marx Brothers efforts. This is the first Marx Bros. movie written directly for the screen rather than adapted from one of their Vaudeville shows. The result is a faster pace, a bigger production and a wider variety of scenes. This was exactly what the brothers needed to become more effective on screen. The supporting cast is trimmed down, with Zeppo filling the romantic lead, thus combining two non-funny characters into one. This gives more screen time to Groucho, Harpo and Chico, who are on top of their game here. The comic bits don't drag on too long, and the musical numbers don't kill the momentum; both improvements from their earlier films. The storyline and the rest of the cast are just as bad as always, but what do you expect? The point is that the movie is hilarious and entertaining from beginning to end. Monkey Business is where the Marx Brothers really began to hit their stride.
Add a Review
-
km_dickson20 August 2005
-
mark.waltz9 April 2014Just as zany as monkeys going over Niagra Falls in a barrel, this concoction of fast-moving sketches moves so fast, you'll think you're heading over the falls, too. The four brothers are stowaways on a luxury cruise ship heading to New York and for a good 3/4 of this movie, they are doing their best to avoid being caught, even though a good deal of that time is conversing in marvelous double-talk with the ship's crew after them. They infiltrate the captain's quarters, Groucho insults a wealthy socialite (an unbilled Cecil Cunningham) and infiltrates the captain's quarters, and Harpo searches for his missing frog then attacks a passenger in the doctor's office who claims to have a frog in his throat. A magnificent puppet show has Harpo standing in for one of the puppets as crew members stand right near the puppeteer's box, then he makes a hysterical escape much to the viewing kiddie's delight.
Like the later "Hellzapoppin'" and the Zucker Brothers movies of the 1980's, this requires repeat viewings to capture all of the gags or remind you of them, because they follow each other so fast, you will be dizzy trying to take it all in. There's the shell of a plot involving the kidnapping of a mobster's daughter once the ship docks in New York, and of course this leads to more zaniness with the presence of the brothers. There's a classy parody of the Maurice Chevalier craze with all four brothers (including the mute Harpo) trying to get off the ship while pretending to be Chevalier singing "A New Kind of Love". Sexy Thelma Todd, the almost forgotten comical star of a series of Hal Roach shorts, provides some "hot cha cha" as one of the ship's passengers who hides Groucho amongst her wardrobe which leads to some amusing dialog about Groucho being in the closet. This is one of those comedies you might consider buying (available with all of the brothers' Paramount films) because you might find yourself pulling it out on a regular basis. -
SmileysWorld15 September 2012The Marx Brothers were such a talented bunch that you come up with any story idea and they can carry it the rest of the way.they were so great and one liners and ad libs that one can't help but wonder just how often the script was stuck to.Thw whole idea of these guys being stowaways on a boat,if you go in already familiar with their work,is hysterical just on paper,and the boys deliver well in the final product as always.The only possible exception is Zeppo,who was intended,I suppose,to be the straight man of the bunch,but this never quite worked and is most likely the reason he didn't last with the group professionally.Look for a tragic irony when Groucho says to Thelma Todd,"...you will have to stay in the garage all night..".Years later,Thelma Todd was found dead in a garage under mysterious circumstances.That aside,if you are looking for classic style humor,you will find it here.
-
lugonian9 January 2004MONKEY BUSINESS (Paramount, 1931), directed by Norman McLeod, and written by S.J. Perelman, presents those four zany Marx Brothers in their third feature comedy. Following their previous efforts in THE COCOANUTS (1929) and ANIMAL CRACKERS (1930), each based on their 1920s stage works filmed at Paramount's Astoria studios in Long Island, NY, MONKEY BUSINESS, produced in Hollywood, was the team's first original comedy and one of their most funnier outings. While no relation to the 20th Century- Fox 1952 comedy starring Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, except in title only, and having nothing to do with monkeys, this presentation does get right down to business when comedy is concerned.
Here Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo play four stowaways aboard ship bound for the states who, after being discovered hiding in barrels singing "Sweet Adeline," they are pursued by First Officer Gibson (Tom Kennedy) and his crew, which has the foursome running all over the ship, eluding authorities and driving practically everybody out of their minds. Eventually the four stowaways separate, with Chico and Harpo posing as barbers; Groucho acting as the captain, invading the sanctity of the captain's quarters where he and Chico makes themselves at home by eating his meals; Harpo later chasing the young ladies as well as entertaining little children at a puppet show while at the same time making a fool out of Gibson. Harpo even finds time making friends with a frog, but keeps it under his hat. As for Zeppo, in between chases, he finds time escorting a young lady named Mary (Ruth Hall) around the deck. Afterwards, they all encounter rival gangsters, Groucho encounters Alkie Briggs (Harry Woods), after being found with his wife, Lucille (Thelma Todd) in her state room. Briggs, however, takes a liking to Groucho and offers him a job, along with Zeppo, as his personal bodyguards. Chico and Harpo encounter Briggs' rival, Joe Helton (Rockcliffe Fellows), Mary's father and Zeppo's love interest, each becoming Helton's bodyguards as well. After docking in New York, the Marx Brothers find they must get past custom officials to get off. After obtaining the passport belonging to the popular French entertainer, Maurice Chevalier (who does not appear), they pass themselves off as Chevalier, singing one of his current hit songs, "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me," but to no avail. How the silent Harpo gets by with this must be seen to be believed. While the final 25 minutes shifts over to a swank party given by Kelton to introduce his daughter, Mary, to high society, the Marxes join in the function with dysfunctional tendencies as Groucho insults the guests, Chico and Harpo entertain with their traditional piano and harp interludes, while Briggs and his gang sneak in, posing as musicians, to carry out their plot of kidnapping Kelton's daughter, Mary, by holding her hostage inside a barn.
Virtually plot less in a sense, MONKEY BUSINESSS plays like an extended comedy short that would have worked equally well had it starred the Three Stooges. MONKEY BUSINESS is pure Marx Brothers nonsense that appears to be every bit as funny today as it possibly was way back in 1931. Anything goes with this film, including many memorable shipboard moments including Groucho's comedic dance with Thelma Todd; Groucho doing his bit by posing as a reporter interviewing and insulting the cultured Madame Pucchi (Cecil Cunningham, in a manner somewhat similar to Margaret Dumont, Groucho's frequent foil and straight-woman). GROUCHO: "Is it true you're getting a divorce as soon as your husband recovers his eyesight? Is it true you wash your hair in clam broth? Is is true you used to dance in a flea circus?" MADAME PUCCHI: "This is outrageous! I don't like this innuendo." GROUCHO: "That's what I always say. Love flies out the door when money comes innuendo."; the Chico and Groucho exchange regarding Christopher Columbus: GROUCHO: "Columbus sailed from Spain to India looking for a short cut," CHICO: "Oh, you mean a strawberry short cut?;" Harpo coming out from a barrel of hay in the barn and seen kissing a calf, and much more.
As with most of the Marx Brothers films produced by Paramount, MONKEY BUSINESS is pure comedy at best. Had this been done over at MGM, where the Marx Brothers would be employed (1935 to 1941), MONKEY BUSINESS most definitely be toned down some in comedy antics with extended romantic subplots and straight-forward and lengthy musical numbers. MONKEY BUSINESS has none of that. Unlike most Marx Brothers comedies, their characters in MONKEY BUSINESS have no background, no professions and no spoken character names (the closing cast credits them with their first names only). They are just unusual stowaways trying to keep themselves from being caught and taken to the brig. However, in this case, MONKEY BUSINESS has its full quota of belly-laughs. Nothing really drags and nothing provided is unnecessary. And whatever scenes may not be of importance or interest to the viewers, it passes by very quickly.
MONKEY BUSINESS, hailed as one of the top 100 comedies by the American Film Institute, has become a perennial favorite to many Marx Brothers enthusiasts. After many years being presented on commercial television on the afternoon or evening to after midnight hours, it became available on video cassette through MCA Home Video in the 1980s, and to cable television on several channels, from the Comedy Channel shortly prior to 1990, then to American Movie Classics (1991-1992), and, a decade later, on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: December 17, 2001). Regardless of its age, MONKEY BUSINESS, for all its silliness, continues to bring laughter to a new generation of movie lovers whenever shown, thanks to those funny men billed as The Marx Brothers. Because of them, no ocean voyage would ever be the same again, which is why no self respecting ship should ever set sail without them either. Bon Voyage. (***) -
dr_foreman22 June 2004How does one review a plotless movie? In "Monkey Business," the Marx Brothers spend the first hour running around on a ship, then they crash a fancy party, then they fist-fight gangsters in a barn. Is there connecting material? Well, yeah - of the thinnest sort imaginable. Does the lack of a coherent plot hurt the film? Not really. Bottom line: it's hilarious. Groucho in particular steals the show with his weird combination flirting/insulting routines.
It's worth noting that, while I laughed a lot at "A Night at the Opera," I laughed even more at this movie. In fact, I was in exquisite pain by the end. Of course, "Opera" actually makes some sense, so it might still be the better movie.
Definitely the best Marx Brothers film that doesn't feature Margaret Dumont, and the strongest showcase for the brothers' talents as physical comedians. -
Snow Leopard16 November 2001Nothing fancy, but plenty of anarchic fun, "Monkey Business" won't disappoint anyone who likes the Marx Brothers. While a little less riotous than their very best movies, it features a couple of extremely funny sequences, with the favorite probably being the 'Maurice Chevalier' scene. (As you watch that scene unfold, you start wondering how Harpo is going to play it, and it's quite clever when you find out.) Harpo has another fine scene when he gets tangled up in a puppet show. Zeppo gets a little more action than usual, and the others have some great moments, too. This one certainly should not be missed by any fan of Groucho and company.
-
funkyfry25 October 2002The Marx brothers are on an intercontinental voyage in this film which offers more than one hilarious moment. My favorite scene involved the four brothers doing their impressions of Maurice Chevalier at customs -- one after the other!
-
theowinthrop21 May 2005Zeppo Marx is frequently considered with a trace of a sneer: the fourth brother who was not worthy of membership in one of filmdom's two best comedy teams. He was the fourth brother of Groucho, Chico, & Harpo Marx (and is only slightly better remembered than fifth brother Gummo, who never appeared in any of their films). He looked the best of the brothers (he was the youngest) so he could play the romantic lead if nobody else had the role (like Oscar Shaw did in COCONUTS). However although his appearance was better than the other three brothers, he was not a really handsome man like Robert Taylor or Tyrone Power. Also he had a serious problem with his sense of humor - he had one but it was remarkably similar to Groucho's. In fact, during the Broadway run of COCONUTS, Groucho was ordered by a doctor to take a long, overdue rest. He took off for two weeks, and was replaced by understudy Zeppo. At the end of two weeks he talked to the producers, and they willingly allowed him to take an additional week off. In fact, when that was finished they said he could take more time off if needed. They were not in a rush to get him back. Suspicious, Groucho went unannounced to the theater one night, and watched Zeppo being so good the audience was laughing hysterically at his delivery and acting. In a single day Groucho returned to the show. Groucho never made that mistake again.
It would have been impossible for Zeppo to have played a smaller version of Groucho on screen. There would have been an imbalance with two Grouchos in the films. So Zeppo was usually put into the films as Groucho's assistant, or secretary, or even his son (in HORSE FEATHERS). His part in COCONUTS, as the film exists today, is not very impressive (there is one scene where he and Groucho try to greet Chico and Harpo as new customers at the hotel, and keep missing their hands). In ANIMAL CRACKERS he is Jamison, the secretary to "Captain Spaulding", and has an amusing sequence regarding the immortal firm of "Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger, & McCormick". In HORSE FEATHERS he did take part in the mad football game at the end of the film. In DUCK SOUP, as assistant to Rufus T. Firefly, he had more sequences that were funny, such as when he gets slapped for telling a story to Groucho that Groucho had previously told to him. He also takes part in the "Fredonia's Going to War" number, and in the battle section at the end. But only the Hungerdunger scene in ANIMAL CRACKERS (shared by Groucho), and this film, MONKEY BUSINESS, gives one an idea of Zeppo as an effective comic.
Here, unlike the other four appearances, he is not connected in the past with Groucho. He is paired with him, when he and Groucho are hired by Alky Briggs to be his torpedoes. However, he is frequently chased on the boat, and finds time to romance the film's heroine, in one particularly good moment telling her of his eternal devotion to her just before fleeing from her side to avoid being captured by members of the ship's crew. He also is able to romance her at her coming out society party, and rescues her from Briggs' gang. Here he finally does something normal to assist the film. He is a passably pleasant leading man, but nothing spectacular.
MONKEY BUSINESS was also surreal in it's humor, best in the puppet show sequence and also the attempt of the four brothers to get off the boat pretending to be Chevalier. It is a very funny movie - maybe not the best of all their films (DUCK SOUP or A NIGHT AT THE OPERA are that), but close to the best.
As for Zeppo, he remained part of the act and the films for two more years, and then quit both to become a successful film agent. He would always be in Groucho's shadow as a comic, and even in death (soon after Groucho's death in 1977) passed on with hardly any impact on the public. Had he branched out on his own (if anyone had shown interest in such a move) he might have had a chance to show his talents, but it is problematical. -
Vincentb34131 August 2005After filming their Broadway shows Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers in New York, the Marx Brothers headed to Hollywood to make Monkey Business. This was their first original screenplay, and it shows how difficult it was to write for the team. Starting with the premise that they are stowaways aboard a ship, much of the film consists of the ship's officers chasing them around the deck, which quickly becomes tiresome. Add to this mix a satire on popular gangster movies of the day (Little Ceasar and Public Enemy), and you have a funny, but rather confusing movie. Of course Groucho is going to pursue beautiful Thelma Todd (even the fact that she's a gangster's wife doesn't deter him), but it's more fun watching him make love to Margaret Dumont, since we know the only thing he could possibly be interested in is her money. My favorite scene in the movie is the one where Groucho wants to be a gangster's bodyguard. "Let's say there are two men trying to attack you and two men trying to defend you, why, that's 50% waste. Why can't you be attacked by your own bodyguard, your life'll
be saved, and that's 100% waste. You've still got me and I'll attack you for nothing. So it's settled, I'm to be your new bodyguard. In case I'm going to attack you, I'll have to be there to defend you too. Now let me know when you want to be attacked and I'll be there ten minutes later to defend you." Unfortunately, this brilliant comedy writing is diminished by jokes which seem to be left over from the Brothers' vaudeville act, circa 1917. At one point, Groucho tries to give Chico a history lesson by telling him the story of Columbus. Columbus sailed on a vessel, and of course you know what a vessel is. Chico: "Sure, I can vessel (whistles a tune). When he tells him Columbnus' men were going to mutiny at night, Chico replies: "Nah, no mutinies at night. Mutinies Wednesdays and Saturdays." Zeppo gives his usual wooden performance while romancing the daughter of Joe Helton. Groucho always felt that Zeppo never got an opportunity to show what he could do. "He had talent, but there were three brothers ahead of him." Yet his successors, the bland Alan Jones, the awful Kenny Baker, and the hideous Tony Martin, fared no better (if you can stand it, listen to Tony sing "The Tenement Symphony" in The Big Store; it's perhaps the worst piece of music ever written). In short, this is an enjoyable outing for Marx fans, not their best, but worth watching. -
Elgroovio14 January 2005It starts off fantastically, with the four brothers playing stowaways on a ship who are hiding in barrels and singing "Sweet Adeleide". Harpo is fantastic as he goofs in his own unique silent way, and there is a hilarious scene involving him and a Punch And Judy show. Chico is as usual on top form as the Italian who has sent for his grandfather's beard by "hair mail". And Groucho gives his classic wisecracks. Zeppo has more to do in this film than he did in other films and he isn't too bad considering that he didn't want to be in the films but had to due to his contract. Two historically funny Marx Brothers scenes in this film are one where they each in turn pretend to be Maurice Chevalier, and one where Chico and Harpo are cutting a man's mustache ("That sides-a-too short"). You must see this film; it's the Marx Brothers at their best. 10/10
-
gridoon29 December 2005Most Marx Brothers fans agree that their first five films, made for Paramount, were generally better than their remaining eight. Among their early films, however, "Monkey Business" is probably the one that is most rarely mentioned (OK, maybe it is mentioned more often than "The Cocoanuts"). There is a reason for that: although this may be the single most anarchic Marx outing, it is not one of their best. Anarchic also means disorganized, and this has its good and its bad points: there is almost no plot to get in the way of the comedy (good), but there is also a missed opportunity to go further with the idea of the Groucho-Zeppo and Harpo-Chico teams working for rival gangsters (bad). There are no musical numbers involving secondary characters (good), but there is a piano solo and a harp solo back-to-back in the last 15 minutes (bad structure). Seeing this film today, it is Harpo's physical comedy that seems the most timeless in my opinion. Sure, Groucho could deliver his lines incredibly fast and some of those lines were decades ahead of their time, but Harpo is the life of the film's most memorable bits, like the puppet show or his impersonation of Maurice Chevalier. He is like a visitor from another planet, where people are allowed to do all the things we want to do but can't. He's extraordinary. (**1/2)
-
TheLittleSongbird13 January 2011Perhaps not my favourite, but just hilarious fun from start to finish. I do think it is better than Animal Crackers, which was great too, but the sound is an improvement here I feel. The script is great, with some deliciously acerbic one-liners from Groucho, and the story while perhaps straightforward is well structured with some very memorable sequences especially Groucho dancing with Thelma Todd and Zeppo getting tough with a gangster. Speaking of Zeppo, he is very underseen and underused in my view, and I just loved it that he had a chance to shine here and that he did. The film looks good as well, it goes at a snappy pace and the direction is spot on. And the acting with all four of the Marx brothers is most enjoyable. All in all, hugely enjoyable and for me one of the Marx brothers' best. 10/10 Bethany Cox
-
This was the third Marx Brothers film but it was the first one written directly for the big screen and also the first one shot in Hollywood. It was actually banned in some countries because it was thought to encourage anarchy! Can you imagine - the Marx Brothers encouraging anarchy?
If you follow the picture from start to finish there's not much of a plot or story here, but you do get a look at some of the amazing talent each of the Marx Brothers brought to the table. Groucho in particular is a whirling dervish of rapid fire banter that's always a pace or two ahead of the viewer, and I had to do a rewind when he offered that rather risqué line to a newspaper photographer - "Pictures? Here's a little sex stuff for your front page." Who would have imagined that for 1931?
Chico managed to impress with his piano playing and Harpo somehow got a frog to jump into his hat not once but twice during the story, and it made me stop and wonder how many takes that might have taken. If there's any hint of normalcy to be derived from this band of brothers, I guess it would have to be Zeppo who despite the odd name, appeared to be of normal character and temperament.
Put them all together though and you have some rather frenetic activity, what with rival gangsters stirring up trouble aboard ship and Harpo chasing after every gal who happens to come his way. The only thing missing as Groucho so astutely observed - "Where's all those farmer's daughters I've been hearing about for years?" -
When it comes to comedy teams, some people insist that The Marx Brothers are the absolute greatest, while others seem to find them about as amusing as a sink full of dirty dishes.
Myself, I'm sort of positioned in the very middle when it comes to being able to appreciate this particular, early-Hollywood foursome and their chaotic style of humor.
For me, I find that The Marx Brothers' slapstick antics, their one-liners, their silly insults and innuendo only work to their advantage about half of the time. For the rest of the time The Marx Brothers' material is a real hit'n'miss thing where the situations often teeter pretty close to the point of falling flat on their face more often than one would expect.
Personally, I don't believe that the scriptwriters fully understood how best to present The Marx Brothers in a favorable light to the movie-going public. And because of that they ended up with story-lines that, often enough, had a real lazy, off-kilter and slap-dash feel to them. (Well, at least that's the way The Marx Brothers' films appear to me)
Perhaps if The Marx Brothers' films had been edited down from their usual 80-90 minute running times to, say, about 30 minutes of comedy-run-amok, then I think that they would have been a helluva lot more entertaining in the long run.
Please, don't get me wrong. I'm not slamming The Marx Brothers. I can certainly appreciate what they had to offer, only, I think that it could've been done better in much-much smaller doses.
I guess with The Marx Brothers being such a novelty (as they certainly were back in the 1930s), makes it quite understandable to me as to why they were so popular in their genre.
Monkey Business' story concerns The Marx Brothers as stowaways on a luxury ocean-liner crossing the Atlantic from Europe to NYC.
Once they are discovered by the ship's crew, the chase is on as the boys do whatever's necessary to avoid being caught, arrested, and, thus, thrown into the brig for the duration of the trip.
As luck would have it, The Marx Brothers inadvertently get mixed up in a feud that's going on between two rival, big-shot gangsters who are also on board the same ship.
Once stateside the daughter of gangster-Helton is kidnapped by the henchmen of gangster-Briggs. It is now up to The Marx Brothers to step into the middle of this (monkey) business and, hopefully, save the day. -
Tin Man-517 January 2000In all my years of criticing films, I have never found a team of comedians more funny, more satirical, or more flexible as the four original Marx Brothers. Their comedy and their formula works in ways that no other comedy team has ever worked, and results like this, their third and, IMHO, funniest film, prove what film historians already know: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo are some of the most influential Hollywood legends to ever live!
"Monkey Business" works because all of the brothers are given the same amount of screentime, and each of their characters were very important to the plot. In movies before and after this picture, more emphasis would be spent on different brothers in each film (i.e. Groucho in "Animal Crackers," Harpo in "Love Happy"), and the other bros would have little to do but stand their with their mouths open. Not so in this. They are all main characters here, and each of them are allowed to stick to their own unique formulas that they are best at: Groucho with his wisecracks, Chico with his conning, Harpo with his silent antics, and Zeppo the straight man with his women-swooning.
As far as plotline goes, the four brothers play themselves, stowing away on an ocean-liner and constantly avoiding the captain and his crew by any means neseccary (and I do mean by any means!). The story itself is a very serious one, and it could have passed for a pretty good, if by-the-numbers gangster movie: There are two dueling mob bosses on this boat, one of which is trying to come clean after making his fortune. He has a beautiful young college daughter, and he is trying to get his life straightened out. The other mob boss has a failing marriage with a beautiful young wife (Thelma Todd), and he by no means is trying to reform. He wants his part of the other boss's money, or else he plans on kidnapping the daughter and holding her for ransom.
So what we have here is a pretty standard, serious plotline....The writers were very smart in choosing to make it one, so that it would eventually become all-the-more funny. Suddenly, into this serious movie, the Marx Brothers are dumped into the scene, and everything becomes chaotic. Groucho falls for the bad guy's wife. Zeppo falls for the good guy's daughter. Harpo falls for any girl in a dress. Chico falls for a cow. Chico and Harpo are hired to protect the goodguy. Groucho and Zeppo are hired to kill him. In the meantime, they are still on the run and are constantly trying to foil the plans of the Captain, who wants to put them in irons. The results of their slapstick are all the better now, because they are surrounded by a bunch of straight men who are acting in a very serious film...and it is their job to make it funny.
There is no greater film that better demonstrates just how genius the Marx Brothers' brand of comedy truely is. Groucho's constant insults and depression puns, Harpo's....whatever you call what Harpo does.... Chico's conning and comebacks, and Zeppo's romantic Renniasance man ("Mary, I'll never leave you," he promises his love before deserting her as he runs away in terror at the sight of the approaching the Captain) all make this the greatest of comedies. It also features probably their greatest screen moment: All four must do a Chevalier impression to get off the boat, and the results are....well....interesting.
Don't miss this movie if you want your sides to split in half!
"Would you mind getting off that flypaper and giving the flies a chance?"
**** out of **** -
ccthemovieman-130 October 2006Here's more typical Marx Brothes zaniness....and plenty of it, with a few instrumentals thrown in (Chico on piano nd Harpo on harp) near the end.
Most of this "story" is just madcap chases with the four boys (yes, Zeppo is in here, too) being stowaways aboard a ship.
The last part of the film shows a swanky party where Zeppo's girlfriend is kidnapped and the bothers go to rescue at an abandoned barn. That's a very funny scene and better than the boat segment, although a bit short. I'd like to have seen more of that latter scene.
However, those earlier boat scenes are good, too, with a lot of clever puns which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was still a lot of solid entertainment in the Marx Brothers tradition. To my surprise, I found myself missing Margaret Dumont as Groucho's main foil. Thelma Todd takes over that part here. -
zetes29 December 2001Monkey Business contains three or four of the Marx Brothers' best sketches. Possibly the funniest Marx Brothers scene, too, where all four of the brothers take turns impersonating Maurice Chevalier, whose passport they've stolen. If you're a Zeppo fan - and, hey, who isn't - this is his biggest part (although I haven't seen Horse Feathers yet). He ends up being the leading man, if you can believe that! Well, he's still not very funny, even if he did elicit two laughs from me. That's two more than he'd ever gotten before! 9/10.
-
slokes21 January 2015Groucho, Chico, and Harpo land themselves in another fine mess, and it's up to that heroic, charismatic dynamo Zeppo to bail them out and save the day.
Oh, well, I tried to validate my love for the under-appreciated Marx Brother. Yes, "Monkey Business" is the one where he clouts the bad guy and wins the girl, not to mention performs a mean Maurice Chevalier impression to help his brothers escape imprisonment. But he doesn't get much appreciation for his efforts. The fact the Marxes have little to do once they get off the boat is not my problem, unless I'm looking for a plot in this intentional shambles of a movie.
Recognized as the first Marx Brothers comedy to be based not on a stage play but original material, supplied by S. J. Perelman, Will B. Johnstone, Arthur Sheekman, a couple of uncredited script doctors, and probably much ad-libbing, "Monkey Business" is the first comedy the boys shot in Hollywood, after replicating a pair of their stage shows on a set in Astoria, New York. We meet them as stowaways on an ocean liner, staying one step ahead of the ship's crew, with no money, no food, and a lot of complaints.
"I don't care for the way you're running this boat," Groucho tells the captain. "Why don't you get in the back seat for a while and let your wife drive?"
When the first mate (Tom Kennedy) suspiciously asks Groucho if he knows about a stowaway going around with a mustache, Groucho is unperturbed: "Well, you couldn't expect a mustache to go around by itself."
"Monkey Business" is shorter on plot than one has a right to expect, even from a Marx Brothers movie. It's 20 minutes before one even puts in an appearance, when we meet gangster Alky Briggs (Harry Woods) and his restless wife Lucille (Thelma Todd). How Briggs gets the idea that Groucho and Zeppo would make ideal hit men is something that never makes sense. Nor is it supposed to. The plot is just something to keep us occupied in-between comic bits and odd musical interludes involving various Marxes.
The film at times seems to make fun of this very fact. Groucho can't even bother to help out when his brother Zeppo is getting roughed up in a climactic battle, instead providing boxing commentary as he watches overhead. Chico seems to sleepwalk through this film until he spots a piano to play, while Harpo has his most famous moment taking over a puppet show.
The jokes aren't all winners, but it's hard to complain when Groucho delivers them rapid-fire: "With a little study, you'll go a long way, and I'd wish you'd start now."
About the only person other than the Marxes to make an impression is Todd, with whom Groucho has a couple of amusing scenes. She'd be back for the next film, "Horse Feathers," playing up her sexy flapper persona to even bigger effect.
There are several odd cuts, and the pacing really drags in the last half hour, but give director Norman Z. McLeod points for giving the Marx Brothers a platform to play off of. "Monkey Business" is not a great film, but it's a fine comic vehicle that holds up well. -
SnoopyStyle17 August 2015Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo are stowaways on an ocean liner to America. They are chased by the crews and befriends two gangster. After landing in America, Big Joe Helton throws a party for his daughter Mary. Zeppo joins Mary. Groucho is welcomed by Big Joe. Harpo and Chico sneaks in. Gangster Briggs and his men kidnap Mary to control Big Joe. Lucille (Thelma Todd) is Briggs' girlfriend.
The jokes are great and best of all, they don't stop. It starts out strong with the guys hiding in the barrels. This is one of the best from the Marx brothers. Also the addition of Thelma Todd as well as others is an improvement over their previous movies. -
Four goofy lowlifes stowaway on an Atlantic cruise-ship and get mixed up with two rival gangsters on board. Once they dock in New York, one of the hoodlums holds a big social bash for his daughter, and more mayhem ensues.
This is the third Marx Brothers movie, and whilst perhaps not quite as good as the preceding Animal Crackers, is still an all-out assault of inspired lunacy, hilariously deadpan breakneck dialogue, some of the best slapstick I've seen (Groucho and Todd's dancing is wonderful), musical madness and their uniquely cynical-yet-debonair happy- go-lucky sensibilities. In particular, Harpo is at his face-pulling, skirt-chasing, anarchic, violent best in this film - shaving moustaches, stealing chess-sets, beating up immigration clerks, attacking Chico, kissing cows, and of course playing the harp delightfully. There are so many nutty lines that unless you've had a complete sense of humour transplant, you'll be chuckling all the way through ("Tell me, has your grandfather's beard got any money ?" - "Money !? Why, it fell hair to a fortune !"). The only key ingredient missing is the inimitable Margaret Dumont, although the jaw-sockingly gorgeous and sharp-as-a-tack Todd (who was also in the subsequent Horse Feathers, and whose death, for those interested, is one of the great Hollywood mysteries of all time) is a fabulous sparring-partner for Groucho's lightning wit. A terrific comedy classic, brilliantly scripted by S.J. Perelman and Will B. Johnstone, and I bet Maurice Chevalier loved it ! -
bkoganbing30 November 2009Monkey Business is a film that gets right down to business, the laugh business that is. No buildup of any kind, it starts off with the Marx four stowing away on a transatlantic ocean liner and merrily eluding captain and crew.
You can't go into any kind of plot, there really isn't one. As it happens there are two rival gangsters on board the ship, Rockliffe Fellowes traveling with daughter Ruth Hall and Harry Woods, normally a western heavy traveling with his wife/moll Thelma Todd.
Groucho and Zeppo get hired by Woods and Harpo and Chico get hired by by Fellowes. Zeppo has some misplaced loyalty though, he falls for Ruth Hall. But Groucho sticks loyally by Thelma Todd, too loyally in the mind of Woods.
The action moves from the ocean liner to a society party, similar to the one Mrs. Rittenhouse was throwing for Captain Spaulding in their last picture Animal Crackers. Hall is captured and it's up to the Marx to rescue the fair maiden. After all for the one and only time in their film careers, she was the sweetheart of one of their own.
Monkey Business is famous for the Marx Brothers affectionate salute to Paramount's biggest star at the time, Maurice Chevalier. They all get a crack at imitating Chevalier singing a few bars of You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me from The Big Pond. All of them mind you, even Harpo.
Monkey Business was also the first film the Marx Brothers did in Hollywood, their first two, The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers were done at Paramount's Astoria Studio in New York. It was also the first film written directly for them for the screen. It's a comedy classic, enjoyed by Marxists of all kinds. -
JoeKarlosi3 December 2004Another good Marx Brothers comedy, and this time much shorter than the first two at only 77 minutes. I'd probably still give the nod to ANIMAL CRACKERS as the most enjoyable of the first three originals, as this one played more like a domesticated type of film and not quite as bizarre or surreal. It actually felt very much like any other group of comedians like The Three Stooges or Abbott and Costello could have been placed in the same situations with similar results.
As enjoyable as MONKEY BUSINESS is, Margaret Dumont is missed and I felt it sunk a bit near the end.
***/**** -
The two things one can expect from a Marx Brothers movie (at least those made by Paramount Pictures): a chockablock of puns and visual gags and anarchy as far as the eye can see. It's no surprise their early film, Monkey Business, is a collection of miscellaneous mix ups and quirky events all strung together by the vaguest resemblance of a plot. It's funny, intelligent, and some of the purest and richest satire conducted in such a loose form.
The film involves the four brothers, Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo, who are involuntarily placed on a ship as stowaways to North America. Along the way, they become mistaken for toughs, who work alongside gangsters, and eventually, become the alleged heroes when one of the gangster's daughters is kidnapped. About half the film takes place on the ship itself, before they reach land, and believe me, the laughs continue there as well.
Let's be honest for a second and admit, with what has been released over the last seventy plus years into the mainstream and what new groups have formed, it's easy to dub the Marx Brothers films dated and unimportant, when they are the direct opposite. Dated, maybe, I don't think I can argue with that. The standard of humor has greatly changed, and it's beyond rare we get a slapstick comedy that brings to light humanity and wit. But unimportant is the polar opposite of the brothers themselves. It is because of the Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello, and the Three Stooges that comedy evolved into what would eventually be a never-ending supply of audience enjoyment. They showed us, in the black and white days of cinema, what humor was. Simple and effective little events, strung together by the bare basics of a plot, littered with verbal puns and lunacy, with a little satire and commentary on the side, to create a feast of humor and intelligence. In the day and age of limitless raunchiness and where repetition among tiresome jokes has become normality, it is great to revisit a classic comedy like Monkey Business that relies on its own personal intelligence to carry a film. And at seventy-seven minutes, feels neither bloated or too quick and empty, although the end, like in many Marx Brothers films, is a blink and you miss it sort of setup.
Notable scenes are scattered amongst the camaraderie and zaniness of it all. One of them, Chico does a beautiful piano solo, the infamous and interesting scene that involves a surreal puppet show with Harpo (who, again, gives us some of the most hilarious physical, expressionist comedy this side of film), and Zeppo, for once, seems moved to the foreground here, and is presented during the second and third act as Groucho's right-hand man. Zeppo has always been ostracized by Marx enthusiasts as the least funny brother and the one who was always given the role of the realist or the serious-man. Here, he shows us that giving him a role that occupies zany quirks and goofball antics is truly doable. Monkey Business is an anarchic piece of work, knows it, embraces it, and, most importantly, lives it.
Starring: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, and Thelma Todd. Directed by: Norman Z. McLeod. -
gavin694223 December 2010The four Marx brothers are stowaways on a ship, hiding themselves in barrels marked kippered herring. As they are known to do, they spend the bulk of the movie being chased around the ship by the captain, crew, and everyone else who they cause trouble for.
The production looks largely like it was designed for the stage and not as much for the movies, but as the Marx Brothers rely so heavily on witty remarks (especially Groucho) the viewing format or scenery is really not important. The number of sets improves in the second half.
I like how lightly this film approaches racketeering and wives leaving their husbands for other men. They freely admit there are ex-racketeers in the newspaper, and yet they seem to be very well-off, popular people. That strikes me as such an odd thing. Also, they are drinking during what I presume to be Prohibition.
I don't think this film is as great as "Night at the Opera", and Groucho does not give as fine of a verbal performance as in "Duck Soup". I am not saying it is not a good film -- it is still funny -- but I would say it is not the best of the Marx brothers repertoire. Still worth watching. -
JoeytheBrit2 December 2009I watched this a day after watching Animal Crackers and was surprised at how much the quality of the material varied. Where Animal Crackers was bursting with funny gags – both verbal and visual – Monkey Business seems to limp along, managing an occasional smile but little more.
The boys are stowaways on a grand ocean liner, each of them having their own kippered herring barrel. When their hideaway is discovered, they're forced to play a game of cat and mouse with the ship's crew, and end up in the middle of a tame gang war between a couple of big shots on board.
The film's got more of a plot than Animal Crackers, but the Marx Brothers films weren't about plot, they were about the anarchic wit and furious pace. Groucho and Chico struggle with most of the material they're given, and while Harpo still manages to raise a laugh or two with his outrageous physical pranks – and energetic pursuit of any pretty girl who happens to cross his path – overall, the film feels like it was made in a hurry to cash in on previous successes. At least the musical interludes are kept to a minimum in this one.
Talking of Harpo, does anyone else find his screen character a little scary? I'm sure that if I watched this film as a six or seven year old I would have been terrified by him in the same way that some kids are scared of clowns.