When Discussing a Marx Brothers Film it is Obligatory to Condescend to the Extraneous Musical Numbers (those without the Brothers) and the Plot. In this, the Second Marx Feature and the Second Filmed Stage Play, the Plot is Heavily Intrusive and the Music is Forgettable at Best.The Marx Brothers, perhaps more than Any other Comedy Team, seem to Contrast greatly with the "Filler" of Burdensome Baggage because Their Zany Anarchy is so Wildly Untamed and Ill Fitting to the Society Surrounding Them. It is a Catastrophic Collision. When Groucho, Chico, and Harpo are doing Their Thing it Commands attention and admiration. The Timing is Pure Punctuated Pandemonium and the Appearance of the Odd Looking Brothers demands Comment just because of the How Strange They Look. They are like Another Species Invading Our World."Sometimes" Zeppo is On Hand in this one as is Fan and Groucho Favorite Margaret Dumont. The "Straights" are Lillian Roth and Louis Sorin. The Camera is "Still" in the Motionless Mode of 1930, however the Sound has Improved since "Coconuts" (1929). Overall, it is Better than Their Deut but Not as Good as what was to come as the Marx Brothers Continued to Improve, Peaking with either "Duck Soup" (1933) or "A Night at the Opera" (1935) depending on Who is Doing the Talking. You can bet it won't be Harpo.

The greatest thing about the Marx Brothers was the diversity of their comedy. Groucho was ultimately a master of the one-liners, Chico alluded to ethnic stereotypes that were popular during his days doing vaudeville, and Harpo was the clown, pulling sight gags from every pocket he had in that huge overcoat he wore. Animal Crackers, their second film as The Marx Brothers, allows them free reign to indulge in their manic brand of comedy due to an absence of plot. What is immediately apparent upon viewing the film is just how postmodern it is. Groucho laments his inner thoughts to camera and a statue shoots back at a startled Harpo, all combining to make one truly insane 95 minutes, made all the more risqué with this being before the introduction of the Hays Code.Famour explorer Captain James T. Spaulding (Groucho) arrives at a house party hosted by the upper-class Mrs. Rittenhouse (Margaret Dumont). Whilst there, he manages to swindle, insult and charm the various guests who are in attendance, namely Roscoe Chandler (Louis Sorin), an art collector who has brought one his most prized paintings to display to the guests. Also there is musician Signor Ravelli (Chico) and his mad sidekick The Professor (Harpo), who are harbouring a plan to steal the painting and replace it with a forgery. Unfortunately for them, there are others who wish to pull off the same trick for different reasons.While the songs are nice and catchy (Groucho's intro song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" was used in TV quiz show You Bet Your Life, which Groucho hosted), the technical aspects suffer the same way as many films did with the sudden introduction of sound. The screen is crammed with characters, much like a play would be, and this sense of disorganisation takes a little away from the film.But it is all about the comedy after all, and here all three of the brothers are on top form, with Groucho providing the killer lines "one day I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know" and "we took some pictures of the native girls, but they weren't developed. But we're going back again in a couple of weeks!" (Zeppo also appears, but only briefly). When the plot becomes too ridiculous or the action moves away from the Marx Brothers, stick around for another 30 seconds and they'll be something else to laugh at - it's just that funny.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Groucho Marx has a field day as the famed African explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding in the second Marx Brothers' sound comedy "Animal Crackers." Incidentally, like their first sound film "The Coconuts," "Animal Crackers" was adapted from a Broadway play that the Marx Brothers toplined for 191 performances. The action occurs in one location. High Society dame Mrs. Rittenhouse (Margaret Dumont) invites Captain Spaulding to be her guest of honor at her palatial, Long Island estate.He arrives via a sedan chair lugged by a quartet of African-Americans. Affluent art patron Roscoe W. Chandler (Louis Sorin) plans to unveil Beaugard's famous painting "After the Hunt" to celebrate Spaulding's fame. Initially, Mrs. Rittenhouse's daughter Arabella (Lillian Roth of 'Madam Satan") plans to marry below her social status to a painter who is penniless. He has only sold two paintings in his life. The ever optimistic Arabella (Lillian Roth) thinks that if Johnny showed his paintings to Chandler that the latter might give the former some painting jobs. Meantime, Mrs. Whitehead (Margaret Irving) and her friend Grace (Kathryn Reece)plan to play a prank on Mrs. Rittenhouse. Mrs. Whitehead convinces Mrs. Rittenhouse's butler, Hives (Robert Greig) to substitute Grace's copy of the Beaugard for the real Beaugard. While Captain Spaulding flirting with Mrs. Rittenhouse, Emanuel Ravelli (Chico Marx) shows up with the Professor (Harpo Marx) who goes on a shooting rampage at one point. He shoots a clock, a bird cage, ladies' hats, a bottle on a tray, and two battling statues. The thief of the Beaugard eventually draws the police into the crime while Captain Spaulding struggles to recover the painting. Clocking in at 97 minutes, "Animal Crackers" contains lots of laughs!

When you've got Groucho cracking wise, Chico destroying the English language, and Harpo chasing the girls, you're not really going to care either about the plot or the stilted, boring romance between Zeppo and Lillian Roth. All you want is a ton of Groucho insulting imperious Margaret Dumont, Harpo playing the leg game and as many malapropisms from Chico as possible. The minor plot concerns the search for an original painting replaced by a fake, but is totally over-shadowed by the vaudeville style gags which influenced many fairly recent comedy film makers. You'll howl as Groucho not only crows about the elephant in his pajamas but a traveling polar bear as well. Harpo manages to steal all of Dumont's silverware and sheds it like raindrops when confronted. Chico confuses Groucho by twisting everything he says, and Dumont keeps her cool even when being insulted. While others in their series, particularly at Paramount, had better plot, this is non- stop laughter, and it is easy to see why this ranks as probably their most famous film, even if "Duck Soup" and "A Night at the Opera" are slightly better.