I saw the re-opening in New York, in 1974, and was quite disappointed > after the first half hour, which contains some of the funniest stuff ever filmed for a feature > and a brilliant production number with a young Julius Marx kicking up his heels on HOORAY FOR CAPTAIN SPALDING > we sit slack jawed by long stretches which perhaps garnered a few guffaws at the Broadway opening > in a theatre, where formality is the key and adherence to the book is essential, Groucho's ad-libs must have been a hoot, offhand or not! But for an early "talkie", "left handed moths" and "hungerdungers" just won't fly.If a new fan wants to watch the best of Paramount Marx (they shifted to MGM and made "sensible" movies), they should look for DUCK SOUP, THE COCOANUTS, and HORSE FEATHERS. Along with MONKEY BUSINESS, CRACKERS simply does not stay fresh.

"Tell me, what do you think of the traffic problem? What do you think of the marriage problem? What do you think of at night when you go to bed, you beast?" While not their best film (which I still insist is "A Night at the Opera"), "Animal Crackers" is still a zany, no-holds-barred slice of laugh-a-second entertainment from the never dull Marx Brothers - a quasi-musical comedy with all the bells and whistles you'd expect from the siblings, featuring some very memorable moments. Here are a few of my favorite: The scene in which Groucho stands between the two women at the bottom of the staircase and diverges and digresses from an inexplicable monologue is outstanding, and one of his shining moments. The payoff is when the group of sexy women parade down the stairs where he declares that he's been waiting for years at the bottom of the steps for such an occasion.Perhaps one of Harpo's best acts is the Bridge scene, where he and Chico sit down with two ladies for a game. His skill with props and his perfect timing has always astounded me ... he was, in my opinion, the hardest working Marx Brother. I also feel he does his best harp playing in this film.Chico's highlight was, of course, his scene on the piano. Although the film does seem to take an awkward break here just to see him play, it's nonetheless a pleasure to enjoy his skill and the obvious delight he takes in showing it off.Like all of their features, by the end of the story everyone around the brothers have been driven mad by their antics and nonsensical behavior, and you leave the film no deeper or enlightened than you were before, but simply with a big smile on your face.

The second Marx Brothers film shows the brothers Marx on a little surer footing then their early sound debut in The Cocoanuts. The brothers are sharper, the musical numbers peppier and the sound vastly improved as the anarchic quartet (read as trio) take high society and the art world to task with a fusillade of non-sequitor, malaprop and the impish pantomine of Harpo.Guest of honor Captain Spaulding (Groucho) regales guests in song and dance with tales of adventure at a Hamptons soirée. Brothers Harpo and Chico are also on the guest list and after a valuable painting disappears they become suspects. Groucho meanwhile continues to insult his hostess Mrs. Rittenhouse ( Margaret Dumont ) as well as make satiric comment about the stock market and Oneill's Strange Interlude.Grouch leads the way with two signature tunes Hooray for Captain Spaulding and Hello I Must Be Going while Chico murders the English language and tickles the ivories with his unique style. Harpo meanwhile steals silverware and cheats at bridge as well as contribute a harp solo follow-up to Lillian Roth's rendition of Why am I so Romantic. Crowning all the zaniness is the austere presence of dowager Dumont who despite being put through the wringer by the brothers never loses her dignity or sense of propriety.

"One night, I saw 'Animal Crackers' in my pajamas ... how they got in my pajamas I don't know." Logically, the film would need one second viewing before the reviewing, there are so many elements to view and to review, but it doesn't matter, I just want to say that I liked what I viewed and now I review what I liked.This "Animal (Wise)Crackers" film delivered everything I expected from the Marx Brothers, no more, no less, and it was nice to see them all looking young, comfortably irreverent in their early forties, I'm talking physical, not mental age, of course. And what a delight to see the movie illuminated by the towering and exquisite presence of the divine Margaret Dumont, the straightest and funniest 'straight man' of comedy, even more than the not-so-funny-even-as-a-straight-man Zeppo Marx. With all due respect for the little bro, I've always thought he was less funny (even unintentionally) than the other unsung Marx, named Karl. And Margaret Dumont is one of the reasons, I love watching a Marx Brothers' comedy … yeah talk about a lousy pleonasm … "You mind if I'm serious a little bit, now?" There's something very touching in Margaret Dumont's eyes, here playing Mrs. Rittenhouse, a kind of inner kindness that I noticed in a few other actresses, among them, the late Patricia Neal. Mrs. Dumont is obviously a good-hearted woman, whose constant teasing by Groucho Marx, here as the unbearable Professor Spaulding makes the game look a little unfair. But she obviously doesn't get his wisecracking jokes (she never did for that matter) and I think this is what saves Groucho from being labeled as a verbal bully: his delivery is so fast, and his intentions so unclear, Mrs. Dumont never has time to get if he's making jokes or moves at her, who knows? Maybe he does have a fondness for her, after all. Anyway, the Groucho-Dumont interactions are the salt that gives the Marx Brothers' film their unique flavor, the pepper being served from the Zeppo-Chico duo … and boy, did I sneeze in this film! The slapstick humor involving the scenes with Chico and Harpo are unique in the history of cinema, the part where he's looking for a 'flash' is an endless succession of gags, and whenever I thought, they would run out of ideas, it's still goes on and on… and Harpo's suit is like a Pandora' box from which the mayhem that inhabits the film makes its unpredictable entrance. Not to mention the sumptuous "running gag" with the blonde girl that has probably been an inspiration for Benny Hill. Chico and Harpo are like the missing link between Groucho and Chaplin, between the comedic silent era and the precocious dawn of the impertinent wisecracking comedy that has inspired Bugs Bunny or Robin Williams. The movie is an explosive cocktail of slapstick, parody, verbal comedy, from beginning to end and it's so quotable; I could fill this whole review just by listing the lines I loved the most.But sometimes, the film loses its flavor … and it's my small, tiny, microscopic criticism, perhaps ... why do they feel the need to inject an artificial romance every time, except maybe for "A Night at the Opera", most of them were pretty dull, featuring very uncharismatic actors. Well it's not their fault, every actor would pale in comparison with the Marx brothers, except Margaret Dumont who had the honor to be Groucho's official foil and was –as I said- even more memorable than Zeppo Marx himself. But well, even acting-wise, the other actors are all very theatrical and so melodramatic that we can't wait for a Marx brother to come ... the Marxes were great actors, and Groucho is so fresh and modern, he's like a living anachronism. His entrance as the Professor Spaulding followed by the unforgettable "Hello, I Must be Going" song, the 'Hungadunga' dictation scene, the recitation of the African odyssey, featuring one of the most unforgettable comedic quotes, I don't know how many times they shot this scenes without having one of the audience bursting out laughing. For me, any Marx Brothers' film scene should feature one of them, and during the 'romantic' moments, I simply wanted to shout "Let me know, when you come near a gag!" And that's why, Duck Soup is probably considered the greatest, and happens to be my favorite Marx Brothers' film, a screwball comedy, from A like Amusing to Z like Zany, with no pause, no romantic subplot, not even these serious musical scenes ... I'm not talking about these catchy Broadway-type songs that reminded us that the Brothers' were also great musical writers, don't get me wrong, Chico at the piano, and Harpo at you-know-what, are always great moments and necessary pauses to recover your breath, and in the case of "Animal Crackers", the music was punctuated with Spaulding's hilarious comments anyway, but that's what the latest films lacked, when the musical scenes were just fillers as artificial as the romantic subplots … So, my little regret is that the best Marx Brothers' film I saw, was the first. I always compare them to "Duck Soup" and I'm afraid I will never have the same ecstatic reaction the film inspired me. Enthusiastic, yes, ecstatic, no ... "Animal Crackers" is now, my second favorite Marx Brothers film though and highly recommended for the fans of slapstick and irreverent comedy