Rent The 4 Marx Brothers at Paramount: 1929-1933 (1933)
3.8 of 5 from 14 ratings
6h 40min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
The Marx Brothers - Chico, Groucho, Harpo and Zeppo - are one of the cornerstones of American comedy. Starting out in vaudeville, they conquered Broadway and the big screen in their own inimitable style, at once innovative, irreverent, anarchic, physical, musical, ludicrous and hilarious. With the advent of the 'talkies', the Brothers signed to Paramount Pictures and brought their stage act to cinema audiences. They made five films in five years, all of which are collected here: 'The Cocoanats' (1929), 'Animal Crackers' (1930), 'Monkey Business' (1931), 'Horse Feathers' (1932) and one of the greatest comedies of all time, 'Duck Soup' (1933). The Paramount era represents the Marx Brothers at their absolute finest, retaining all of the energy and controlled chaos of their stage shows. Plots are unimportant - it's the gags, set-pieces and one-liners that matter: "Why a duck?", "Hello, I Must Be Going", "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", "That's the bunk!", 'Horse Feathers', "Swordfish" scene and classic mirror sequence in 'Duck Soup'. - Actors:
- Zeppo Marx, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Oscar Shaw, Mary Eaton, Cyril Ring, Kay Francis, Margaret Dumont, Basil Ruysdael, Gamby-Hale Ballet Girls, Allan K. Foster Girls, Sylvan Lee, Barton MacLane, Lillian Roth, Louis Sorin, Hal Thompson, Margaret Irving, Kathryn Reece, Robert Greig
- Directors:
- Robert Florey, Joseph Santley, Victor Heerman, Norman Z. McLeod, Leo McCarey
- Producers:
- Walter Wanger, Herman J. Mankiewicz
- Voiced By:
- Maurice Chevalier
- Writers:
- George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Pierre Collings, S.J. Perelman, Will B. Johnstone, Arthur Sheekman, Al Shean, J. Carver Pusey, Nat Perrin
- Aka:
- The Cocoanuts / Animal Crackers / Monkey Business / Horse Feathers / Duck Soup
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Music & Musicals
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 26/06/2017
- Run Time:
- 406 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 1.0
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Commentary on 'The Cocoanuts' by film scholar Anthony Slide
- Commentary on 'Animal Crackers' by film historian Jeffrey Vance
- Commentary on 'Monkey Business' by Marx Brothers historian Robert S. Bader and Bill Marx, son of Harpo Marx
- Commentary on 'Horse Feathers' by film critic FX Feeney
- Commentary on 'Duck Soup' by Bader and film critic Leonard Maltin
- The Marx Brothers: Hollywood's Kings of Chaos, a feature-length documentary containing interviews with Leonard Maltin, Dick Cavett and others
- Three excerpts from NBC's The Today Show featuring interviews with Harpo Marx, Groucho Marx and Bill Marx
- Sibling Revelry, an introduction to the Marx Brothers by critic David Cairns
- A new video essay about the films by David Cairns
- Disc 1:
- This disc includes the following:
- The Cocoanuts
- Animal Crackers
- Special Features - Disc 2:
- This disc includes the following:
- Monkey Business
- Horse Fathers
- Special Features - Disc 3:
- This disc includes the following:
- Duck Soup
- Special Features
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Reviews (1) of The 4 Marx Brothers at Paramount: 1929-1933
Before Duck Soup: The Building Blocks of Bedlam - The 4 Marx Brothers at Paramount: 1929-1933 review by griggs
The Cocoanuts is peak early Marx Brothers—chaotic, clever, and constantly derailed by dreadful musical numbers. Groucho and Chico shine with rapid-fire nonsense, Harpo’s mischief lands and Dumont is her usual foil. But the songs? Absolutely grating. Worth a skim for the comedy, but skip the crooning.
Whereas Animal Crackers is a marked step up. The gags are sharper, the pacing tighter, and the musical numbers are entertaining. Songs like “Hooray for Captain Spaulding” are witty and plot-relevant, not just filler between farce. Groucho is in top form as the pompous explorer. At the same time, Chico and Harpo bring their usual blend of mischief and musicality. Margaret Dumont is once again the perfect comic foil. Zeppo, however, looks deeply uncomfortable—like he wandered onto the set by accident and stayed out of politeness. No wonder he swapped acting for business. He’s not bad, just severely out of place.
Horse Feathers finds the Marx Brothers enrolled in college, which is just an excuse for academic anarchy, bad puns, and a football game that obeys no rules known to man or sport. Groucho plays the newly appointed president of Huxley College with his usual disdain for logic, decency, and faculty meetings. Chico and Harpo crash the campus like two mischievous wrecking balls, and the whole thing moves at a pace faster than you can say, “Swordfish.” The plot’s threadbare, but the gags come thick and fast. Silly, surreal, and packed with one-liners—it’s a 2:2 degree in Marxist comedy.
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