Main Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Florence Rice, Kenny Baker
Release Year: 1939
Country: US
Run Time: 87 minutes
Plot
A distinct letdown from their previous MGM films, the Marx Bros.' At the Circus nonetheless contains intermittent moments of high hilarity. When Jeff Wilson (Kenny Baker) is in danger of losing his circus to crooked creditor Carter (James Burke), Jeff's faithful roustabout Antonio (Chico Marx) enlists the aid of seedy attorney J. Cheever Loophole (Groucho Marx). Despite the best efforts of Loophole, Antonio and general hanger-on Punchy (Harpo Marx), Jeff is robbed of the circus payroll by two flies in the ointment, Goliath the Strong Man (Nat Pendleton) and Little Professor Atom (Jerry Marenghi, later known as Jerry Maren). Also in on the plot to wrest control of the circus is aerialist Peerless Pauline (Eve Arden), with whom Loophole has a cozy tete-a-tete while walking on the ceiling (no kidding!) In a last-ditch effort to raise the necessary funds, Loophole romances Jeff's wealthy aunt Mrs. Dukesbury (Margaret Dumont). The finale takes place at a fancy society party at the Dukesbury mansion, with Punchy and Antonio hijacking the scheduled entertainment and replacing it with a full-fledged circus performance. Weighed down by an excess of plot and a surfeit of misfire gags, not to mention one of sappiest romantic subplots in film history (involving sappy tenor Kenny Baker and sappier ingenue Florence Rice), At the Circus still keeps audiences happy with Groucho's rendition of the deathless "Lydia the Tatooed Lady" (by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg) and the zany denoument, wherein pompous conductor Fritz Feld and his orchestra are set adrift in the middle of the ocean and the magnificent Margaret Dumont is shot out of a cannon. Best gag: When Eve Arden stuffs the circus payroll into her blouse, Groucho turns to the camera and whispers "There must be some way of getting that money back without offending the Hays Office." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Many film comedy historians point to At the Circus as the moment when the legendary Marx Brothers began their cinematic decline. While it's undeniably true that Circus is in no way in the same class as such earlier Marx-ian triumphs as Duck Soup or A Night at the Opera, it's a mistake to think that it's not worth a glance. For one thing, Circus is the film that introduced Groucho's immortal performance of "Lydia the Tattooed Lady," and that by itself makes Circus worthwhile. It also features a very funny finale sequence, as well as such delights as Harpo and Chico searching the bed of a circus strongman while the strongman lies sleeping in it, and a memorable gag involving Eve Arden secreting some money about her person. But it's also true that there are some stretches that don't work nearly so well; when the Brothers are involved in them, they keep them from falling flat from the sheer force of their talent and determination. But when the trio is absent -- and especially if the love story is center stage -- things get very sticky indeed. There's also a segment that should have been a classic Harpo musical interlude that is upended by the inclusion of a chorus singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." So Circus is a hit-and-miss affair, but one that farcical comedy lovers should definitely sample. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, Stanley Rogers - Art Director, Bobby Connolly - Choreography, Dolly Tree - Costume Designer, Edward N. Buzzell - Director, William Terhune - Editor, Harold Arlen - Composer (Music Score), Franz Waxman - Composer (Music Score), Franz Waxman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Leonard Smith - Cinematographer, Mervyn LeRoy - Producer, Edwin B. Willis - Set Designer, Irving Brecher - Screenwriter
This is a bootleg album, released by Frank Zappa without enhancement, and also available as part of the Beat the Boots! #2 boxed set. For the most part, this is a live recording made on July 1, 1978, in Munich, although, in true random bootleg fashion, there are two tracks performed by the 1970-71 edition of The Mothers. Otherwise, this is a typical late '70s Zappa performance, with songs like "Baby Snakes" and "Dancin' Fool" that can be heard in better sound quality on Zappa's legitimate albums of the period. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
The circus strong man (Nat Pendleton, one of the ringer football players in Horse Feathers), and the diminutive (Jerry Marenghi, who also appeared in a few Our Gang shorts), are accomplices of the bad guy Carter (James Burke) who is trying to take over the circus. In the animal car, they knock Baker out and steal his $10,000. Groucho, as lawyer J. Cheever Loophole, arrives to handle the situation. He caves in when he sees Pendleton and makes an absolute fool of himself with Marenghi. (He knocks the furniture over in Marenghi's tiny room and the midget threatens to sue. Groucho, ever ready to solicit business, offers his card, which Marenghi accepts!) In order to help Baker, he first tries to get the money from Carter's moll, Peerless Pauline (Eve Arden), but fails miserably. Then he calls on Mrs. Dukesbury (Margaret Dumont), and cons her into paying $10,000 for the Wilson Circus to entertain the Newport 400, instead of a performance by an orchestra conducted by a Frenchman named Jardinet (Fritz Feld). The "400 of Newport" are delighted with the circus; when Jardinet arrives, Groucho, who also delayed Jardinet by implicating him in a "dope ring," disposes of the Frenchman and his orchestra by having them play on a floating bandstand down at the water's edge. Chico and Harpo cut the mooring rope and the musicians play the Prelude to Act Three of Lohengrin by Wagner, serenading the waves. Meanwile, Carter and his cronies try to burn down the circus, but are thwarted by the brothers, along with the only witness to the robbery - the gorilla (Charles Gemora), who also retrieves Baker's ten thousand dollars.
Buster Keaton worked on the film as a gag man. His career was on the downside and he was forced to work for scale. His complex and sometimes belabored gags (recalled in the book Groucho, Harpo, Chico and sometimes Zeppo) did not work well with the Marx Brothers' brand of humor, and was a source of friction between the comedian and the group.
When Groucho called Keaton on the inappropriateness of his gags for the Marx Brothers, Keaton responded, "I'm only doing what Mr. Mayer asked me to do. You guys don't need help."[1]
Gorilla suit
One of Groucho's stories about the film concerned the fake gorilla skin that an actor wore. During production, the skin was switched from a gorilla to an orangutan, which perplexed some viewers who would ask Groucho about it if they happened to meet him.
