Love Happy (1949) was the 14th (including Humor Risk), and virtually the last, Marx Brothers movie (they would return to the big screen in 1957 for brief, separate appearances in The Story of Mankind).
The film stars Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, and, in a smaller role than usual, Groucho Marx, plus Ilona Massey, Vera-Ellen, Paul Valentine, Marion Hutton, Raymond Burr, Bruce Gordon (in his film debut), and Eric Blore, with a memorable walk-on by a young Marilyn Monroe. It was directed by David Miller, and written by Frank Tashlin and Mac Benoff, based on a story by Harpo.[citation needed]
The film was produced by former silent film star Mary Pickford and released by United Artists. Although shooting began in August 1948, the film was not released generally until 3 March 1950. (The film stated copyright as 1949, however, because the movie premiered in San Francisco in October 1949.) The production ran out of money during shooting,[citation needed] so they came up with a unique form of product placement (rare for the time): a rooftop chase around advertising billboards.
Plot
Harpo is up to his usual antics when he steals a tin of sardines and accidentally bags the Romanoff diamonds. The film was originally conceived as a solo film for Harpo, but Groucho often said the brothers did the film to help Chico pay off gambling debts. Once Chico was in, the producers refused to finance the film unless all three Marx Brothers were.
Groucho appears without his usual greasepaint moustache and thick eyebrows. He is rarely in the same scenes as his brothers, and mainly provides an encompassing narration to explain things in the film when the necessary sequences for a coherent narrative were unavailable. Groucho avoided mentioning the film at all in his autobiography, Groucho and Me (1959), apparently at that time considering A Night in Casablanca their last film together. He did acknowledge the film in his later book, The Groucho Phile: An Illustrated Life (1976). Because of the encapsulated nature of Groucho's scenes, it had been assumed that his presence was an afterthought. However, recently discovered letters from Groucho show that he was to have been part of the project from its earliest stages in 1946-47.
Product placement
In its 8 October 1949 front page editorial, as well as its review of the movie in the same issue, the motion picture trade periodical Harrison's Reports, which always disapproved of any movie showing brand-name products, severely criticized this film for its rooftop chase among billboards promoting Baby Ruth, General Electric, Fisk Tires, Bulova watches, Kool cigarettes, Wheaties and Mobil.
Reception
This movie is regarded by some[who?] as the worst Marx Brothers movie. Other Marx Brothers fans, particularly Harpo's, do not hold such a negative opinion of the film. The IMDb rates The Story of Mankind lower, but that movie was not specifically produced as a Marx Brothers vehicle.
At the end of his 8 March 1950 episode of his You Bet Your Life radio show, Groucho lamely promotes the film as "Harpo, Chico, and I tell a few jokes and do some acting. It's very educational."
The film has a musical score and lyrics by Ann Ronell, with a lively film noirish dancing version of Sadie Thompson (Vera-Ellen) and former ballet dancer Paul Valentine as one of the US Marines on a South Pacific Island.
Musical Numbers
- Love Happy
- Who Stole the Jam?
- Sadie Thompson Number (including Willow Weep for Me)
- Gypsy Love Song
- Swanee River
- Polonaise in A-Flat
Chico plays a duet on "Gypsy Love Song" with actor-musician Leon Belasco as Mr. Lyons, the owner of the stage props and costumes. Belasco, on violin, starts playing many fancy trills until Chico says, "Look, Mista Lyons, I know you wanna make a good impression — but please, don't play better than me!"
Cast
External links
