Where their early films portrayed the brothers as a force of anti-authoritarian chaos, A Night at the Opera relegated Groucho, Harpo, and Chico to supporting players - mischievous but kindhearted troublemakers in the service of MGM's stable of stars. Scott Tobias of The Dissolve describes Irving Thalberg's reengineering of the troupe's act as the beginning of the end for the Marx Brothers. However, MGM's smoothing of the Marx Brothers' rough edges robbed the comic trio of the anarchic quality that was their hallmark. MGM was intent on fitting the brothers into a structured plot rather than merely turning them loose in front of the camera.įeaturing some of the Marx Brothers' best comedic bits, A Night at the Opera was a hit for MGM and a financial windfall for the comedy team.
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Nevertheless, the studio wasn't willing to give them the free reign they'd enjoyed at Paramount. "This was the only matter on which the Irish kids agreed with Miss Flatto, and they saw to it that her prediction came true."Īccording to Brigham Young University film historian James D'Arc, MGM was in need of a comedy hit when it nabbed the Marx Brothers. "The teacher, a lady named Miss Flatto liked to predict, in front of the class, that I would come to no good end, " Marx recalled. And I was the only Jewish boy in the room."Īlthough Harpo may have suffered minimal physical damage from his bullies, the emotional anguish inflicted by his teacher left more lasting scars. "I was the perfect Patsy," Marx explained. One was the big Irish kid in my class and the other was a bigger Irish kid." Over the course of his abbreviated tour of the second grade, physical ejections from the classroom at the hands of his tormentors became commonplace.
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In his 1961 autobiography, Harpo Speaks!, Marx writes " my formal schooling ended halfway through my second crack at the second grade, at which time I left school the most direct way possible. Beginning with 1929's The Cocoanuts (based on their successful Broadway musical), the Marx Brothers would spend the next two decades making some of the greatest comedy films of all time. The new medium of talking pictures would prove the perfect vehicle for the Marx Brothers' hilarious wordplay. However, not even the Great White Way could contain the Marx Brothers' mayhem for long. By the decade's end, Hollywood was calling, and the four comedians were more than ready to make the leap to the silver screen. Two more Broadway hits followed: The Cocoanuts in 1925 and Animal Crackers in 1928. By 1924, they made the leap to Broadway with their musical comedy revue I'll Say She Is. As their trademark personas emerged, the Marx Brothers soon outgrew vaudeville. Originally part of a musical act, the brothers' comedic skills soon eclipsed the songs. Born into a family of performers and musicians, the Marx brothers developed their patented comedy act on the vaudeville circuit. At the peak of their popularity, the Marx Brothers brought Depression-era audiences the irreverent and subtly subversive laughs they needed. Combining razor-sharp wit with wacky, slapstick antics, Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo Marx defined comedy for a generation.
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