weezeralfalfa The first Marx Brothers film produced by MGM after the death of Irving Thalburg, their prior MGM producer and mentor. It's often been written that their last 3 MGM pictures don't remotely measure up to their first two, nor their 5 films at Paramount. I think this criticism is largely unjustified. Sure, lots of things don't make any sense, but that's the Marx Brothers for you, not to mention many other comedians. Ask the kids whether they like these films any less. If you basically like the Marx Brothers, give this one a shot, despite some rather minor failings.Jeff Wilson(Kenny Baker) is in big trouble. He's mortgaged his circus to a loan shark for $10,000., and the lender demands full payment within a few days, or he will lose the circus. Jeff can't ask a loan from his superwealthy widowed aunt,Mrs. Dukesbury,(Margaret Dumont)because she considers circuses low class entertainment, and has disinherited him for that reason. Jeff miraculously comes up with the $10,000. from his patrons, but it's stolen by henchmen of the lender(Mr. Carter). The brothers try various methods of recovering the money, but to no avail. Thus, when Groucho learns of the existence of wealthy Mrs. Dukesbury, he rushes to her mansion, brazenly sidesteps the doorman, and enters her bedroom. He finagles her into giving him $10,000. to provide the entertainment for her huge society dinner, substituting Jeff's circus for her choice of a French orchestra. Later, when she sees the circus set up on her lawn while the guests are eating, she faints, assuming that the guests will think ill of her. But the guests like the substitution until one of Carter's henchmen lets the gorilla(man in a gorilla suit) out of its cage to terrorize the guests. The gorilla chases the goon and the brothers up ropes to trapezes. After much excitement, the gorilla has a pleasant surprise for Jeff and friends. In the music department, Groucho sings his famous "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady". Harpo plays the familiar "Blue Moon" on his harp, and Chico plays "Beer Barrel Polka" on the piano. Kenny Baker and/or Florence Rice, the obligatory romantic young couple, sing "Two Blind Loves", and "Step Up and Take a Bowl". Harpo and an African American troupe sing or dance to "Swingali". Some reviewers complain that the musical numbers are poor and intrusive of the comedy. I don't see it that way. "The Wizard of Oz" was being produced at about the same time. The composers of the present film ,Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, were hustled over to the "Oz" set to compose "Över the Rainbow", etc., before the present film was finished. Nonetheless, they did compose all the new music for the present film. Also, Jerry Marengli, who played "The Little Professor", would play one of the lead munchkins in the "Öz".One of the fascinating things for me was Eve Arden and Groucho hanging upside down from the ceiling, supposedly being held by suction cups on the bottoms of their shoes. I don't see how this could have been faked, but I can't believe those rather small suction cups could reliably hold that much weight. Fred Astaire supposedly danced on the ceiling and walls of his room in "Royal Wedding". They had a revolving room to allow this accomplishment.Eve Arden's pseudonym: Peerless Pauline, presumably was derived from one of the pseudonyms of Pauline White, who made many film shorts 15-25 years earlier, concerning various dare devil and acrobatic stunts. Betty Hutton would star in the later film "The Perils of Pauline".Net Pendleton, who played Goliath, was a professional wrestler early in his career before switching to acting. He usually played tough guys, good or bad. He was a football player in the Marx film "Horsefeathers". Margaret Dumont, a very frequent player in the Marx films, is at her funniest in this film, I believe. Sure, she could easily be accused of overacting, but it makes her funnier and more distinctive.

hhg2 I love the Marx Brothers, but I suppose that means I need to qualify that I love the Marx Brothers circa 1929-1937. You can read about the demise of their funny movie-making as a result of Irving Thalberg's untimely demise or the antipathy of Louis Mayer elsewhere.I can't recall if I saw this picture early on and then forgot about it or not, but I did have the misfortune to revisit it recently as TCM had a tribute to their films. All I can say is horrible. I might have had a chuckle or two, but I did not have a full laugh throughout the picture. I can only recommend this one for die-hard fans who want to see the Marx's entire oeuvre. Too many musical numbers and too few belly-shaking laughs, I'm afraid to report.

drystyx The Marx Brothers were the Beatles of comedy, and rightly so. And this was their ultimate movie. They made a lot of great movies-"Room Service", the "Night at" movies and "Day at" movies, and Horsefeathers all stand out at them at their best. This one, however, will keep you rolled up in laughter all the way through. For people who've never been fortunate enough to see Marx Brothers movies, they can be compared to American speaking Monty Pythons. The plot is secondary in Marx Brothers script. There is a good guy who owns a circus, a bad guy who wants to steal the circus, and others who take sides along the way. This movie is based on humor. It is one running gag with some brief bits of song thrown in to let you catch your breath. The African American scene is obviously condescending, but their singing and interplay with Harpo, who is like their brother, is extraordinary. The laughs are perfectly timed and directed. Some real gut busting scenes are when Groucho and Chico grill the midget and strong man, when Groucho meets the rich widow, and when the band is given a big send off. The interplay between the ultra serious and the silly is perfect. If you're an heir and want to knock off an old rich person, showing them this movie could very well make that person die laughing. Just hilarious, and even funnier than the "Holy Grail" and "Inspector General". The funniest movie of all time!

lugonian AT THE CIRCUS (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939), directed by Edward Buzzell, became the third collaboration of the Marx Brothers at MGM. Released just ten years following their movie debut in THE COCOANUTS (Paramount, 1929), this production, which shows great promise in placing those three clowns of comedy, Groucho (sporting a toupee), Chico and Harpo in a circus background, demonstrates just how much their comedies have declined and how little regard the powers that be at MGM had for them, particularly the mistreatment of Groucho's character in having him easily duped and pushed into a puddle of water during a heavy rain storm (Groucho quips: "If I get any drier, I'd drown!") by Chico. In spite of some low points such as the writers having Chico play such a stupid character, it does provide some great moments of hilarity, some by Harpo, who makes cinema history by breaking his code of silence by sounding out "Ah! Choo" while sneezing.Plot summary: Jeff Wilson (Kenny Baker) is the owner of Wilson Wonder Circus, which consists of Julie Randall (Florence Rice), his fiancé/singer who performs a trick horse riding act; Peerless Pauline (Eve Arden), an acrobat who uses suction boots to perform her upside-down act; Goliath the strongman (Nat Pendleton - in make-up very similar to his Sandow character from 1936's THE GREAT ZIEGFELD, along with a curly wig that resembles him with Harpo); Punchy (Harpo), Goliath's assistant; and Professor Atom (Jerry Marenghi), a cigar smoking midget. Jeff owes $10,000 to John Carter (James Burke), and must meet his payment deadline or else face bankruptcy. That night, Jeff's cash settlement is stolen from him. Tony (Chico), a circus hand, helps Jeff by sending for his friend, attorney J. Cheever Loophole (Groucho), via telegram. Suspecting the robbery to be an inside job, Loophole and Tony play detectives by investigating the staff, and getting themselves in trouble during the process. In order to raise the money, Loophole acquires it from Suzanne Dukesberry (Margaret Dumont, who arrives very late into the story), Jeff's wealthy aunt who had disowned him, and in return, arranges to have Wilson's Wonder Circus perform at her estate in place for her hired orchestra, thus, turning a dull society function into a real three ring circus of confusion.On the musical program composed by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen, songs include: "Step Up and Take a Bow" (sung by Florence Rice); "Two Blind Loves" (sung by Kenny Baker and Florence Rice); "Beer Barrel Polka" (piano solo by Chico); "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady" (sung by Groucho); "Swingali" (performed by Harpo and black circus workers, a number quite similar to "Tomorrow is Another Day" from 1937s A DAY AT THE RACES, concluding with a Harpo harp solo); "Two Blind Loves" (reprise by Kenny Baker) "Step Up and Take a Bow" (reprise by Florence Rice), and Richard Wagner's Prelude to Act 3 from "Lohengrin" (conducted by Fritz Feld to his orchestra on a floating platform as they drift out to sea. Watch the finish to find out how and why).AT THE CIRCUS suffers from poorly structured comic supplements, notably the beginning where Groucho is not to be admitted on the train by Chico without first showing his badge, which he does not have. Since Chico had sent for him in the first place, why such treatment? This routine would have served them better had Groucho's character been a total stranger. Groucho does get on the train, but with no indication as to how this was accomplished. Another weak link is Groucho's attempt in tricking a suspected midget into offering him a cigar so it can be compared with the one found at the scene of the crime. However, this proves impossible since Chico constantly offers his own cigar instead, foiling Groucho's plan even after Chico being told of the scheme in advance. A similar routine with Abbott and Costello or The Three Stooges would have succeeded simply because this is what's expected of them, or possibly by Groucho and Harpo, but in this instance, "close but no cigar." Aside from that, AT THE CIRCUS does redeem itself with Groucho's attempt retrieving the stolen money from Peerless Pauline's bosom after acquiring it from one of the crooks, and keeping it in a "safe" place. He looks into the camera saying, "There must be some way I can get that money back without getting in trouble with the Hays Office!"; Groucho's singing what was to become his signature song, "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady"; and the best saved for last being the circus finale at the Dukesberry estate. Any movie that has the straight faced Margaret Dumont shot from a cannon and swinging on the flying trapeze while the brothers attempt to rescue her (and being no help at all), makes up for the weakness that preceded this. And watch what the gorilla (man in gorilla suit, naturally) does for an encore after exposing the crooks. "Hey, Rube!" Clocked at 87 minutes, one wonders how much better structured this story might have been had deleted scenes, such as the courtroom sequence involving legal eagle Loophole (Groucho) questioning defendants on the witness stand, remained instead of the "Swingali" number or the Kenny Baker tenor loving love songs. Originally available on video cassette since the 1980s and currently on DVD, this sawdust comedy can be seen on Turner Classic Movies. (***)