The wackiness continues with this recommendation from Great Movies – 100 Years of Film, to go with A Night At The Opera. This time, the four Marx Brothers, Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo, are stowaways on a cruise ship heading to America, before getting mixed up with two feuding gangsters, a gangster’s daughter, and being pursued by the ship’s crew.

Most of the film is simply staged gags, puns and of course, the expected dazzling word play of Groucho, strung together for a 77 minute run time, that has some pretty priceless moments, sadly there are also the musical numbers that have bothered me in the other features as well. The film comes to a complete stop anytime any of the brothers sit down for a musical interlude, except for the first time, when, being chased, they pause to gather up instruments, and wail out a quick tune.

There are a lot of laughs to be had, despite the fact that the plot is a little thin, merely allowing the boys an opportunity to be hilarious on-screen, for Harpo to chase women about, for Chico to misunderstand words, for Groucho to be awesome and pursue a gangster’s wife Lucille Briggs (Thelma Todd), and for Zeppo to play the romantic lead as he pursues Mary Helton(Ruth Hall), the gangster’s daughter.

There are two favorite sequences in the film, not only for me, but for legions of fans, the first sees Harpo hiding in a Punch and Judy show as a puppet, and causing one of the crew some consternation. The other occurs when the boys are attempting to disembark from the ship with a stolen passport they all take a stab at using. It belongs to Maurice Chevalier, and they believe that if they sing a number just like him, they’ll convince customs. Each and every one of the brothers takes a run at it, with hilarious results.

It’s no surprise that a lot of their routines come from stage acts and vaudeville, but, it doesn’t make them any less entertaining. The film is a hoot, a well-crafted delight with tons of comic moment, and wonderfully entertaining. I love watching Groucho verbally joust with other characters, or when he and Chico can’t quite get a word right, and misunderstand one another. These are classic comedic elements delivered to perfection by these hilarious characters.

Even I’ll admit, Harpo can be a little creepy sometimes chasing women around… I mean what is he going to do when he catches one?

And Zeppo?

Well sorry Zep.

These guys are a remarkable act none the less, and if you’ve never seen them, and love a good laugh, you definitely owe yourself a look at these comedians. There is a reason some of their routines are still used today.

I’m looking forward to working through the 3 other recommendations for A Night At The Opera, because we get to revisit my favorite of their films, Duck Soup!

Stay tuned, as I continue watching all manner of comedies, there are some real gems coming up! And a number of different genres left to explore!