I wanted to marry Chico except that 1) I didn't think that would be an easy life and 2) I was born in 1970 making it impossible, so I came very very very close to picking him as my favorite brother. He may yet be, actually. I quote Groucho more than any of them, so I toyed momentarily with the idea of picking him. Of Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Harpo's contributions to the movies are my least favorite parts. I'm much more a fan of clever word play than I am of pantomime. But upon reading Harpo Speaks, he became my favorite brother. :)
Groucho, mostly because he was around long enough to provide entertainment the longest and into my current times (ie, appearances on Parr and Carson, Cavett). However, the not-Grouchos were unique and did provide the characters for Groucho to play with and against. I think it was part of the movie making of the day, were the movie would stop to let Harpo or Chico do their 'thing', which more often than not was a filming of something they did on stage. W.C. Fields films have examples like this, such as when Fields, as the General Store owner stops to play with and juggle the cigar boxen. A routine seen on stage, but now it could be seen larger than life. Check out how many of those scenes, WCF or MB are single camera shots.
By the time I actually got to see the Marx Brothers' movies, I wasn't as impressed as everybody said I would be, largely because so many comedians since their time have mined them for material that what I saw wasn't all fresh and new. Kind of like how a lot of fantasy fans are disappointed by LOTR, after having read so many books that mine LOTR but are more state-of-the-art.
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ericcoleman) wrote2009-12-26 07:55 pm
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None, really... none
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Harpo's a much better choice. :)
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I think it was part of the movie making of the day, were the movie would stop to let Harpo or Chico do their 'thing', which more often than not was a filming of something they did on stage. W.C. Fields films have examples like this, such as when Fields, as the General Store owner stops to play with and juggle the cigar boxen. A routine seen on stage, but now it could be seen larger than life. Check out how many of those scenes, WCF or MB are single camera shots.
Heresy...
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