1h 25min | Comedy, Crime, Music | 12 October 1949
Director: David Miller
Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Ilona Massey, Vera-Ellen, Marion Hutton, Raymond Burr, Melville Cooper, Paul Valentine, Eric Blore, Marilyn Monroe.
Billy Daniel ... production numbers staged by
I've never understood why people rate this poorly (5.9 w/ 2200 votes). I find it charming. Groucho doesn't appear much; maybe that's the objection? We get plenty of Harpo and Chico, and they play harp and piano, respectively. And Harpo does a lot of magical things, especially in the chase scene, which is very normal for him.
All the dancing numbers are loaded up front, done by ch7 of 19. The credits roll over some dancing filmed from afar. Then Paul Valentine does a solo, mostly swordplay with no opponent and no sword. VE does a ballet routine while everyone is picking Harpo clean of his purloined goodies. Marion Hutton gets a song; she can be as loud as sister Betty, but not so obnoxious somehow. VE does a Sadie Thompson dance, and we're done until Harpo & Chico play their instruments. VE spends the rest of the film crying into her elbow.
MM comes onscreen at 1:08:05, gone by 1:08:45 (ch13); she has 2 lines: "Mr. Grunion, I want you to help me....some men are following me" as she walks/sways toward & past the camera, smiling knowingly. Really grabs your attention. This is the future MM persona, but fully aware of her impact on men.
This is the final film with the MBs interacting. They're all in the cast of The Story of Mankind (1957), but IMDb trivia says they're not seen together. In this film, they only appear together in pairs.
Artists Alliance, distr. UA, dir. Miller; 7+
