At the Circus (1939)

The Marx Brothers burst onto the scene in the 1929 comedy "The Cocoanuts". Over the next few years they starred in some of the all-time classics, namely "Horse Feathers" and "Duck Soup".

Then something happened. I don't know the reason, but they left Paramount (which financed the aforementioned movies) and moved to MGM. By that point, MGM was well established as the domain of happy-go-lucky musicals, and it showed in the Marx Brothers' movies. Far from the biting satire of their earlier movies, these newer movies tended to show them performing antics in various settings: opera, horse racing, and now the circus. "At the Circus" is funny, but it's no "Duck Soup".

Ignoring all that, there's plenty of laughs to be had here (and quite a few hot babes). Enjoyable in that respect. Jerry Maren (Atom) is best known as one of the Munchkins in "The Wizard of Oz" and died only last year, making him not only the last surviving speaking cast member from TWoO, but the last surviving cast member from a Marx Brothers movie.

Fmovies: Groucho, Chico and Harpo are at their very best or even better-if that's possible-in this 1939 hit comedy At the Circus.Groucho's looking for loopholes as the eccentric lawyer called Loophole.Every line he delivers is something funny.And he also sings the great song Lydia the Tattooed Lady, which was heard also by Robin Williams in the movie The Fisher King many years later.Margaret Dumont, the haughty straight lady in the Marx movies, shines as Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury.Kenny Baker and Florence Rice are terrific as the romantic, soon-to-be-married-couple.Eve Arden takes her act to the ceiling and also acts very well.Nat Pendleton as Goliath the Strongman gives a very strong performance.There are many scenes that are just fantastic and mostly awfully hilarious.There's also one beautiful scene, the one where Harpo Marx plays the harp with all those black women, children and men singing and listening.This is a perfect ten movie, something they don't make these days.Someone should bring the Marx brothers back.

I love the Marx Brothers, but that doesn't mean all their films are gems. By the end of the 1930s, their best pictures were all behind them. Although still entertaining, they slipped a bit in quality. This is one example, except I would still rate it as "decent" (hence, the '5' rating).

One thing for sure: the comedy was a lot better than the music, although that was usually the case in most of their movies....but more so here. Even though I got my share of laughs, most the gags in this movie come in 5-10-minute "bits" and many of them go on too long. I still Chico provides the best humor among the boys. Except for "Lydia, The Tattooed Lady," the songs in here are weak and there are too many of them.

Silly, but still fun to watch, generally-speaking. I just skip through most of the songs.

At the Circus fmovies. Middle-of-the-road Marxes, with some good scenes and laughs unevenly weighted down by those ever-intrusive and out-of-place musical numbers that so often plagued these movies. No, I'm not referring to Groucho's spirited rendition of 'Lydia the Tattooed Lady'; I'm talking about hearing those two useless lead lovers crooning their sappy romantic tunes to each other ('Two Blind Loves', which is sung over and over at intervals throughout the picture, is especially grating on the nerves). There is also a song and dance sequence that comes out of left field later in the film that really feels out of place and gets in the way of things.

There are certainly some witty Groucho zingers, as well as vintage Harpo madness, to be found here. It's just that there's not enough consistency and too much of the fluff. It's a pity the filmmakers just didn't realize that it's the Marx Brothers we're here to see; not Kenny Baker and Florence Rice.

OK, I accept (and suspect that there will be little argument) that At The Circus is a long way from the Marx Brothers finest hour. There isn't the pace of Duck Soup or the wonderfully constructed whole of A Night At The Opera, but within this film there is enough to make an hour and a half pass quite enjoyably.

A few fine set pieces, notably the midget/cigar routine and Harpo & Chico trying to find the money in the strongman's bedroom. A fine rendition of Lydia. And you can never really see enough of a Groucho/Dumont double act.

The story IS incidental, and the love interest occasionally irritates...but then this is a Marx Brothers films and that generally is the case.

It may not be top drawer Marx Brothers but it is still the Marx Brothers.

I wrote this right after I saw it, without having read other comments on it. I have to say I'm appalled by the critical injustices done to this film. No joke flops in this Marx Brothers masterpiece. All three of the remaining brothers, Groucho, Harpo, and Chico, have a plethora of great scenes. Groucho has possibly his best line of his entire career. I won't ruin it for you. Chico's best moments are as Chiccolini in Duck Soup, but he is nearly as funny here. The scene in the midget's room is as funny a set piece as ever existed. Chico also has a great piano scene. Harpo is hilarious as well, playing a card game with a seal, and he delivers his best harp number. Usually they're awful, but the one here is great. He plays ambassador to the races again in this film, as he did in A Day at the Races. He dances around with a group of black people who show up out of nowhere. These scenes might be dated, but they're excellent in their context. I'd call them both scenes of great beauty, showing harmony between the races. Margaret Dumont, the fifth Marx Brother - well, maybe we out to call her the fourth; she's in more of them than Zeppo is! - is as funny as usual. The only let down is the romantic subplot, but you probably come to expect that from Marx Brothers' films. Perhaps the one here will be funny to you. The guy is one of the biggest dorks in history. His girl isn't too bad though. She has a great musical number with a horse. But even the two together have a decent scene where they sing to each other while they are desperately trying to lose a waiter who's intently watching their courtship. At the Circus contains maybe the best climactic sequence of their career, with the three brothers, Dumont, the villain, and a gorilla swing around on the trapeze swings. The final shot is a doozy, as well. 10/10.