New Groucho Marx book

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by smilin ed, Apr 29, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Durham
    I have to say that the pretext sounds pretty odd: that Groucho isn't funny.

    To be fair, the book has had some good reviews, but here's some more and a interview with the author:

    FRIDAY NIGHT BOYS: Groucho Marx: The Comedy of Existence - reviews »

    [​IMG]

    The word, 'pretentious' pops up and I can't help but think that he doesn't always get the joke or is prepared to let himself go to enjoy what's on the screen before him.

    I mean, hotcha!

    [​IMG]
     
    Andy Lee and RayS like this.
  2. dirwuf

    dirwuf Misplaced Chicagoan

    Location:
    Fairfield, CT
  3. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Since (IMO) the Brothers Marx didn't SET OUT to be anything other than funny, trying to place them within a school of philosophy seems like a light-hearted conversation meant to pass the time more than a topic for a dissertation (or a serious publication). Groucho's constant puncturing of authority (even when his character is as close to an authority figure as we get) hardly makes him a good candidate for being classified as a nihilist.
     
  4. hbbfam

    hbbfam Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chandler,AZ
    People that analyze why something is funny, generally don't understand humor anyway. How does something that I have seen a hundred times (any of their first 7 movies) still amuse me so much? Their last few movies, with far less writing talent, weaker plots and some tired boys, do not amuse so much. They have lasted for over 80 years, and their humor endures.
    I read this one review:
    FRIDAY NIGHT BOYS: Groucho Marx: The Comedy of Existence - reviews »
    That was enough for me. Not interested in the book.
     
    pdenny likes this.
  5. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Thinking it over, Groucho may have simply been a pragmatist, seeing as he realized that you can't take up the carpet before you take up the tax.

    Harpo has the Buddhist quality of fully immersing himself in the given moment, and seeing value in every experience. When Chico tells him that they will be shot if they are caught breaking in, Harpo smiles while pointing his finger at his temple and pulling the "trigger". Just another new experience to, well, experience.
     
  6. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Durham
    I can understand the need to analyse - or even over analyse - but when you're failing to see the sheer joy that their humour generates, you might want to take a look at yourself.
     
    Suncola, adriatikfan and RayS like this.
  7. milankey

    milankey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, Ohio, USA
    I read "Harpo Speaks" and gotta say I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. Too much talk about croquet games and cocktail parties with other celebrities of the era. I enjoy watching the Marx Brothers movies a lot more.
    Anyways, I remember reading the book on a plane trip to Phoenix and the flight attendant saw my book and asked me "Who is Harpo?" I told her Harpo Marx. She had never heard of him and neither had the other flight attendant who came by my seat. I may not be old enough to remember him but at least I know and respect who he was.
     
  8. ChadHahn

    ChadHahn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ, USA
    Did you tell them to come to your hotel room and you'd explain him to them?

    Chad
     
  9. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    It's Oprah, backwards. :) That reference might resonate.
     
    Rfreeman and alexpop like this.
  10. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    To your point, one could see the Harpo "Chevalier" scene in "Monkey Business" and resultant anarchy as he is dragged away as a social commentary (and to a degree it is). But to focus on that aspect misses the pure joy in the moment, and the comic effect inherent in Harpo's reaction.
     
    adriatikfan, smilin ed and GuildX700 like this.
  11. Matt Richardson

    Matt Richardson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Suburban Chicago
    I felt the same way about the 2nd half of Chaplin's autobiography.
     
    RayS likes this.
  12. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Love the man ... as a writer, worst name dropper in literary history. :)
     
  13. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    He was there though, and some. :)
     
    TeacFan likes this.
  14. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    Read THE GROUCHO LETTERS. The man was a deep guy, maybe a genius, and one of the funniest sumbitches in history.
     
  15. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Cool! I love him and his brothers. Duck Soup is my favorite.
     
    GuildX700 likes this.
  16. hbbfam

    hbbfam Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chandler,AZ
    I have read Harpo Speaks several times and find it to be delightful. His stories about the Algonquin Round Table are really fascinating to me, especially from the perspective of a kid with a minimal education hanging out with some the wittiest and most accomplished people of that era. The stories at the end of how a middle aged "little boy" built a family is endearing.

    Groucho and Me is an excellent autobiography as well. And anybody who doesn't appreciate the letters Groucho wrote to Warner Brothers regarding the use of the name Casablanca in A Night In Casablanca probably isn't going to get the boys or Groucho anyway.
     
    cartoonist, Rfreeman and smilin ed like this.
  17. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    That's a great book.
     
  18. Glenn Christense

    Glenn Christense Foremost Beatles expert... on my block

    I am proud to say I have a copy of this book, autographed by Groucho.
     
  19. I find Grouch to be hilarious so I won't be reading it.
     
  20. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Durham
    Green with envy!
     
    Glenn Christense likes this.
  21. Ashley Pomeroy

    Ashley Pomeroy Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    Every single one of your posts is just a advertisement for your useless blog. It's just a bunch of copied-and-pasted interviews taken from Slate, Pitchfork and so forth, plus a load of context-less photographs. It's plagiarised spam.

    It might be defensible if the blog was worth reading, but there's no original content of any worth. You're just plagiarising reviews to drive traffic to your blog. Here on this forum you aren't engaging in conversation, you're simply mass-posting rubbish to drive traffic to your blog, which is built entirely on plagiarism.

    Were you like this when you started? Because at this point you're the bad guy. Don't you understand that?
     
  22. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Durham
    Man, this is laughable. If you don't like it, don't read it. The blog collects reviews etc of things we're interested in and . We occasionally write our own stuff. The recent Gordon Lightfoot interview? Dave and Phil Alvin? We're busy; we work; we don't have time to write a post a day - or even one a week. I mean, seriously, if we're the bad guys, what kind of life do you lead? Oh, and it's not plagiarised. We credit the original source, which is already out there on the net, often having been reblogged already. And the photos aren't context-less. The titles are relevant. I post a handful (five - all I'm allowed to use in one post) in a thread (not stated by me) devoted to photos of film/TV stars off duty or behind the scenes and I link the rest. If you've read the thread, you know what's there, so you don't have to look. And I'm not mass posting rubbish; I'll link it here if I think folk will be interested - and in this case they are. You might not be but if you see a post about the Marx Brothers and you have no interest or nothing to contribute, don't click on it. But that's your narrative and as to it being 'rubbish', I guess that's down to your individual taste.

    Now if we can get back to Groucho instead of threadcrapping, what's your favourite Marx Brothers book?
    No? I'll go first. My favourite by far is Joe Adamson's Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo. In fact, I read it before I'd seen the pre-MGM films. I like the glib conversational style in which it was written, but I also think he was insightful about the film - if a little harsh on the later ones. It has terrible longeurs, but At the Circus has some terrific moments too, including Chico at his most irritating when he keeps producing a cigar and ruing Groucho's plans:



    There was talk he was going to produce a second edition, but he never did.

    Also like Glenn Mitchell's The Marx Brothers' Encyclopedia. Get it in the first edition if you can, the later one didn't have the rights to all the images and it looks and feels much cheaper.

    My favourite Groucho book remains The Groucho Letters with Grpucho and Me a close second; I had the Chandler book but I think it made its way to Oxfam.

    Over to you.
     
    Last edited: May 1, 2016
  23. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Durham
  24. dirwuf

    dirwuf Misplaced Chicagoan

    Location:
    Fairfield, CT

    To be fair, I am a bit biased because I helped in the research for the book...it is not just dry info, there is a lot of good insight.

    I am also going to recommend the recent "Annotated Marx Brothers"...if you think you know everything there is to know about their films, guess again...
     
    Andy Lee and smilin ed like this.
  25. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Durham
    Oh, I've read your contributions on threads like this and I was taking you seriously. I actually thought you were the author! I see The Annotated... has a recommendation from Barry Forshaw too! Praise indeed. Duly ordered.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine