The Marx Brothers, one of film’s funniest comedyteams—and in their time, the most daring—reached their peak in the 1930s withsuch outrageous farces as Animal Crackers, Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera.Afterward, they appeared in a string of less remembered, less amusing moviesbefore quitting with Love Happy (1949), notable for a cameo by an unknowncalled Marilyn Monroe.
As noted in the booklet accompanying “The MarxBrothers TV Collection” DVD, “the end of their film career was perfectly timedfor a collision with the birth of television.” Big Hollywood stars werereluctant to stoop to the small screen in those early years, but the medium providedemployment for has-beens and Vaudevillians, and if the Marxes weren’t quite has-beens,they were well past their prime and their Vaudeville training came in handy forthe variety shows and comedies of 1950s television. Groucho found the greatestsuccess among the brothers as host of “You Bet Your Life” (1950-1961) but thetireless showman was happy to guest star in other people’s acts, including anepisode seen here of “The Jack Benny Show” playing himself, puffing away at acigar as Benny desperately tries to win the “You Bet Your Life” jackpot.
Many rarities, only unearthed in recent years,are collected on this three-disc set. Harpo, the brother who never spoke, mademany TV commercials including ones for McCall’s magazine, All-Pure EvaporatedMilk and Labatt’s beer. Harpo also had a funny bit in an otherwise utterlycorny, short-lived TV version of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” The wily Chicocontinued to play his familiar stage-movie character; the only surviving episodeof his “Ravelli’s Sugar Bowl” series is included here.
One of the most interesting segments is alargely silent skit directed by Mitchell Leisen (Midnight) for “GeneralElectric Theater.” Ronald Reagan, in his closest brush with Marxism, introducedthe comic noir takeoff starring Harpo and Chico. Groucho made a brief,unadvertised appearance at the end—marking the trio’s final appearance togetheron screen.
