Download or read book The Marx Brothers and America written by Robert E. Weir and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-08-12 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ground has shifted from the days in which "serious history" and "boring" went hand in glove. Textbooks and lectures have their place, but less traditional classrooms can be powerfully immersive and insightful. Take the 1929 Marx Brothers film The Cocoanuts and what it teaches about both the Great Depression and early sound films. The Marx Brothers are among the funniest comedy teams of all time. Four of their 13 films are on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American comedies ever made. For many contemporary viewers, though, "getting" the jokes is not always easy because the humor can be subjective and timebound. This work looks at the American past through the lens of the Marx Brothers' films and other projects. Each of the chapters focuses on a specific film, contextualizing the world at the time and how the Marx Brothers lampooned those subjects. Along the way, the book demonstrates what the Marx Brothers revealed about weighty topics like gambling, gender relations, immigration, medical care, Prohibition, race and war, all leavened with offbeat humor.
Download or read book Groucho Harpo Chico and Sometimes Zeppo written by Joe Adamson and published by New York : Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1973 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an account of the lives, early careers and final flowering of the Brothers Marx, the recollections of their co-workers and the scripts of their films. Joe Adamson interviewed the survivors of the arduous battles which making a film represented, and collected legends, anecdotes and jokes concerning the hilarious antics on the set, the sudden improvisations before the camera, and the extraordinary story conferences.
Download or read book The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia written by Glen Mitchell and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2012-01-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Often imitated, never rivaled, the Marx Brothers were the masters of vaudeville. Originally masters of the stage, they conquered almost every medium, creating memorable sketches and classic movies such as Duck Soup, The Cocoanuts and A Night at the Opera - all of which still find their way into top comedy movie lists! Household names to this day, the Marx Brothers left an indelible mark on the comedy scene and worked with some of the most famous names of the day; including Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin! Here, in a fully revised and updated edition, is the meticulously researched guide to their lives and careers, covering all of their movies, guest appearances, stage shows and television features!
Download or read book Monkey Business written by Simon Louvish and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2000-06-08 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Strange but true: this is the first authentic account of the Marx Brothers, their origins and of the roots of their comedy. First and foremost, this is the saga of a family whose theatrical roots stretch back to mid-19th century Germany. From Groucho Marx's first warblings with the singing Leroy Trio, this book brings to life the vanished world of America's wild and boisterous variety circuits, leading to the Marx Brothers' Broadway successes, and their alliance with New York's theatrical lions, George S. Kaufman and the 'Algonquin Round Table'. Never-before-published scripts, well-minted Marxian dialogue, and much madness and mayham feature in this tale of the Brothers' battles with Hollywood, their films, their loves and marriages, and the story of the forgotten brother Gummo.
Download or read book The Annotated Marx Brothers written by Matthew Coniam and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-02-19 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever watched a Marx Brothers film and wondered what "habeas Irish rose" is? What is the trial of Mary Dugan with sound? What is a college widow? When exactly did Don Ameche invent the telephone? Their films are full of such in-jokes and obscure theatrical, literary and topical references that can baffle modern audiences. In this viewer's guide to the Marx Brothers you will find the answer to such mysteries, along with an exhaustive compilation of background information, obscure trivia and even the occasional busted myth. Each of the Marx Brothers' 13 films is covered by a running commentary, with points in the film discussed as they appear. Each reference is listed by its running time, with time code given for both PAL and NTSC DVD. An introduction for neophytes and a resource for fanatics, this book is a travel guide to the rambling landscape of these remarkable comedies.
Download or read book Why a Duck written by Richard J. Anobile and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Groucho Marx written by Lee Siegel and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2016-01-28 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born Julius Marx in 1890, the brilliant comic actor who would later be known as Groucho was the most verbal of the famed comedy team, the Marx Brothers, his broad slapstick portrayals elevated by ingenious wordplay and double entendre. In his spirited biography of this beloved American iconoclast, Lee Siegel views the life of Groucho through the lens of his work on stage, screen, and television. The author uncovers the roots of the performer’s outrageous intellectual acuity and hilarious insolence toward convention and authority in Groucho’s early upbringing and Marx family dynamics. The first critical biography of Groucho Marx to approach his work analytically, this fascinating study draws unique connections between Groucho’s comedy and his life, concentrating primarily on the brothers’ classic films as a means of understanding and appreciating Julius the man. Unlike previous uncritical and mostly reverential biographies, Siegel’s “bio-commentary” makes a distinctive contribution to the field of Groucho studies by attempting to tell the story of his life in terms of his work, and vice versa.
Download or read book Alone on the Ice The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration written by David Roberts and published by W. W. Norton. This book was released on 2013-01-28 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: His two companions dead, food and supplies vanished in a crevasse, Douglas Mawson was still one hundred miles from camp. On January 17, 1913, alone and near starvation, Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, was hauling a sledge to get back to base camp. The dogs were gone. Now Mawson himself plunged through a snow bridge, dangling over an abyss by the sledge harness. A line of poetry gave him the will to haul himself back to the surface. Mawson was sometimes reduced to crawling, and one night he discovered that the soles of his feet had completely detached from the flesh beneath. On February 8, when he staggered back to base, his features unrecognizably skeletal, the first teammate to reach him blurted out, “Which one are you?” This thrilling and almost unbelievable account establishes Mawson in his rightful place as one of the greatest polar explorers and expedition leaders. It is illustrated by a trove of Frank Hurley’s famous Antarctic photographs, many never before published in the United States.
Download or read book Giraffes on Horseback Salad written by Josh Frank and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2019-03-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This lushly illustrated graphic novel re-creates a lost Marx Brothers script written by modern art icon Salvador Dali. Grab some popcorn and take a seat...The curtain is about to rise on a film like no other! But first, the real-life backstory: Giraffes on Horseback Salad was a Marx Brothers film written by modern art icon Salvador Dali, who’d befriended Harpo. Rejected by MGM, the script was thought lost forever. Author and lost-film buff Josh Frank unearthed the original script, and Dali’s notes and sketches for the project, tucked away in museum archives. With comedian Tim Heidecker and Spanish comics creator Manuela Pertega, he’s re-created the film as a graphic novel in all its gorgeous full-color, cinematic, surreal glory. In the story, a businessman named Jimmy (played by Harpo) is drawn to the mysterious Surrealist Woman, whose very presence changes humdrum reality into Dali-esque fantasy. With the help of Groucho and Chico, Jimmy seeks to join her fantastical world—but forces of normalcy threaten to end their romance. Includes new Marx Brothers songs and antics, plus the real-world story behind the historic collaboration.
Download or read book The Marx Brothers as Social Critics written by Martin A. Gardner and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2009-10-21 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Marx Brothers' films are packed with slapstick and obvious jokes, gags, puns, pratfalls, and mimicry. But beneath the laughs is a serious and biting condemnation of American culture. This book examines historical events, political practices, economic conditions, manners and customs, literary subjects, and popular entertainment as satirized in the films and considers the ways in which the films were relevant in their era and remain so today.
Download or read book Groucho written by Arthur Marx and published by Samuel French, Inc.. This book was released on 1988 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This inspired bio musical about The One and Only begins with Groucho as an old man doing his famous Carnegie Hall show. It then goes back to the beginnings of the Marx Brothers and their struggles to make it in vaudeville, their rise to stardom and their eventual break up. All classic Groucho songs are included. One actor plays Groucho, another plays Chico and Harpo, and one actress plays all the wives, girlfriends and Margaret Dumont. A hit in New York, across the U.S. and in London, this show will delight Marx Brothers fans and the as yet uninitiated.
Download or read book Hail Hail Euphoria written by Roy Blount Jr. and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-09-28 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly eighty years after its release, the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup remains one of the most influential pieces of political satire in history. In Hail, Hail, Euphoria!, bestselling author Roy Blount Jr. tells the history and making of Duck Soup, examining the comedic genius of the Marx Brothers in their finest hour and nine minutes. In Duck Soup, a slim, agile, quick-witted, self-assured young man is summoned to save a nation from financial ruin. As the nation's new president, he brings together a team of rivals, a band of brothers. Those brothers are Pinky, Chicolini, and Lt. Bob Roland. Their leader? None other than Rufus T. Firefly. The humor and idiosyncratic wit of Duck Soup are saluted by the author's own in this gem of a book, offering a behind-the-scenes tale of show business and brotherhood that only a true Marx Brothers aficionado could tell.
Download or read book The Groucho Letters written by Groucho Marx and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-08-14 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Donated to the Library of Congress in the mid-1960s, Groucho Marx's correspondence was first crafted into this celebration of wit and wisdom in 1967. Reissued today with his original letters and humor intact, The Groucho Letters exposes one of the twentieth century's most beloved comedian's private insights into show biz, politics, business, and, of course, his illustrious personal life. Included are Marx's conversations with such noted personalities as E. B. White, Fred Allen, Goodman Ace, Nunnally Johnson, James Thurber, Booth Tarkington, Alistair Cooke, Harry Truman, Irving Berlin, and S. J. Perelman. To Confidential Magazine Gentlemen: If you continue to publish slanderous pieces about me, I shall feel compelled to cancel my subscription. Sincerely, Groucho Marx
Download or read book Memoirs Of A Mangy Lover written by Groucho Marx and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2008-12-15 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here are Groucho's improbable tales of true romance, narrated with his characteristic panache and illustrated with splendid New Yorker-esque cartoons.
Download or read book The Best Old Movies for Families written by Ty Burr and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2008-12-10 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If a child can watch Barney, can’t that same child also enjoy watching Charlie Chaplin or the Marx Brothers? And as they get older, wouldn’t they grow to like screwball comedies (His Girl Friday), women’s weepies (Imitation of Life), and westerns (The Searchers)? The answer is that they’ll follow because they’ll have learned that “old” does not necessarily mean “next channel, please.”Here is an impassioned and eminently readable guide that introduces the delights of the golden age of movies. Ty Burr has come up with a winning prescription for children brought up on Hollywood junk food. FOR THE LITTLE ONES (Ages 3—6): Fast-paced movies that are simple without being unsophisticated, plainspoken without being dumbed down. Singin’ in the Rain and Bringing Up Baby are perfect.FOR THE ONES IN BETWEEN (Ages 7—12): “Killer stories,” placing easily grasped characters in situations that start simply and then throw curveballs. The African Queen and Some Like It Hot do the job well.FOR THE OLDER ONES (Ages 13+): Burr recommends relating old movies to teens’ contemporary favorites: without Hitchcock, there could be no The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, without Brando, no Johnny Depp.
Download or read book The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia written by Glenn Mitchell and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Glenn Mitchell's definitive reference work on film comedy's most anarchic team is now available in hardback. Revised and corrected for this new edition, the book also contains the latest results of Mitchell's researches into the unique careers of Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Zeppo, Gummo - and Manfred.
Download or read book Groucho written by Stefan Kanfer and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2001-05-08 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This definitive biography of one of the world’s greatest comedians unflinchingly yet affectionately uncovers the man behind the cigar. Here is the amazing career of the man the world recognized as Groucho: the improbable disasters of the vaudeville years; the Marx Brothers, an act so funny W.C. Fields refused to follow it; the unprecedented Broadway success of The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers; the cinematic triumphs of Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera; and the marvelous come-back career as king of the game show hosts with You Bet Your Life. Here, too, is the man himself: a lonely middle child who aspired to be a doctor; a man who sabotaged three marriages; a father alternately indulgent and cruel. Intelligent and thorough, hilarious and sad, Groucho is a spectacular biography of the century’s most influential comedian.
