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Plot:
Groucho Marx plays African explorer Capt. Spaulding, who's just returned to the states to inflict comic carnage on the highfalutin party of society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse (Margaret Dumont). Groucho r...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:May 13, 2008
"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know."
In the early days of full sound movies, The Marx Brothers made a name for themselves as one of the many gurus of the comedy genre at the time. Animal Crackers is the second outing of The Marx Brothers. I do not consider myself a massive fan; however I am slowly becoming even fonder of the trio (or foursome depending on what film you watch).
With this film, Animal Crackers is of course thin on plot. The little plot development is an excuse for the brothers to showcase their many skills in the field of comedy. The film moves from scene to scene of classic Marx Brothers humour. In this film you'll find such great scenes as: cost of the musician, cost of a taxi, madman with a rifle, marrying two women, African lecture, card shark and so many more.
Groucho Marx plays renowned explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding (the 'T' stands for Edgar) who has just returned from the darkest parts of Africa. Upon arriving back home he is the house guest of a certain Mrs. Rittenhouse (Dumont). Then a very amusing plot emerges concerning the purchase of a valuable old oil painting. Two lovers staying at the estate want to get married but the man is only a poor artist with little reputation. They hatch a plan to switch the genuine oil painting with a copy the man had painted years earlier. Then there are some other people who have the same plan: to replace (what they think is) the original oil painting with a version they had made. At the same time there are to bumbling, clumsy thieves who want to steal the original painting. Thus paintings are stolen, with different versions surfacing all over the place.
This synopsis does give away a bunch of the movie; however this will allow you to forgive the confusing plot and instead watch it for the laughs that The Marx Brothers are so famous for.
There is no doubt that contemporary audiences will immediately overlook this film because of its age. Heck, even I didn't want to see it for that reason. I never would have thought that old 1930's humour could actually be funny! Thankfully in classic Marx Brothers style, the laughs begin soon into the movie and never cease.
Groucho, as usual, carries the film. He is the central protagonist and easily gets laughs from his impeccable line deliveries. This is a very focused actor. Chico is another stand-out in the film. He plays a mute thief who aims to steal the oil painting. Because of a certain hearing problem there are several scenes that are downright hilarious with this joke that always resurfaces. The scene in the dark while looking for the flash light always makes me laugh no matter how many times I've viewed it.
Animal Crackers is devilishly clever but unfortunately it has its flaws. For starters, it's painfully obvious that the whole thing was filmed on a low-quality set. It does the job; however I thought the atmosphere wasn't as genuine as it could have been. And of course the lack of anything really meaty in the plot is another downfall. This is always going to be expected when you consider the talent involved.
So what is the real appeal of Animal Crackers? Well, it may be several decades old but its humour is fresh and original. The brothers are a talented bunch of people whose work would be hard to replicate even with the aid of contemporary film technology. We have a determined cast, a solid script and a cluster of stellar laughs. -
MCT:February 20, 2008Almost as many gags as "Monkey Business" and "Duck Soup" There may never be another act quite like the zany and anarchistic Marx Brothers.
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MCT:January 7, 2008
not bad for 1930. definitely classic Marx Brothers. Groucho's memorable Capt. Spaulding and the elephant in his pajamas, Harpo's silent card-playing antics...great comedy
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MCT:December 2, 2007Nutty Fun!!
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MCT:November 30, 2007
Another amazingly funny film from the Marx brothers. The plot is really funny. "Once I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got in my pyjamas, I don't know". I love that whole scene with Groucho talking about being in Africa. Harpo was seriously funny as well. A must see Marx film.
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flixster89posted 613 days ago
