Love Happy (1949)

38% of users liked it
(1,518 ratings)

The Marx Brothers' final starring feature Love Happy began life as a solo vehicle for Harpo. The financiers wouldn't go for this, insisting that all three Marx boys appear on screen. Thus, Chico was hastily written into the proceedings, while Groucho made what amounted to a guest appearance as… More The Marx Brothers' final starring feature Love Happy began life as a solo vehicle for Harpo. The financiers wouldn't go for this, insisting that all three Marx boys appear on screen. Thus, Chico was hastily written into the proceedings, while Groucho made what amounted to a guest appearance as narrator and last-minute problem solver. The story concerns a group of aspiring actors who are putting together a musical review called "Love Happy." Harpo, the troupe's mascot, keeps the actors from starving by cleverly filching canned goods from a local grocer. On one such excursion, he accidentally gets hold of a sardine can containing a fortune in stolen diamonds. This makes Harpo the target of icy adventuress Madame Egilichi (Ilona Massey) and her henchmen (Melville Cooper, Raymond Burr, Bruce Gordon). When he isn't fending off the villains, Harpo is making life a little brighter for "Love Happy"'s leading lady Maggie (Vera-Ellen). Chico shows up sporadically as Faustino the Great, an itinerant musician, while Groucho plays private eye Sam Grunion, who does the best he can with some pretty weak dialogue. Groucho's best scene is his one-minute confrontation with a gorgeous blonde client, played by a decidedly pre-stardom Marilyn Monroe. Most of the comedy routines in Love Happy are either underwritten or underdeveloped, save for the spectacular finale, wherein Harpo evades the villains by climbing over, under and around neon advertisement signs for such products as Fisk Tires, Mobilgas and Kool Cigarettes. The fact that Ben Hecht wrote the original story upon which Love Happy was based caused the film to be banned in Great Britain, due to Hecht's improvident comments about the British occupation of Palestine. Though dyed-in-the-wool Marx Brothers fans tend to dislike Love Happy, the film manages to deliver quite a few solid laughs when seen today. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: David Miller, Chico Marx
Written By: Harpo Marx, Frank Tashlin
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 3, 1950 Wide
On DVD: Jun 15, 2004

Critic Reviews

Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
The Marx swan song. Worth catching, but not great.

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

Although this was their last real movie together, the Marx Brothers still had their charm in the fifties, and this movie is hilarious. The story revolves around Harpo for a change, but Groucho and Chico have good roles as well. This movie is really funny, I liked it, and if you like… More
Although this was their last real movie together, the Marx Brothers still had their charm in the fifties, and this movie is hilarious. The story revolves around Harpo for a change, but Groucho and Chico have good roles as well. This movie is really funny, I liked it, and if you like the Marx Brothers you should see this one. I don't know why some people don't like it, I suppose it wasn't what they expected, but I thought it was a lot of fun.
David L

Love Happy" is remembered, primarily, as the last "Official" Marx Brothers film (they would all appear in brief vignettes in "The Story of Mankind", seven years later, but not as a team), but if the film were a baseball statistic, it would have an asterik (*),… More
Love Happy" is remembered, primarily, as the last "Official" Marx Brothers film (they would all appear in brief vignettes in "The Story of Mankind", seven years later, but not as a team), but if the film were a baseball statistic, it would have an asterik (*), because it truly isn't a showcase of the brothers, together, but a comedy starring Harpo, with Chico in a supporting role, and Groucho doing narration, and making brief appearances, occasionally (rather like the "General Electric Theater" TV episode the brothers would do, in 1959, where Harpo and Chico played crooks with hearts of gold, and Groucho would make a surprise appearance at the finale, as their lawyer). As a comedy, "Love Happy" is so-so, with Harpo providing some genuine laughs, particularly during an interrogation scene with villains Raymond Burr, Ilona Massey, Eric Blore, and Bruce Gordon, and in the rooftop finale, with Harpo offering the same kind of outrageous physical humor that he had demonstrated in the classic MGM comedies. But the rest of the plot, while mildly entertaining, is simply a musical variation of "Room Service", as an impoverished group of performers (headed by Paul Valentine and future star Vera-Ellen) struggle to put on a Broadway musical. The back story of the film is possibly more entertaining than the movie, itself; Harpo had wanted to make a solo film throughout the forties, and had tinkered on the script for several years, while soliciting financial backing for the project. Chico, meanwhile, was running up huge gambling debts, as was often the case (while a brilliant card player, he was a notoriously bad gambler), and just as the Marxes had made "A Night in Casablanca", in 1946, to pay off his debts at that time, Harpo brought him into "Love Happy" to do the same. Unfortunately, the end of the decade was a depressed time for film making (with television making inroads into the ticket-buying public), and backers would only fund the project if all three brothers would appear in the movie. Groucho, by now a genuine TV star, thanks to the "You Bet Your Life" quiz show, hated the script of "Love Happy", and had little desire to co-star in the film. He was, however, loyal to his brothers, and finally reached a compromise; he would only appear briefly, would not have to wear his trademark greasepaint eyebrows and mustache, and would have final approval of his dialog and the performers working with him. He could honestly say he helped 'discover' Marilyn Monroe, at an open audition (watching two other starlets walk across a stage, followed by Marilyn, when asked for his pick for a small role, he raised his eyebrows and quipped, "You're kidding, right?") Be warned: While "Love Happy" is not terrible, it certainly is no "Night at the Opera", or "Duck Soup"!
xGary X

I'm a big fan of The Marx Brothers, but this, their second last outing, doesn't really count. Even the DVD cover is a bit of a cheat; Groucho and Marilyn are hardly in it. The Marx formula was always Groucho's insightful wit centre stage, with some vaudevillian… More
I'm a big fan of The Marx Brothers, but this, their second last outing, doesn't really count. Even the DVD cover is a bit of a cheat; Groucho and Marilyn are hardly in it. The Marx formula was always Groucho's insightful wit centre stage, with some vaudevillian slapstick and musical turns from Harpo and Chico as comic asides. This however has none of Groucho's trademark banter (he just occasionally provides brief narration) and is all musical numbers and Harpo's clowning. It may get a few laughs from young children, but otherwise, it's not enough to carry an entire film.
Anthony V

Wish the last Marx Brothers movie was better.