Monkey Business (1931)

The four Marx Brothers finally make their way to Hollywood in their third motion picture, and the first not based directly off of a previous stage work of theirs. Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo Marx would finally move their talents to the west coast away from their stage homes in New York and produce a film in Los Angeles where the foursome would make their homes for many years to come. Continuing with the antics they made popular in their work on stage and on the screen the brothers would this time produce an original work for a picture and would prove to be one of their funniest and most popular pictures in their history.

In Monkey Business, a film that has nothing to do with monkeys I assure you, Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo play four stowaways on a passenger ship set for America. Much of the picture follows the foursome being chased around the ship by its first mate (Tom Kennedy). From the moment the four are heard harmonizing "Sweet Adeline" from within four barrels (believed to be the first time the voice of the mute Harpo is heard on screen) to when they escape the ship by trying to impersonate Paramount film star Maurice Chevalier, the brothers are thrown into many hilarious situations. These moments include Groucho and Chico posing as barbers, Harpo hiding out as a puppet in a Punch and Judy show, and Zeppo becoming romantically involved with a gangster's daughter as they all are continually chased aboard the vessel. The brothers eventually get in a mix up with two rival gangsters, one of whom Groucho flirts with his wife (Thelma Todd), and the other the father of Zeppo's love interest. Once off the ship in America the four are thrown into this mess where the daughter is kidnapped and the brothers are there to save her in their usual crazy ways.

Like the previous Marx Brothers' films the picture is a mash of zany situations with a loose story to tie everything together, first being chased abourd the ship and finishing with a gangster kidnapping scuffle. The film is wall to wall antics by the brothers doing what they know to do best. Groucho flirts and insults. Chico confuses people with his Italian-English word mixing and playing his ever-entertaining piano. Zeppo is the staight man of the group and is more the romantic lead (in what small romance the movie has). Harpo chases women, poses as a puppet, plays pranks, and tickles the harp strings in his musical scene. The Marx Brothers are very talented, both as individuals and a whole, each brings something to the table. It does however become a little clear that the fourth brother, Zeppo, does get left behind a bit in the picture. Frankly he is forgettable. It is clear that one day he would not be performing with his brothers, which is the case after 1933 when the brothers leave Paramount after disagreements with creative and financial issues.

The picture has many little factoids that make the production interesting. Apart from their first picture made in Hollywood itself and being a new film not based on a previous Marx Brothers' play the film showed a slight change in the brothers previous productions. Thelma Todd would make the appearance as the woman that Groucho flirts with, replacing the usual Margaret Dumont. The platinum blonde Todd was a young veteran comedic actress in several short subjects, but her role in Monkey Business gave both her and the Marx Brothers new life having such a young and attractive woman on cast. She would work with the brothers again in their next film, Horse Feathers, but her life would be cut short after a mysterious death from carbon monoxide poisoning in 1935. Monkey Business also featured a very short cameo of the brothers' father as they escape the first mate of the ship. He would have no lines, as he just sits in the background as the brothers pass. Part of the Marx Brothers' humor is in the sexual innuendo shared in their clever dialogue. This would have the censors going crazy over what is too far. The film was even banned in some countries for being too anarchic, fearing it would encourage similar behavior from its audience.

All in all the film is good fun. The Marx Brothers bring an energy to the screen that fresh and entertaining for audiences. The film was a smash hit with audiences at that time and the brothers would continue to make hit comedies up until the beginning of World War II, where productions as a group would slow a bit. Monkey Business would go down as one of the brothers' best films and even make the AFI Top 100 Laughs list in 2000 at #73, marking the top comedies off all time. It would be films like Monkey Business that would make the Marx Brothers Hollywood classics.