Zeppo Marx as Horatio Jamison in the 1930 Marx Brothers Film Animal Crackers. As usual, Zeppo plays straight man to his brother Groucho.
Posted on 09/12/2008 7:31:45 AM PDT by Diocletian
Zeppo Marx as Horatio Jamison in the 1930 Marx Brothers Film Animal Crackers. As usual, Zeppo plays straight man to his brother Groucho.
Growing up in the pre-cable TV era, our choices of programming were quite limited and local television stations had to rely on old movies and reruns due to the high cost of producing original broadcasting. Even though our selection was limited it was a blessing in disguise. Other than TCM buffs (like myself) and the annual Christmas showings of It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol (the one starring Alistair Sim is the best, by the way), how often are the kids of today seeing the old black and white classics?
Some of my fondest memories growing up were thanks to these old Hollywood productions. I grew up watching Our Gang/Little Rascals on Saturday mornings which would play after the new cartoons of the time. On weekend evenings, my father and I would laugh hysterically at Laurel and Hardy and especially The Three Stooges. These shows would be repeated endlessly, and you’d learn them word for word, and slap by poke. They would take you back to a time that seemed so much simpler, so much more trusting and maybe naive. Whether it was real or not was beside the point.
Early Sunday afternoons, one of the stations broadcasting from Buffalo would play movies starring The Marx Brothers. At that age, Harpo Marx was by far the funniest because of his physical comedy. Whether mugging for the camera or revealing the inventory of his cloak, it was an easy segue from the physical comedy of Laurel and Hardy/The Three Stooges to Harpo. Yet I wasn’t completely sold on the Marx Brothers since so much of their humour went over my head. Nevertheless, I knew what I was watching was special and that there would be a time when I’d be better able to understand it and appreciate it.
I rediscovered the Marx Brothers during my university days and before you can say “Why a Duck?” I became a devoted fan. I recall watching A Night at the Opera and laughing throughout the entire film. The mix of anarchy with Harpo’s physical comedy plus the wordplay between Groucho and Chico along with the incredible singing and music of Il Trovatore won me over with ease. Shortly thereafter, I watched Animal Crackers (which I consider their best film) and was once again blown away by the multi-layered entertainment that was packaged so tight and neatly. Shortly thereafter, I bought every movie of theirs that was for sale and since then have watched them over and over again.
My favourite Marx brother for a long time was their lead, Groucho for obvious reasons. Since then, it has shifted to Chico due to his punning, scheming, and attempts at carousing. Chico would play the bridge between Harpo and Groucho.
The Marx Brothers sing a tune in Duck Soup
But what about Zeppo? He seems to be the Rodney Dangerfield of The Marx Brothers since he gets “no respect”. Only appearing in the Brothers’ first four films, Zeppo was relegated to playing the straight man as opposed to the anarchic humour of the other three brothers. Was this because he was untalented? According to the brothers themselves, as well as family members and friends, Zeppo was not only the funniest of the brothers, but was also able to seamlessly ape each of the brothers’ characters (and sometimes stand in for them). Some suggest that Zeppo wasn’t allowed to display his humourous side since he’d either overshadow the other three, or more likely because he would make Groucho’s act redundant. Being the kid brother (a whole 11 years younger than Groucho and 13 and 14 years younger than Harpo and Chico, respectively) Zeppo had to give way as the older three had already well established characters that were easily to translate to the screen.
click here to read the rest of the article plus excerpts from Zeppo's last interview
I wrote this piece...I hope you get a chance to read it and hopefully enjoy it :)
We are of the same era, and your article brought back many fond memories. I wish my kids would watch those old shows and movies, but when I put them on, they are not interested. They connected me to the people who lived in the 30s and 40s and help me understand better where we came from. One of the social problems that is developing is the loss of a common culture based on common experiences, which has paradoxically developed due to the myriad of choices that we have when we choose entertainment.
Someone coined the phrase “The Tyranny of Choice”. I think it’s quite apropos. One need only look at “The Ed Sullivan Show” to understand how profound an effect it had on American culture at the time, and like you mentioned, a shared experience.....
Thank you for posting.
Zeppo bump!
The only problem I have with the piece is the fact that you left out a Hungadunga! You've left out the main one, too. I'm pretty sure Srdja Trifkovic will back me up on this.
But overall, That's a fine letter, Diocletian. That's an epic. That's dandy. Now I want you to make two carbon copies of that letter and throw the original away. And when you get through with that, throw the carbon copies away. Just send the stamp, airmail. That's all. You may go, Diocletian. I may go too.
See this contract here? All you need to do is sign the sanity clause.
There ain’t no Sanity Clause!
Excellent, well done. There’s a really cool DVD called “The Unknown Marx Brothers”, something like that, which has footage, history, interviews with kids, etc.
Actually, I always marveled at how different all the Marx Brothers were in personality -- almost like they didn't come from the same family.
But as a kid, I remember not only loving Harpo, but also watching how much his whole demeanor changed when he was playing music. From whacky, goofy to deadly serious when he was playing the harp. It was obvious that there was a whole other person inside that character.
When I was at college, at UCLA many years ago, word got out that Groucho was on campus. Students were literally hanging out of trees to see him.
I am, however a little confused --
"Early Sunday afternoons, one of the stations broadcasting from Buffalo would play movies starring The Marx Brothers."
Was that "Buffalo, Bosnia"?
Tie on the bed,rope out the window!
Whats the matta with you Rusty!!!?
Now you need to write an “about me” page.
I loved seeing the Groucho Marx TV shows when I was a kid.........................every once in a while one may be lucky to catch an old Marx brother film on TV.
You bet Your life!
“say the secret word and win an extra hundred dollars....”
I remember the time a grown up “Darla” Hood was on YBYL, she was a very attractive woman, (and an attractive little girl who was also Little Rascal's Alfalfa's heart throb...)
I know what you mean by “shared experience.” Even the morality of modern times cancels out one of my favorite Groucho punchlines:
WOMAN: I’m Beatrice Ryner. I stop at the hotel.
GROUCHO: I’m Ronald Kornblow. I stop at nothing.
Young people wouldn’t get it at all.
Very nice article - I love reading about them (Duck Soup is my favorite).
Zeppo made no mention of Margaret Dumont? That’s too bad - I always felt she was a big part of the act in their films.
Dumont may have been pulling Groucho’s leg, which would be the ultimate irony. In the book, “Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and sometimes, Zeppo,” the author makes the case that Dumont had been in musical comedy in vaudeville for years in the early part of the 20th century. She was no stranger to jokes. I guess that is what made her a great straight woman...timing is everything! She knew exactly what she was doing.
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