Marx Brothers "The Big Store"

[Satisfying_Andy_Licious]

For a long time I was unaware this flick existed. It seems like there are certain canonical Marx Brothers films, and this one sort of gets neglected.

That seems odd: It wasn’t a classic like “Duck Soup,” but it has some terrific moments. It has slow parts (they all do) the brothers’ music numbers are self indulgent (they always are) and that Tenement Symphony is unintentionally laughable. But Harpo on giant rollerskates was a stitch, and Virginia O’Brien’s lullabye – and her dancing – are hilarious. Not the best Marx Brothers, but definitley good Marx Brothers. Anyone else think so?

[Baker]

I liked the part where the snooty woman is trying to match material for her dress. Harpo is waiting on her, and keeps shaking his head in the negative to indicate the store doesn’t have that bolt of fabric. She get s bitchier and finally, when she turns around, he cuts a piece out of the back of her skirt and hands it to her “Well you do SO have this material”

[RealityChuck]

It’s one of their weaker efforts. A few good gags, but nowhere near the level of their best work, and with some really bad sequences.

[CalMeacham]

It’s certainly better than Love Happy.

[BMalion]

“Sing while you Sell!”

[Kalhoun]

I like the scene where Harpo is swinging across the store via the lights in the ceiling. It was my favorite Marx Bros. movie when I was a kid. With the toys and all. It no longer is my favorite, but it still has a place in my heart.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Of the 13 Marx Brothers films, The Big Store ranks no higher than twelfth. And that’s only if you consider Love Happy to be a true Marx Brothers film.

Joe Adamson spends pages eviscerating the movie in his Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo, the best book ever on the Marxes, and I wish I could quote it all.

But the best one-liner on the movie comes from The Marx Brothers at the Movies by Paul D. Zimmerman and Burt Goldblatt.

If George S. Kaufman considered The Cocoanuts a musical comedy without music, he might very well have called the Big Store a musical comedy without comedy.

[Satisfying_Andy_Licious]

*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase *
**But the best one-liner on the movie comes from The Marx Brothers at the Movies by Paul D. Zimmerman and Burt Goldblatt. **

If George S. Kaufman considered The Cocoanuts a musical comedy without music, he might very well have called the Big Store a musical comedy without comedy.

That’s a good line, but I think it’s more funny than true. For all it’s many flaws, The Big Store is still a lot more entertaining than 90% of new comedies made.

[SnugTheJoiner]

The least funny Marx Brothers movie is still funnier than just about anything made by anyone else.

[Walloon]

Why did George S. Kaufman consider The Cocoanuts a musical comedy without music? There are six musical numbers in it, including Irving Berlin’s immortal “Monkey-Doodle-Do”.

[dougie_monty]

The capper for The Big Store would have been if Grover (Douglas Dumbrille) had not stopped the photographer from snapping the shutter on the booby-trapped camera. Then the bastard would have received what he deserved, instead of the movie ending weakly with Groucho’s car being towed away.
And if Grover’s slut friend (Marion Martin) had been even more exposed when she snapped and whined for fabric she wanted, or at least walked away and was laughed at and jeered by other customers until she saw what had happened…

[Exapno_Mapcase]

*Originally posted by Walloon *
**Why did George S. Kaufman consider The Cocoanuts a musical comedy without music? There are six musical numbers in it, including Irving Berlin’s immortal “Monkey-Doodle-Do”. **

Like many one-liners from those days, whose mouth it originally came out of is lost to history.

From earlier in The Marx Brothers at the Movies (that’s right – the same book):

After a disastrous performance in Boston which had run forty minutes overtime to an almost empty theater, Kaufman, co-author Morrie Ryskind and songwriter Irving Berlin met in gloomy conference. Kaufman suggested that a production number, two choruses and two more songs be excised. “My God,” cried Berlin. “Any more cuts and this will be a musical without any music!” “Tell you what,” said the mournful Kaufman. “You waive the songs and I’ll waive the story.” One of the songs Berlin waived was “Always.” The Cocoanuts was, as it turned out, the only show he wrote that did not contain at least one hit song.

More seriously, from Simon Louvish’s Monkey Business:

The problem that Kaufman was facing was, quite obviously, that the songs were holding back the whiplash speed of the comedy dialogue scenes, making the whole thing far too long for consumption as the light, frothy concoction that it was meant to be.

And the movie version is even more so. The original preview running time was 140 minutes, so a huge amount was cut out, mostly musical numbers from the available evidence. But I couldn’t find a direct quote of exactly what in a quick search.