Day at the Races, a

I received my order in the time frame stated and everything was A-OK. I wouldn't hesitate to order from these guys again.

A DAY AT THE RACES is the second of the Marx/Wood/Thalberg collaborations (Marx Brothers, director Sam Wood and producer Irving Thalberg) movies made at MGM, the first the delightful A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. Irving Thalberg (called "the boy genius" about a hundred times in the DVD extras) died partway through production, bringing this successful combination to an unhappy end. Critical opinion will have you believe that NIGHT is the stronger of the two, but I've always preferred DAY. I'm absolutely tickled to have it now on a fantastic DVD.

First, I think the jokes are just a little sharper and sillier here than in NIGHT (not that they were poor there by any means). Also, the romantic subplot was handled a little better here. It helps, I think, that Allan "Imitation Zeppo" Jones has better chemistry with Maureen O'Sullivan than he did with Kitty Carlisle. The stricter structure that Thalberg imposed on the films is improved. I have an entertaining time cheering on the Brothers' attempting to win a horserace to save a young heroine's sanitarium.

But, of course, the real fun from a Marx Brothers film comes from the one-liners and comedic set pieces that abound, and the gags here rival their best material. As you'll hear loads of times if you peruse the DVD extras, Irving Thalberg encouraged the Brothers to take their material on the road for testing in front of an audience before filming it. Hence, the timing, the punch lines and the individual words themselves are all finely honed. It's this attention to detail that makes them work. You could easily imagine the "Tootsie Frootsie" sequence dragging and dying if the lines hadn't been performed perfectly.

The bad guys in this one are a lot of fun too, and go a long way towards making this such a success. Sig Ruman is welcomed back after OPERA, and it's great to see him eye-popping in shock whenever insulted by Groucho. By the end of his segment, his voice has risen so high in outrage that he sounds like Dr. Strangelove. Similarly, the fake telephone call from Florida wouldn't be as funny as it is without Leonard Ceeley's wonderful over the top frustration.

As a modern movie viewer, I couldn't help but be amused by a scene, which, if DAY had come later, would have been seen as a parody of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. In one of that science fiction epic's more famous sequences, Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube" plays majestically in the background as a space station slowly spins in orbit, ready to engage in docking procedures. Here, the same piece of classical music plays while we see Groucho Marx in a dressing grown, slowly spinning and dancing in front of a mirror, as he eagerly awaits engaging in docking procedures with the beautiful Esther Muir. Well, I was amused anyway.

One more thing I should mention about the film: the song and dance sequence in the poor, black community. Now, compared to other films of that time, this is almost progressive in its attitude towards race (which, admittedly, isn't saying much). But there is one thing that makes me a little uncomfortable. In context, it almost appears to be saying that, yes, the blacks are poor, and yes, they're outcasts from white society, but, well, they've got their singing and dancing, and, gosh, aren't they happy, and doesn't that make it all okay? I can't help but think that's the subtle message, though perhaps it's just me. Still, I shouldn't complain too much, because it is by far the best singing and dancing in the entire film (though I'll grudgingly admit the ballerina was also quite skilled). Imagine, people actually having fun with song and dance! It's certainly a change from the stoic, restrained and boring performances elsewhere.

The DVD comes with several extras, so you really get your money's worth, even if you aren't quite thrilled with all of the offerings. The documentary is based upon the same structure as on the DVD of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, which means there's valuable trivia and knowledge from the lips of all manner of comedians, co-stars, and writers, and also Dom DeLuise talking about food. I'll bet I'm not the only one surprised and delighted that both the female romantic leads from NIGHT and DAY are still alive and sharp enough to recall details from almost seventy years ago.

The commentary track is relatively good when fan Glenn Mitchell is actually speaking, but there's an unfortunate amount of dead air. At least he's honest though; he recommends viewers take advantage of the chapter-forward button to skip through the interminable ballet sequence since he's decided it's not any good and he has nothing to say until the next scene. Some of the trivia he imparts is interesting, but he has an unfortunate habit of pointing out continuity errors and things that most the audience won't care about. Still, he said some stuff I didn't know (the song "A Message From The Man In The Moon" that Groucho sings a snatch of at the closing was intended to be the movie's big song, but was cut), which is always appreciated.

You can skip over the rest of the DVD extras. Robert Benchley had an Oscar winning short on the NIGHT release, but A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES is rather predictable and dull. Also included are three vintage cartoons, which are quite clearly from a different age. And they're welcome to them.

I'm not sure whether I'd place this film or DUCK SOUP as my all-time favorite Marx Brothers flick. But honestly, who cares which one is the best? This film is available separately or as part of the recent "Marx Brothers Collection" DVD box set. If you're going to buy only one of those films (and why not just buy the set?), then I'd recommend this one above all.

The big all-black except Harpo production number included a song that I don't know the name of (All god chillun got swing?) which was recorded (either before or after the movie, I just recognized it) by a young Judy Garland. Did Gus Kahn write the words for that too? I thought the flick was watery and patchy (like all their movies after the big 4, I always exclude Duck Soup, bullheaded? because it was scripted by Kalmar and Ruby, 2 of their songwriters?), but it had some great lines and some reasonably though compared to their first 4 flicks only moderately funny routines in it. Harpo got knocked about once, but it was brief and early in the flick and he more than compensated by kicking the villain in the ass! There was chaos, there was pandemonioun and there was shtick, but (sigh) while funny it wasn't up (down, in golf a low score is better) to par. But. This was only in the first part of the movie. It got better. And really picked up when our hero made up with his girl, Harpo (later joined by Groucho and Chico) danced with the black people, followed by the plot complications and the funny horserace and ending in triumph. I thought it was a little plot-laden, but I also thought it was funny and liked it. Now I've got my 8 little Marx Bros flicks on the shelf waiting to amuse and delight my future grandkids of which I won't have any of because I'm gay. Margaret Dumont was great, the film was in excellent condition (why should this be such a surprise, it was made in 1937, about the time of The Wizard of Oz, and there's nothing wrong with that print), the cast members all did good jobs, and the villians were nasty and made me mad. I prefer the Marx Bros movies where there are no villains. A long review that mentions no rountine, I'll leave that to the devotees who revel and delight in the Marx Bros more than I do to point out and rhapsodize over. In short, though it's not as good as the first 4 of their films, it's right up there with Casablanca, and head and shoulders above their other 6 movies. I thought the Marx Bros (even liked Zeppo) were a riot 30 years ago. Sigh, now I don't think they're very funny. Maybe it's just these last 3 movies.