The Big Store

First of all, it's great to see Margaret Dumont back after missing out on the previous GO WEST and having a diminished role in AT THE CIRCUS. She's always a delight in these films, and the scene of her initial hire of Groucho as a private detective is a joy. Unfortunately, the rest of the guest cast is totally unmemorable. The romantic leads in this film are perhaps the blandest ever seen in a Marx Brothers film, and that's saying something! Douglass Dumbrille returns to play the same sort of bad guy character he did the last time (the casino-owning Morgan in the far superior A DAY AT THE RACES) and does a pretty decent job, although his henchmen and co-conspirators aren't up to much.

I mentioned the blandness of the romantic leads, but their lackluster appeal is matched only by their insipid songs. I listen to this tedious, boring stuff and can only think to myself that rock'n'roll was still over a decade away -- hang in there, guys! On the other hand, Harpo and Chico get possibly the best musical scenes in their movie careers. Their piano duet is wonderful, and makes me wish they had done this sort of musical and comedy collaboration in earlier films. And Harpo also gets a great scene playing the harp while his various mirrored reflections play other instruments along with him. Fun stuff.

Of course, discussion of the singing and music can't ignore a mention of Virginia O'Brien. In the past six months I've watched the entirety of the "ART OF BUSTER KEATON" DVD box set (recommended), so I thought I knew all about The Great Stone Face. I was wrong. Singing a version of "Rock-a-bye Baby", O'Brien's eyes are staring straight in front of her, while her face is absolutely, completely and utterly expressionless. It's eerie but hilarious. A quick Internet search reveals that she actually made something of a career out of her bizarre (yet strangely appealing) delivery. Watch it and wonder. As odd as it is, it did get one of the biggest laughs out of me.

I think the director must have received a monetary bonus from the developers of the fast motion technique, which brings us to one of the film's bigger problems. There's a great reliance on gimmicky special effects jokes, usually involving stunt men dressed as the Brothers dangling from wires, while the director speeds up the film. The big chase sequence near the end is a full demonstration of this. We see the stuntmen in long shot (balanced by several close-ups of the Marx Brothers themselves in front of a unconvincing backdrop) going through their wacky antics, but knowing that it isn't really the Brothers detracts from the overall experience. It's amusing, but it isn't uproarious. The Brothers themselves were capable of doing much more funny stuff, even when they were going through pure slapstick.

THE BIG STORE has some good gags, some entertaining set pieces and some strong one-liners. On the other hand, there's too much fluff and inferior material for me to really recommend this as the Marx Brothers at their best. But if you've seen DUCK SOUP or A DAY AT THE RACES enough times that you can recite all the lines before Groucho does, then you might want to turn your attention here. It's nowhere near the greatest of The Marx Brothers films, but it's entertaining enough.