Director: Victor Heerman
Cast: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx
Have I Seen it Before: Absolutely.
Did I Like It: In my review for Duck Soup (1933) I declared that there is not a moment spent with the Marx Brothers that is misspent. I stand by this sentiment, and while I think that film is the peak of their skills, and the perfect gateway into the finest corners of film comedy, this film may be a bit harder to get into for the uninitiated. Many people would blanche at the notion of any film in black and white, but I can’t imagine I will ever learn to understand those people.
That isn’t to say there is less to enjoy here. “Hooray for Captain Spaulding” is perhaps the greatest song with Groucho at the lead. There isn’t a moment that is less than pleasurable. The whole entity of the film is not as satisfying as Duck Soup or some of their other movies. This was directly adapted from a Broadway play starring the brothers, and it shows. It comes from that period in films shortly after the advent of synchronized sound where almost every film produced was a recording of a stage production, nothing more. Dracula (1931) was very much the same way, if in a different genre. Animal Crackers is more a revue than a narrative film, with bits arranged in loose order. There’s not much of a story here, but if all you need from your early comedy films is a strict sense of story, there is more than enough Chaplin films that might pique your interest.
But I’d still rather watch this than the vast majority of other films in existence. Anything Harpo does or any noise he makes is an unremitting delight, and each and every Groucho bon mot is a pristine display of great artist working in the medium for which they were born.