News
- Double Feature in Beverly, MAThe Cabot in Beverly, MA will show a double feature of "Duck Soup" and "Horse Feathers" on May 29, at 6 pm. Click here for more information
- The Marx Brothers Council podcast
- Today in Marx History
- "An Evening with Groucho" - tour dates
Frank Ferrante is touring with his show "An Evening with Groucho".
Click here for information about his current tour dates and other projects.
Recent publications
Books / Audio / Video
Books and articles by members of the Marx family about the Marx Brothers or the Marx family
Fleming Marx, Susan, with Robert S. Bader: Speaking of Harpo
From the publisher: "Her story is the counterpoint to the beloved and acclaimed Harpo Marx autobiography, 'Harpo Speaks!'. Susan's frank, opinionated perspective provides a true look behind the curtain and details Harpo's last years, following the publication of his own book."
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Books about the Marx Brothers, their films etc.
Bader, Robert S.: Four of the Three Musketeers - The Marx Brothers on Stage
From the publisher: "Before film made them international comedy legends, the Marx Brothers developed their comic skills on stage for twenty-five years. In Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage, Robert S. Bader offers the first comprehensive history of the foursome's hardscrabble early years honing their act in front of live audiences.
From Groucho's debut in 1905 to their final live performances of scenes from A Night in Casablanca in 1945, the brothers' stage career shows how their characters and routines evolved before their arrival in Hollywood. Four of the Three Musketeers draws on an unmatched array of sources, many not referenced elsewhere. Bader's detailed portrait of the struggling young actors both brings to vivid life a typical night on the road for the Marx Brothers and also illuminates the inner workings of the vaudeville business, especially during its peak in the 1920s.
As Bader traces the origins of the characters that would later come to be beloved by filmgoers, he also skillfully scrapes away the accretion of rumors and mythology perpetuated not only by fans and writers but by the Marx Brothers themselves. Revealing, vital, and entertaining, Four of the Three Musketeers will take its place as an essential reference for this iconic American act."
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- Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL, Sep 2022, ISBN: 0 8101 4575 8 / "[This] updated edition adds newly discovered performances [...] and additional information provided by descendants of long-departed vaudevillians mentioned in the book." Check availability (commissions earned*):         |
Bader, Robert S.: (Zeppo Marx biography)
Liethen, Anne-Marie: Die Marx Brothers im Krieg. Eine Analyse von "Duck Soup"
Analysis of "Duck Soup". University assignment
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- (deutsch) self-published, 2022 / e-book |
Weir, Robert E.: The Marx Brothers and America
"Where Film, Comedy and History Collide" (previously: "The Films in Historical Context")
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- McFarland & Co, Jefferson, NC, 2022, ISBN: 1 476 68895 8 Check availability (commissions earned*): |
Books in which the Marx Brothers appear as characters
McGuinness, Frank: Dinner With Groucho
Play in which Groucho meets T.S.Eliot
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Books and articles which have the Marx Brothers not as their main topic, but have a significant part about them
Feibleman, James: Praise of Comedy: A Study of its Theory and Practice
Chapter 5: "The Comedy of Everyday Life: The Marx Brothers"
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- Routledge, 2022, ISBN: 1 032 22214 X / (hardback) reprint of the 1939 edition Check availability (commissions earned*): |
Lie, Sulgi: Gehend kommen
Adornos Slapstick: Charlie Chaplin & The Marx Brothers
From the publisher's website:
"[...] Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist nichts anderes, als für Adornos Gelächter eine theoretische Lanze zu brechen und diesem nicht nur in seinen Texten nachzuspüren, sondern auch in den Filmen jener Komiker, die er so bewunderte: von Charlie Chaplin und den Marx Brothers. Aus der parallelen Lektüre von philosophischen Texten und Hollywood-Filmen wird nicht zuletzt eine Filmästhetik extrahiert, von der immer noch von manchen angenommen wird, dass es diese bei einem Denker nicht geben könne, der ja berechtigterweise einmal behauptete, nach jedem Kinobesuch wieder dümmer herauszukommen. [...]"
Contents:
I. Zweimal: Adornos Chaplin, pp.21-152
II. Dreimal: The Marx Brothers, pp.153-266
III. Noch einmal: Charlie Chaplin, pp. 267-385
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Montgomery, John: Comedy Films: 1894-1954
Chapter 16 "The Eccentrics" devoted to the Marxes and W.C. Fields
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- Routledge, 2022, ISBN: 1 032 21289 6 / reprint of the 1954 edition Check availability (commissions earned*): |
Books and articles by and about colleagues and contemporaries of the Marx Brothers
Curtis, James: Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life
Mostly, the brothers are mentioned in passing. One section talks about working on At the Circus. There is mention of Chico attending Keaton's opening at the Medrano, and it mentions is Keaton attending Chico's funeral.
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Enss, Chris; Kazanjian, Howard : Straight Lady
The Life and Times of Margaret Dumont, "The Fifth Marx Brother"
Reviews note that the book doesn't really have a lot about Margret Dumont. It also seems to be riddled with errors.
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- Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. / The Lyons Press, 2022, ISBN: 1 4930 6040 6 Check availability (commissions earned*): |
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- Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. / The Lyons Press, 2022 / (Kindle ebook) Check availability (commissions earned*): |
Marx Brothers Movies
The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection ( Box Set, Paramount )
includes "The Cocoanuts", "Animal Crackers" (+theatrical trailer), "Horse Feathers" (+theatrical trailer), "Monkey Business" and "Duck Soup" (+theatrical trailer)
All have English Dolby Digital 2.0 audio and all except Cocoanuts also have Spanish audio. All are subtitled in English, French and Spanish
An extra disc of bonus material has:
- Today Show Interview with Harpo Marx (1961)
- Today Show Interview with Groucho Marx (1963)
- Today Show Interview with William Marx, Harpo's son (1985)
Some columnist and some people on amazon have stated that these movies have been "censored". This is not true, they are the same as the versions previously available on video and DVD.
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- Blu-Ray: Umbrella Entertainment, Australia, 2022 / Blu-Ray discs with the five Paramount movies in restored sound and picture quality. Animal Crackers also has some additional footage:
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Documentaries about the Marx Brothers/TV Programmes with Groucho, Harpo or Chico
Frank Ferrante's Groucho (2022)
filmed at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
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- DVD, Region 0: Frank Ferrante Productions, 2022 / available at eveningwithgroucho.com |
Groucho & Cavett (2023)
Cavett looks back at his relationship with Groucho, sharing footage from Groucho's visits to his show and other rare recordings.
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- DVD, Region 1: PBS, American Masters, AM62115, 2023 / Check availability (commissions earned*):
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