This is where I get a little confessional:
As much as I like to talk big about knowing classic movies inside and out, I do actually have a few pockets of cluelessness. Buried in one of those pockets: The Marx Brothers.
It’s sad but true. I think I know more about Karl Marx than the Marx Brothers.
Thankfully, my partner in classic movie gushing has his Groucho and company knowledge down. So this week, Clay Morgan and I took on Duck Soup…generally one of the brothers’ most critically acclaimed flicks. It’s not Clay’s favorite (and I haven’t seen enough Marx Brothers movies to have a favorite yet) but it’s still a riot of a movie and lots of laughs.
Your turn to join in: Our convo got long on this one and we ended up cutting a discussion on who’s better: The Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges. (We both vote the brothers.) So just for fun, who do YOU like best? (And if you’ve got a movie suggestion for future vlogs, throw it out in the comments.)
Comments 49
I don’t like either—gasp! Lol. I love old movies, but I never got into Stooges or the MB. Maybe I’ll at least try this movie…maybe:)
Author
It’s okay, Susan. We all have our own tastes. But I think the Marx Bros are probably worth watching for the dialogue alone. It’s like a one-liner fest. 🙂
Marx Brothers are funnier by far than the Stooges. Favorite Groucho quote: “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”
Author
Ha, love that!
Classic. Good call.
So fun, Melissa! I vote the brothers also. I was actually introduced to the Marx Brothers ten years ago when my husband and I married and we now own most of their movies. My favorite MB movie would have to be Night At The Opera with The Big Store coming in a close 2nd. Fun fact (and kinda sad) about the brothers: Harpo’s silent character was NOT originally silent. After one of their stage routines, the crowd boo-ed Harpo for his speaking parts. After that night he vowed to never speak again on stage (or film for that matter).
Have you done a vlog for Arsenic and Old Lace?
Author
Oh that is a fun and kinda sad fact! But I love that you threw it out because I love movie trivia. No, we haven’t done Arsenic and Old Lace yet but we definitely have to. I love the guy that thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt in that. And Cary Grant is great in it, too, of course. We’re struggling to space out our Cary Grant picks. Haha! He’s up again next week in a different movie.
Another vote for Cary Grant. We could basically spend a year just doing all his movies I think. Good stuff.
So much fun! I don’t know which ones I like more. I’ve seen more Stooges so…??
Author
Well, if you want help determining which one you like better, let me put it in terms you might understand. Marx Brothers is CoffeeMate to the Stooges’ International Delight. 🙂
How awesome this was so fun. Love it. I love old movies. I’m tweeting and facebooking it.
Author
Fun, thanks for sharing, Diana!
OKay, so…I’ve never actually really watched either one. But the clips I’ve seen of the Three Stooges are so…I don’t know, lame, I guess. I don’t really find that slapstick stuff that funny. So I’m guessing I’d like MB better since they’re witty. 🙂
And you don’t look as tired as I know you were! Hehe.
Author
Here’s the thing with slapstick–I often think it’s not very entertaining for all that long. BUT there is actually a lot of coordination and choreography that goes into it. And I can really appreciate that. But I’m probably always going to choose wit over slapstick…with Marx Bros you get both.
To know and love the Marx brothers is to know early talkie cinema (and an appreciation for the music of the day – high sopranos and warbling tenors) and very very rapid fire wit and wonderful harp and piano music. Most who don’t like the Marx Brothers just can’t keep up with the pace or don’t appreciate the fun of “beating a dead horse.”
Author
Ha, that last part made me laugh. But I agree with you, especially when it comes to rapid fire wit. That’s what I appreciated most about Duck Soup, for sure.
I don’t like either. But Lucille Ball’s rendition of Groucho was pretty good. 😉
Author
Lucille Ball is quite the character, for sure.
Too fun, Melissa. I love the fun facts you guys threw into this vlog. I prefer the Marx Brothers to the Stooges. The humor is more to my taste. 🙂 LOVED this!
Author
I love fun movie facts…the good thing about this particular vlog is that I actually got to learn some new facts. 🙂
Melissa doesn’t do ANYTHING without fun facts.
Author
Haha um this is actually kinda true.
You guys are fun! Although I have a confession – the only person I thought of was Richard Marx. Can’t go wrong with 80s jams 🙂
Author
Haha, 80s pop culture is like a big black hole for me. I guess I was too into my Nancy Drew books and My Little Ponies. So I had to Google Richard Marx and all I can say is, OH the mullet!
Great call Jamie. Melissa may be blind to the awesome 80s, but folks like you and me will always hold on to the night. Hold on to the memories… 😀
I remember The Three Stooges as a small kiddo and thought they were pretty funny then. I never cared for the Marx brothers that much, but I loved Lucy’s version of Groucho (’cause I Love Lucy!!) 🙂
I still think it’s awesome that you appreciate the classics! 🙂
Author
Thanks, Cynthia. I have my parents to thank for my love of the classics. Well, that and my hometown library that had tons of classics on video which I’d watch over and over and over…
Melissa,
Are you a Gilmore Girls fan too? I have never seen the movie Duck Soup, but it gets a lot of press when Rory goes off to college at Yale and watches it repeatedly with a boy she meets.
Author
YES! I love Gilmore Girls almost solely due to the dialogue…it is so quick and witty and seriously, every time I watch it, I catch a reference I didn’t earlier. (Well, that and I love Jess. And I know I’m in the minority there, but I just do.) And yeah, I remember the episode with Rory and that one guy watching Duck Soup…doesn’t she even like dress up as Groucho or something?
I have seen Marx Brothers movies but must admit that I never really appreciated them. I love old movies in general, but never took a shine to the MB or the Stooges 🙂
One of my former students, an autistic young man, loved the Stooges. I never heard him laugh so loud or show so much delight as when he was watching one of their movies. He memorized every detail about the Stooges’ lives and film history and relayed all that info to me over the course of our time together. Sadly, I was not a great student!
Author
Oh I love that story about your student. 🙂
The only experience I have with the Marx brothers is that one episode of I Love Lucy (one of my favorite tv sitcoms of all time) with Harpo and the mirror gag. My family was more of a Laurel and Hardy/Abbott and Costello family, but I did see some of the Stooges as well. I didn’t care for the Stooges, and Abbott and Costello were my absolute favorites. Their “Who’s on First” bit never gets old and always makes me bust a gut laughing.
Would y’all consider gushing about any of the films that Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly did together? There’s at least three of them: Take Me Out to the Ballgame (1949), Anchors Aweigh (1945), and [my favorite] On the Town (1949).
Blessings,
Andrea
Author
Andrea, Take Me Out to the Ballgame is one of my very favorites. We had it recorded on VHS from TV and I don’t even know how many times I watched it as a kid. Lots, that’s for sure. For whatever reason, I LOVED singing “It’s Fate, Baby, It’s Fate.” 🙂 I think Betty Garrett is fabulous in it. And Esther Williams’ random swimming number…did you know Judy Garland was originally considered for that role? Ahhh, now I have to watch it again. 🙂 Yes, we should probably do a vlog on this one…
Melissa, isn’t Esther Williams wonderful? She’s actually the visual inspiration for one of my characters in a later book in the series I’m working on. She’s just got such a classic look, and my lead is a rescue swimmer, so it’s perfect. Hollywood’s Mermaid just had to have a swimming number, didn’t she? 🙂 Heehee.
Lots to love about this comment. First of all, I LOVE Abbott and Costello. They did some zany movies we might hit up down the line. I’ve never seen Take Me Out to the Ballgame and now I really want to.
Author
Don’t you like baseball, Clay? I’m not making that up, right? If so, you really probably should watch Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
Clay and Melissa, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Abbott and Costello. Looking forward to that Gush.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame is the one of the three movies that Sinatra and Kelly did together that I actually haven’t seen. I loved the other two and am hoping to see Ballgame soon. Again, I’m looking forward to another Gush moment. 🙂
Gotta say, I don’t know which one I like more but I remember my Dad cracking up at the Stooges. I never “got” the humor. Maybe it’s like my daughter says referring to me “Old people humor” Gotta laugh, I’m in that category now.
Author
You are so not old, Alena. 🙂
I don’t know anything about the Marx Brothers and I’ve never been a Three Stooges fan, but I do like some classic films, especially when they have some romance in them. 🙂
Author
Yay for liking some classics. 🙂
I enjoyed this vlog very much! 🙂 I’ve never been a big fan of either the Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers, but I have to say I would rather watch a two hour movie with the Marx Brothers. My dad used to watch the Three Stooges, along with the Little Rascals, on Sunday mornings while my mom was busy getting all of us ready for church.
Author
Actually, Gabe, Duck Soup is only like 70-some minutes long so you wouldn’t even have to watch a full two hours. 🙂
I remember that exact same Sunday morning TV lineup Gabrielle 🙂
I’m definitely a Marx Brothers gal! And I love Duck Soup (my other favorite is Night at the Opera.) The Stooges just grate on my nerves after awhile (sorry Stooges!)
Author
Very nice of you to apologize to the Stooges…hehehe…I need to watch Night at the Opera!
Hey!
My dad loved the Three Stooges. I’m not so sure. They are just so mean to each other. I think I’ll go with the Marx Brothers. 🙂
Author
Is this Sue Nebbe? Because if so, I hope you read today’s blog post…YOU totally win one of the giveaway prizes from the party last week.
If this isn’t Sue Nebbe, sorry…but I hear ya on the Stooges. They’re always hitting each other!
So apparently when you updated your website it stopped showing up in my feedly which means I’ve missed all the posts for awhile and I’m just catching up!
The most I ever heard/saw of the Marx brothers was that scene in I Love Lucy! Though I think I may need to go try one out now!