![]() ![]() What they did to delay the opera is nothing compared to the riotous stuff pulled to stall the race. Jones has both Chico and Harpo as his sidekicks and of course like they had to save the opera in the first film, they have to save the sanitarium for Maureen O'Sullivan and to do it, they have to enter Jones's horse High Hat in the Steeplechase. But there are two schools of thoughts as to who had the best character names in films. Dumont will help out, but only if her personal physician, Doctor Hugo Hackenbush takes over the sanitarium. Douglass Dumbrille wants it real bad and will do everything in the best Snidely Whiplash to get it from O'Sullivan. Allan's in love with Maureen O'Sullivan who owns a sanitarium that the wealthy Margaret Dumont patronizes. And of course unlike Zeppo, Jones sings beautifully. Jones is once again doing the Zeppo part and helps out with all the racetrack shenanigans they pull. When MGM had such a great success with A Night at the Opera, their first film with the Marx Brothers it was only natural that they reunite them with Allan Jones again. In conclusion, an entertaining film but not absolutely wonderful. And speaking of the Marx Brothers, all three are splendid particularly Groucho who is still quick-witted and a lot of fun to watch. The "Tootsie frootsie ice cream" sketch is for me the best of Groucho/Chico's wordplay routines. ![]() The dialogue is also very inspired and quotable, and the gags are hilarious. Criticisms aside, it looks great with fine cinematography, lighting and scenery and has good incidental scoring that is both quirky and charming. Also I would have shortened the film by about 5 or so minutes. What hurt the film more though was some of the musical interludes, some work but others miss more than they hit not because they are terrible but because they are too long and slow the film down pretty considerably. I am not talking about Margaret Dumont for she is sterling as always, I am talking about Allan Jones and Maureen O'Sullivan whose romantic wooings came across as a little too sappy. Why I didn't like A Day at the Races as much as an outing like A Night at the Opera, Horse Feathers or Duck Soup is because it does have some inconsistent support playing. While A Day at the Races is one of my least favourites of theirs, as it is somewhat uneven, it is still very entertaining and definitely worth watching. I love the Marx Brothers, and I like/love their movies. ![]()
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