The Big Store

Not as polished as their earlier MGM films with Thalberg, but among the mess are some very funny moments. Chico playing the piano with Harpo is wonderful to watch. In contrast, any scene in which Tony Martin sings is a drag. The final chase scene is almost too ridiculous, but not quite. My 500th film rated and reviewed on Criticker.

"I'm afraid after we're married a while, a beautiful young girl will come along and - you'll forget all about me." - "Don't be silly. I'll write you twice a week."

Not their best, not their worst . . . the finale is a good example of how things can sometimes go wrong and still be funny: it's poor Marx Brothers, but entertaining cartoon-inspired slapstick. Lousy songs and insipid Romantic Leads sometakes make this one hard to sit through, but the Brothers certainly deliver on their part of the bargain.

One of the extremest of their movies.

T.B.S is an underrated Marx Brothers film whose flaws have been magnified to an absurd degree, overwhelming its obvious charm. Yes the songs stink, apart from Sing While You Sell, which is performed by Groucho with real gusto, and the romantic subplot is dull, but there are many funny moments, especially the scene in Flywheel's office and the one involving novelty beds. The cartoon like finale is great: a rollicking roller skate race across the Phelps Department Store's floors.

The Brothers are getting tired, and Tony Martin is hard to take. If it weren't for Margaret Dumont, this would barely be watchable.

Harpo typing

The Marx brothers' comedy is funny as always. Alas too much of the film is devoted to seemingly endless musical acts and romance. Still a funny film though.

Rewatch. I remember when I was young and just watching The Marx Brothers seemed like so much fun. I'm a little more discerning now, much to my chagrin. Lots of musical numbers, and the jokes have slowed down to make sure everyone hears every belabored punchline. That climax is still pretty alright though.

The Marx in auto-pilot is still the life of the party! Because they weren't trying too hard the comic flow of The Big Store (1941) was actually better than most of their big pictures. The material is average, but this was pure Marx stuff and who better to do Marx stuff than the Marx themselves!

Very far from the Marx Brothers' best - a few brilliant pieces of comedy intercut by endless musical numbers; there's about 40 minutes of proper Marxism in here. Still, fun enough.