Next to "A Night at the Opera" this is the Marx Bros. best movie

Rating: 10/10 (14 August 2006)

Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) becomes leader of tiny Freedonia on the insistence of rich Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont). For no good reason he starts war on the neighboring Sylvania. Chico and Harpo play spies and Zeppo (in his last movie) plays Firefly's secretary.
This was a financial flop when it came out. Why it bombed has never been known, but this was a political satire and the country was still dealing with the Great Depression. Also there was a war raging in Europe. People went to movies to escape and this probably would have reminded them of what was going on. It wasn't until the 1960s that this was rediscovered and rightfully became a comedy classic.
This is virtually non stop jokes and slapstick. There are no silly romantic songs or subplot to slow the movie down and (thankfully) Chico and Harpo don't have their harp or piano solos. There are many classic scenes including the mirror bit. My favorite is the last sequence when the war is raging and the Brothers clothes keep changing (on purpose) from shot to shot.
A comedy classic. I like "Night at the Opera" just a LITTLE bit more though. A 10 all the way.