Words Can't Manage

Rating: Null/10 (16 July 2015)

Lunacy from start to finish. The routines never cease and almost all are belly laughs, at least for us Marxists. There's something of a plot, which happily never gets in the way. It's something about Groucho's country of Freedonia and a rivalry with Calhern's Sylvania. Meanwhile zillionaire matron Dumont is the dubious prize. Naturally, the boys comically foil every plot to snatch her away.
Trouble is words don't come close to capturing the non-stop lunacy of the 70-minutes. What's generally overlooked, however, is how well produced the feature is. The royal hall is huge, well decorated, and staffed with armies of costumed extras. Thankfully, Paramount cut few corners and it shows. And catch that mass scene of squirming bodies near the end that borders on a surreal even as the routines continue. Comic highlights include the famous mirror scene, getting hats on straight at the hotdog stand, and Groucho's many throwaway lines. I can just imagine what it was like trying to direct this madness from a director's chair. Whatever they paid McCarey, it wasn't enough.
Anyway, the boys are in top form including the uncertain Zeppo before he wisely became a Hollywood talent agent. So, for younger folks, don't miss the well-crafted 1933 craziness. As the goofiness shows, surreal comedy didn't begin with the wacko likes of Bill Murray, Jim Carey, or even The Three Stooges!