The Film Junkie

Probably one of the least funny Marx Brothers film is this tale of a horse doctor trying to woo a rich lady in a sanitarium while also helping the owner’s boyfriend keep his horse so that it can race…yeah…that’s the plot.

The plot if full of holes and funny bits between Chico and Groucho are nowhere near as funny as other sparrings in other films.  Instead they are slow and oddly plain.

Alas I simply do not see the connection between African-Americans singing about having soul and horse racing.

There is a really funny bit with all three Bros in the operating room when they keep sanitizing over and over again and the actual horse-race is a great moment in Harpo history (no matter how much he steals from Buster Keaton).  The supporting characters are as bland as usual and the musical number is nowhere near the caliber of ‘Duck Soup’.

Skip this one and go check out ‘Duck Soup’ or ‘A Night at the Opera’.

Grade: B-