PEOPLE IN AMERICA -July 21, 2002 : The Marx Brothers
By Shelley Gollust
VOICE ONE:
I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about
the Marx Brothers. They made many funny movies in the nineteen-thirties and nineteen-forties that are still
popular today.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
There were five Marx Brothers. The most famous were Julius, Leonard and Adolph. They were born in New
York City between eighteen-eighty-six and eighteen -ninety. Their father made clothing. Their mother wanted
them to become performers.
Julius, Leonard and Adolph started performing when they were children. Along with their two brothers, they
performed in stage shows called vaudeville in New York. They sang songs, danced and told jokes. Julius,
Leonard and Adolph Marx began making funny movies in nineteen-twenty-nine.
They changed their first names. Julius became Groucho. Leonard became Chico. Adolph became Harpo. Another
brother, Herbert, appeared in the first five Marx Brothers movies. He was called Zeppo. He did not play a funny
man like the other three. He played a good-looking young man.
VOICE TWO:
Groucho Marx looked funny. He had large black eyebrows and a hairy mustache. But they were
painted on his face. He spoke very quickly. And he walked in a funny way. He played people
with funny names, like Rufus T. Firefly. Otis B. Driftwood. And Doctor Hugo Z. Hackenbush.
Groucho was not a very nice person in the movies. He often insulted or made fun of rich or
important people. He made fun of doctors, college officials, opera singers, diplomats and
government officials. He even insulted his son, played in this example by Zeppo.
((CUT ONE: GROUCHO INSULTS SON)) From top:
Chico, Groucho
and Harpo.
ZEPPO: Dad, let me congratulate you. I’m proud to be your son.
GROUCHO: My boy, you took the words right out of my mouth. I’m ashamed to be your father. I’d have
horsewhipped you if I had a horse. You may go now. Leave your name and address for the girl outside and if
anything turns up, we ’ll get in touch with you. Where are you going?
ZEPPO: Well, you just told me to go.
GROUCHO: So that’s what they taught you in college. Just when I tell you to go, you leave me. You know you
can’t leave a schoolroom without raising your hand, no matter where you’re going.
ZEPPO: Anything further, father?
GROUCHO: Anything further, father? That can’t be right. Isn’t it “anything father, further”? The idea!
I
married your mother because I wanted children. Imagine my disappointment when you arrived!
VOICE ONE:
Chico Marx talked as if he was born in Italy. He spoke English that was not correct. Many other funny men spoke
as though they came from other countries. They were making fun of themselves and other immigrants who did
not speak English well. Chico also made funny jokes about words and expressions that sound alike but have
different meanings. For example, in one movie a woman sings with a very high falsetto voice. She says “I have
a falsetto voice.
”
Chico then says, “Well, my last student had a false set of teeth.
”
Chico also was known for performing what was called the comedy of the absurd. He talked about things that
were so untrue or unreasonable that they were funny. Here is an example. Chico is supposed to spy on someone
called Rufus T. Firefly. Chico reports his progress to the man who asked him to spy on Firefly. To “shadow”
someone is to secretly follow that person.
((CUT TWO: CHICO AS SPY )
)
CHICO: Well, you remember you gave us a picture of this man and said follow him?
MAN: Oh, yes.
CHICO: Well, we get on the job right away. And in one hour, even less than one hour, we lose the fix. That’ s
pretty good work, eh?
MAN: I want a full, detailed report of your investigation.
CHICO: All right. I tell you. Monday we watch Firefly’s house. But he no come out. He wasn’t home.
Tuesday we go to the ballgame, but he fool us. He no show up. Wednesday, he go to the ballgame, but we fool
him. We no show up. Thursday was a double -header, nobody show up. Friday it rained all day. There was no
ballgame. So we stayed home. We listened to it over the radio.
MAN: Then you didn’t shadow Firefly!
CHICO: Oh, sure, we shadow Firefly. We shadow him all day.
MAN: What day was that?
CHICO: It was Shadowday (Saturday)! That’s some joke, eh, Boss!
Chico also played the piano in a funny way. Chico did to music what he did to the English language. He made
fun of it.
((CUT THREE: CHICO PLAYING PIANO)
)
VOICE TWO:
Harpo Marx had curly yellow hair, but it was not really his hair. It was false hair, called a wig. He never said
a
word in any of the movies. Instead, he acted out what he wanted to say. He could make people laugh without
saying a word. People always knew what he was thinking. He made funny sounds with horns and whistles to
express his thoughts and feelings.
In one movie, a kind policeman tries to give him some advice to stay away from bad people. As the policeman
shakes Harpo’s hand, you can hear pieces of silver that Harpo has stolen fall out of his clothes.
((CUT FOUR: HARPO AND THE POLICEMAN)
)
POLICEMAN: You better come with me, young fellow.
GROUCHO: Don’t take him away, officer.
POLICEMAN: All right. I’ll let him go this time. But I want to give you some advice. You’re running around
with the wrong kind of people. Why don’t you go home?
CHICO: He got no home.
POLICEMAN: Go home for a few nights. Stay home. Don’t you know your poor old mother sits there, night
after night, waiting to hear your steps on the stairs?
CHICO: He got no stairs.
POLICEMAN: I can see a little light burning in the window.
GROUCHO: No you can’t. The gas company turned it off.
POLICEMAN: Now, what I’m telling you is for your own good. And if you listen to me, you can’t go wrong.
As you might have guessed from his name, Harpo Marx was famous for playing the musical instrument called the
harp. He made beautiful music like this on the harp in several movies.
((CUT FIVE: HARP MUSIC)
)
VOICE ONE:
The three Marx Brothers --Groucho, Chico and Harpo --made fourteen movies together. The movies made fun
of officials in many areas of society, like colleges, hospitals, or the government. The Marx Brothers made most
of their movies during the nineteen-thirties. This was during the great economic Depression. Many Americans
had no jobs and not much hope. Many people went to the movies to try to forget their troubles. The Marx
Brothers thought people might like to see funny things happen to rich and important people.
VOICE TWO:
The Marx Brothers’.. first two movies were “The Cocoanuts”.. and “Animal Crackers.
”
*
These were based on earlier shows that they starred in on Broadway in New York City. Some of
,PDJH
their most famous movies are “Horse Feathers,” “Duck Soup,”.. and “A Night at the
Opera.”..
In “Horse Feathers,”.. the Marx Brothers make fun of colleges. Groucho is a professor and the
president of Huxley College. He wants to improve the college by having a successful football
team. Here, he talks to other college officials.
((CUT SIX: HORSE FEATHERS))
GROUCHO: Now I say to you gentlemen that this college is a failure. The trouble is, we’re neglecting football
for education.
COLLEGE OFFICIALS: Exactly, the professor is right.
GROUCHO: Oh, I’m right, am I? Well, I’m not right. I’m wrong. I just said that to test you. Now I know
where I’m at. I’m dealing with a couple of snakes. What I meant to say was that there is too much football and
not enough education.
COLLEGE OFFICIALS: That’s what I think.
GROUCHO: Oh you do, do you? Well, you’re wrong again. If there was a snake here, I’d apologize. Where
would this college be without football? Have we got a stadium?
UDSKLF
COLLEGE OFFICIALS: Yes.
GROUCHO: Have we got a college?
COLLEGE OFFICIALS: Yes.
GROUCHO: Well, we can’t support both. Tomorrow we start tearing down the college.
COLLEGE OFFICIALS: But, professor, where will the students sleep?
GROUCHO: Where they always sleep
–
in the classroom!
VOICE ONE:
Some critics say “Duck Soup,
”
is one of the greatest comedies ever made. Groucho is the leader of a country
called Freedonia. He declares war on a nearby country. The movie makes fun of war, diplomats and dictators.
Other critics say “A Night at the Opera,
”
is their finest film. Groucho tries to get a rich woman to invest in an
opera company. The movie has many funny parts. One of the most famous is when fifteen people are crowded
into a very small room on a passenger ship.
VOICE TWO:
Experts say the Marx Brothers movies were extremely popular for several reasons. The brothers had been
performing together since they were children. They shared a sense of what was funny.
In addition, they all loved music. Most of their movies include music. When a song begins in their movies,
everything else stops. When Harpo plays his harp, his face shows how much he loves what he is playing. Then,
when the music is over, the Marx Brothers immediately start being funny again.
The Marx Brothers’
movies were like vaudeville shows. They contained something for everyone. There was
comedy, speeches, music and songs. Often Groucho sang a funny song. Here is an example, called “Hello,
I
Must be Going.
”
((CUT SEVEN: HELLO, I MUST BE GOING)
)
VOICE ONE:
The Marx Brothers performed together and then separately for more than seventy years until the last one died in
the late Nineteen-Seventies. Their comedy influenced many other present day comedians including Woody Allen
and Robin Williams. Critics have called the Marx Brothers the most influential comedy team of the twentieth
century.
(((THEME))
)
VOICE TWO:
This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Steve
Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of
America.
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