throws
day at the races b & w
a day at the races was the marx brothers follow up to their incomparable a night at the opera . groucho marx is cast as hugo z. hackenbush a veterinarian who passes himself off as a human doctor when summoned by wealthy hypochondriac emily upjohn margaret dumont to take over the financially strapped standish sanitarium . chico marx plays the sanitariums general factotum who works without pay because he has a soft spot for its owner lovely judy standish maureen osullivan . harpo marx portrays a jockey at the local racetrack constantly bullied by the evil morgan douglass dumbrille who will take over the sanitarium if judy cant pay its debts . after several side splitting routines chico selling groucho tips on the races chico and harpo rescuing groucho from the clutches of femme fatale esther muir all three marxes conducting a lunatic examination of margaret dumont the fate of the sanitarium rests on a big race involving hi hat a horse belonging to the films nominal hero allan jones . virtually everything that worked in opera is trotted out again for races including a hectic slapstick finale wherein the marxes lay waste to a public event . what is missing here is inspiration ; perhaps this is due to the fact that mgm producer irving thalberg whose input was so essential to the success of opera died during the filming of races . even so day at the races made more money than any other previous marx brothers film the result being that mgm in the spirit of they loved it once would continue recycling races best bits for the studios next three marx vehicles . hal erickson all movie guide . br br cccommentary by the marx brothers encyclopedia author glen mitchellall new documentary on your marx get set go four vintage shorts robert benchleys oscar nominated a night at the movies and the cartoons gallopin gals mamas new hat and old smokeyaudio only treasures musical outtake a message from the man in the moon and leo is on the air radio promotheatrical trailer . br br cccommentary by the marx brothers encyclopedia author glen mitchellall new documentary on your marx get set go four vintage shorts robert benchleys oscar nominated a night at the movies and the cartoons gallopin gals mamas new hat and old smokeyaudio only treasures musical outtake a message from the man in the moon and leo is on the air radio promotheatrical trailer .