The Marx Brothers and the World They Laughed With Before Their Movies The Marx Brothers were a group five incredibly talented Jewish Americans who would define the talkie genre when Hollywood would begin it’s switch over and permanently redefine comedy as a whole. In order from eldest to youngest, the Marx Brothers were Harpo, Chico, Groucho, Gummo, and Zeppo (those being the names of the characters that they invented, and would eventually come to be world renown for). The Marx Brother’s would change the world with their fast jokes, witty satire, and well timed slapstick. Just some of their best, most acclaimed movies that they would make for Paramount, and eventually MGM were Monkey Business (1931), Duck soup (1933), and A Night at the Opera …show more content…
Early years The Marx Brothers began their career in New York City in Vaudeville where they would hone their craft, primarily with slapstick comedy and clever wordplay. The acts would usually revolve around the eldest three brothers, Chico, Harpo, and Groucho. Their Characters On Broadway and later on in their films, the Marx Brothers would often portray themselves as outsiders to a particular culture and often find themselves making antagonists of those who most identified with said society. Even in cases where the Brothers were prominent members of the society (usually Groucho would portray the swindling upperclass businessman type) they would still act and behave in a way that would appall others, such as Groucho’s Firefly character in Duck Soup who would often insult or offend others with his lack of class. Each of the …show more content…
A night at the opera was produced in 1935 when the United States had not yet recovered from the Great Depression and the rate of unemployment was very high (unemployment peaked at twenty‐ five percent). This period was characterised by the implementation of very high taxes, which led to several strikes and protest by the American people, who demanded lower taxes. This scene makes a clear reference to the precarious situation in which lower class Americans struggled to make a living in the face of very high taxes. In this scene, the Marx Brothers rely on satire, criticising contemporary American