1940 Marx Brothers movieRating: 16/20 (Dylan: 12/20)
Plot: S. Quentin Quale, Joe Panello, and Rusty Pane try to make money with land that doesn't belong to them that the railroad really wants.
Expectations weren't high for this one, but I really enjoyed it. It doesn't have the staginess of some other Marx Brothers productions, the word play and visual gags are top notch, and any attempt at a story doesn't get in the way of the fun. The final twenty or so minutes that take place on a train (one that leaves the tracks and is almost entirely demolished by the end of its journey) is wonderfully inventive and humorous. I've heard that Buster Keaton worked as a gag writer for the Marxes once his career finally fizzled, and with this train scene, especially knowing how much Buster liked trains, it sure does look like the work of him. The obligatory piano and harp playing interludes (here, spread apart) are really good. I told Dylan that I could watch Chico's fingers for a couple hours without getting bored. Groucho gets a great line that I will probably quote often: "There's something corrupt going on around my pants." As with a few Marx Brothers movies I've seen, there are a couple unfortunate musical numbers, both with really strange vocals that almost sound like somebody's playing around with a record player.
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