At the Circus

1939 movie

Rating: 13/20

Plot: The Marx Brothers (Karl, Ballso, and Guitfizzle) investigate the theft of a circus owner's money.

Monkey? Check. Little person? Check! Groucho, Harpo, and Chico? Check, check, and check. OK, it seems like we have all the elements for a classic comedy, right? Well, not exactly. Somebody forgot to write a script with anything funny in it. This was pretty flat, and although there are some moments when it all almost gets good, it's so far away from the best Marx movies that I'd say it's not even worth watching. It's too bad, too, because the circus could have been the perfect setting for some Marx mayhem. As always, the songs in these, with the possible exception of Groucho's song about a tattooed woman, almost made me want to take my own life.