At the Circus (1939)

Director:

Edward Buzzell

Writer:

Irving Brecher (writer)

Release Date:

20 October 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

NOT SUITABLE FOR GENERAL EXHIBITION (Australian one-sheet poster)

Plot:

The Marx Brothers try to help the owner of a circus recover some stolen funds before he finds himself out of a job.

Plot Keywords:

Circus | Marx Brothers | Gorilla | Shyster | Stolen Money

Cast

Groucho Marx	...	Attorney Loophole
Chico Marx	...	Antonio
Harpo Marx	...	'Punchy'
Kenny Baker	...	Jeff Wilson
Florence Rice	...	Julie Randall
Eve Arden	...	Peerless Pauline
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Dukesbury
Nat Pendleton	...	Goliath
Fritz Feld	...	Jardinet
James Burke	...	John Carter
Jerry Maren	...	Little Professor Atom (as Jerry Marenghi)
Barnett Parker	...	Whitcomb
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Byron Foulger	...	Courtroom clerk (scenes deleted) (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

A Day at the Circus (USA) (working title)
The Marx Brothers at the Circus (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed | Australia:G | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (certificate #5436)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Groucho Marx was fond of recounting how the original owner of the "gorilla skin" used in he film was so incensed when the stunt man wearing it poked ventilation holes in it with an ice pick that he took his suit and walked off the picture, forcing the producers to hastily rent an orangutan skin as a replacement. For this reason, Groucho claimed, the gorilla gets bigger and smaller from shot to shot. The man in the gorilla suit is in fact Charles Gemora, well know movie sculptor and gorilla artist, wearing his own custom made suit.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jeff first gets on the train, his badge keeps changing position on his coat.

Quotes:

Antonio Pirelli: You know what I say. Whenever you got business trouble the best thing to do is to get a lawyer. Then you got more trouble, but at least you got a lawyer.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bride of Killer Nerd (1992)

Soundtrack:

Blue Moon

Not top Marx brothers but some times fun!!

The film is like a bunch of sketches: Some good some bad

But I think that there are more good scenes then there are bad.

Rating:3/5