At the Circus (1939)

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

Director:

Edward Buzzell

Writer:

Irving Brecher (screenplay)

Stars:

Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Groucho Marx	...	Attorney J. Cheever Loophole
Chico Marx	...	Antonio
Harpo Marx	...	'Punchy'
Kenny Baker	...	Jeff Wilson
Florence Rice	...	Julie Randall
Eve Arden	...	Peerless Pauline
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Susanna Dukesbury
Nat Pendleton	...	Goliath
Fritz Feld	...	Jardinet
James Burke	...	John Carter
Jerry Maren	...	Little Professor Atom (as Jerry Marenghi)
Barnett Parker	...	Whitcomb

Storyline

Jeff Wilson, the owner of a small circus, owes his partner Carter $10000. Before Jeff can pay, Carter lets his accomplices steal the money, so he can take over the circus. Antonio Pirelli and Punchy, who work at the circus, together with lawyer Loophole try to find the thief and get the money back.

---

Plot Keywords:

circus | money | shyster | aunt | marx brothers | 

---

Taglines:

Keep the world laughing!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Musical

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Day at the Circus

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally entitled "A Day at the Circus" it was to be the third in the Brothers' "Day/Night" series after A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races

---

Goofs

Multiple different-sized actors, in noticeably different gorilla costumes, were used to play Gibraltar the gorilla.

---

Quotes

J. Cheever Loophole: You're like a beautiful chandelier. I'd like to be around when you get lit up.

---

Connections

Featured in From the Ends of the Earth (1939)

---

Soundtracks

"Rock-a-Bye Baby"
(pub. 1765) (uncredited)
Traditional
Sung a bit by Chico Marx; played on harmonica and flute by Harpo Marx

User Reviews

At the Circus (1939) **

Middle-of-the-road Marxes, with some good scenes and laughs unevenly weighted down by those ever-intrusive and out-of-place musical numbers that so often plagued these movies. No, I'm not referring to Groucho's spirited rendition of 'Lydia the Tattooed Lady'; I'm talking about hearing those two useless lead lovers crooning their sappy romantic tunes to each other ('Two Blind Loves', which is sung over and over at intervals throughout the picture, is especially grating on the nerves). There is also a song and dance sequence that comes out of left field later in the film that really feels out of place and gets in the way of things.

There are certainly some witty Groucho zingers, as well as vintage Harpo madness, to be found here. It's just that there's not enough consistency and too much of the fluff. It's a pity the filmmakers just didn't realize that it's the Marx Brothers we're here to see; not Kenny Baker and Florence Rice.