Because I like the Marx Brothers I am willing to give this film a 5. If it had starred Wheeler and Woolsey or the Ritz Brothers, I might have given it a 2.
After ROOM SERVICE, only A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA had any real merit among the final Marx Brother films. In the case of these two films, the former was based on a successful Broadway farce (which is still produced occasionally), and the latter had some planning involved in it as well (a novelization of the complete screenplay - certain parts were edited out of the final film - was published). The other four are mediocre at best. And LOVE HAPPY is the weakest.
Yeah, Harpo gets some nice moments, like him riding the neon lit "Pegasus" on a rooftop sign. He and Chico have one or two good sequences together (one of those patented "Chico-verbally-interpreting-Harpo's-mimed-message" sequences is good). Chico also has a wonderful moment when he tries to be romantic to Ilona Massey, promising to cover her in sardines. But these are so few and far between that the weaknesses in the film are shown.
Yeah, Groucho is an afterthought. He has that one famous moment with Marilyn Monroe, but that's it. It looks like much of Groucho's material ended up on a cutting room floor. His "Watson" figure is Eric Blore (an interesting combination of comic talents there), but Blore too is only briefly seen. One wishes to know what more there was to that sequence.
But even if we discount shortchanging Groucho, what is left is nothing to shout about. It is a disappointing film, especially as it was the last real Marx Brother feature film. The following movie the brothers were all in was THE STORY OF MANKIND, and each was in a separate segment. There were three television shows they were in together (though one was with other Hollywood comics like Ernie Kovacs), but none of these had the strengths of their best nine movies.
After ROOM SERVICE, only A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA had any real merit among the final Marx Brother films. In the case of these two films, the former was based on a successful Broadway farce (which is still produced occasionally), and the latter had some planning involved in it as well (a novelization of the complete screenplay - certain parts were edited out of the final film - was published). The other four are mediocre at best. And LOVE HAPPY is the weakest.
Yeah, Harpo gets some nice moments, like him riding the neon lit "Pegasus" on a rooftop sign. He and Chico have one or two good sequences together (one of those patented "Chico-verbally-interpreting-Harpo's-mimed-message" sequences is good). Chico also has a wonderful moment when he tries to be romantic to Ilona Massey, promising to cover her in sardines. But these are so few and far between that the weaknesses in the film are shown.
Yeah, Groucho is an afterthought. He has that one famous moment with Marilyn Monroe, but that's it. It looks like much of Groucho's material ended up on a cutting room floor. His "Watson" figure is Eric Blore (an interesting combination of comic talents there), but Blore too is only briefly seen. One wishes to know what more there was to that sequence.
But even if we discount shortchanging Groucho, what is left is nothing to shout about. It is a disappointing film, especially as it was the last real Marx Brother feature film. The following movie the brothers were all in was THE STORY OF MANKIND, and each was in a separate segment. There were three television shows they were in together (though one was with other Hollywood comics like Ernie Kovacs), but none of these had the strengths of their best nine movies.