During filming, Chico Marx was in a car accident and shattered his kneecap. In some scenes, he can be seen limping.
According to Groucho Marx, when Thelma Todd fell out of the boat, he kept rowing as she cried for help, not knowing she really couldn't swim. Crew members got her out of the water.
Although the present running time (68 minutes) is very close to that of the original (70 minutes), there are still a few bits and pieces and lines of dialogue missing, due to re-editing in 1935 in order to bring the film up to Production Code standards. Apparently the only surviving material also contained some splices which lop off lines of dialogue and bits of action, particularly in the sequence in Thelma Todd's apartment involving the blocks of ice. Another brief gag was cut from the speakeasy scene, in which Harpo stood up on the bar and bowled beer bottles with a grapefruit.
The schoolroom routine was taken from The Marx Brothers' 1920s vaudeville stage show, "Fun in Hi Skule".
Professor Wagstaff's exclamation, "Jumpin' anaconda!" is actually a reference to a company, Anaconda Copper, in which Groucho Marx had invested heavily. When the stock market crash of 1929 occurred, Marx lost several hundred thousand dollars, hence the curse word in the movie.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
