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Monkey Business (1931)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1998
The first Marx Brothers performance to be written specifically for the screen, Monkey Business showcases their unique brand of insane comedy. On an ocean liner, Captain Corcoran (Ben Taggart) is perturbed to discover that four stowaways have hidden themselves in the hold. Not only are they singing "Sweet Adeline" but, to make him mad, they're sending insulting notes. As he orders the 2nd Mate (Otto Fries) to root out these irritating cuckoos, the brothers are seen below in their separate barrels. Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo seem to be here just to make trouble and they waste no time - popping up and down like giant jack-in-the-boxes, they confuse the searching sailors. Finally extracted from their hideouts, the four scatter like seeds in the wind. As the Captain is about to discover, their lunacy is particularly infectious.

On the run from the brig, the boys cause the usual amount of trouble and mayhem amongst the passengers. Groucho winds up in a luxury stateroom, pretending to be the ship's tailor; unfortunately he's just stumbled in on budding gangster "Alky" Briggs (Harry Woods), who's giving his wife Lucille (Thelma Todd) a hard time. Briggs is on board merely to track down, and coerce, former gangster Joe Helton (Rockliffe Fellowes) so he wants Lucille to stay out of trouble. Curiously, at that moment Zeppo is romancing Helton's cultured daughter Mary (Ruth Hall). Meanwhile Harpo and Chico are leading everyone a merry chase, with Harpo finding himself tangled up in the kid's Punch and Judy show. Eventually, of course, they crash into Helton and get themselves hired as his bodyguards; a ludicrous proposition.

Expressly designed for the established persona of the Marx Brothers, Monkey Business very successfully allows them to create anarchy. The story, which is near enough non-existent, makes the four of them outsiders, pitting them against the establishment. By guile and wit they manage to worm themselves into the upper echelons of society, a progression guaranteed to win over Depression era audiences. Thankfully, while Groucho's jokes often reflect this bleak period, this in no way dates his witty lines. The absurd humour and crazy antics in evidence here remain as amusing as they ever were, probably because they appeal to the universal joy of watching someone be taken down a peg or two.

In many ways the Marx Brothers have come to represent the epitome of zany, slapstick comedy, perhaps never to be surpassed. What is certain is that, as a unit, their talent for buffoonery was extraordinary, with each of the brothers displaying a slightly different strength. So, Groucho is fed many clever one-liners, handling the generally inventive dialogue with ease. In contrast, Harpo remains silent, content to be a master of the surreal sight gag. A rare ability, especially in present times, the moment when Harpo pretends to be Maurice Chevalier remains truly memorable. Chico is somehow less impressive, though he still has scenes of inspired lunacy. Of course, true to form, both Chico and Harpo get to play the piano and harp - these are the slow, draggy instants amongst the mayhem. Finally there is Zeppo, the "straight" man to his brothers; in Monkey Business there is a place for his character and he fills his allocated time ably.

The crucial aspect of Marx Brothers films is this - you must quash all desire for a decent plot or believable characters, instead surrendering utterly to the insanity that rages. If this mental state can be achieved then Monkey Business is a near-classic movie. Otherwise it's still a fine film, albeit one that makes little sense and is prone to repetition (in style rather than content). In the end only the viewer can judge which camp they fall within.

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