Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1939)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST "Mediocre. Some funny gags. Adults." DAR H Fox W Coast Bulletin O 14 '39 "Entertaining for the fans of this merry, mad trio of comedians. Family." Gen Fed of Women's Clubs (W Coast) + Fox W Coast Bulletin N 4 '39 "The fun is a little slow in getting under way in this latest picture of the Marx Brothers, but when it gains momentum it is as silly, as uproarious and as hysterical as their admirers anticipate. After all, people either like the Marx Brothers or they don't. Adolescents, 12-16: questionable; children. S-12: very funny." + Motion Pict R p4 N '39 "Adults." Nat Legion of Decency O 26 '39 "The Marx Brothers, not up to their usual standard of clowning, but still funny enough in spots." H Scholastic p32 D 4 '39 "Family. A highly amusing picture, occasionally weak in lines and situations but generally most enjoyable." + Wkly Guide O 14 '39 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews Reviewed by John Gibbons Boston Transcript p22 D 8 '39 "I am sorry to report that Groucho, Harpo and Chico are not at their best in 'At the Circus.' The script is weak and the support they get from their playmates is almost nil. Because I am so fond of the Marx Brothers, even when they are using old and below standard stuff, I found myself laughing and having a good time anyway." Philip T. Hartung H Commonweal pl37 D 1 '39 "The trochilic mental gymnastics of the whirling Marx Brothers are in danger of coming a cropper soon unless they tumble into brighter material than their current limping vehicle. 'At the Circus' seems to have been patched together with a heterogeneous assortment of ancient cinematic gags and mildly unimportant songs, all hemstitched into the creaky plot. . . There are several funny sequences, but they are too far apart." Jesse Zunser — + Cue p39 N 25 '39 "By all means take the children. It is one of those pictures which little Willie and Grandpapa will enjoy to the full. Scarcely a subject for serious study, but one which should gladden the hearts of those exhibitors whose customers can be persuaded to see a Marx Brothers' picture. It safely may be exploited as the best the trio has appeared in of late." + Hollywood Spectator p8 O 28 '39 "The new capers which the Marx Brothers are cutting are neither particularly fresh nor funny. In 'At the Circus' they clown through what has become a formularized plot with stock gags and antics. . . Between them they whip up some passages of high hilarity, but there is no sustained comic note in their new offering. . . There are a lot of laughs in 'At the Circus' and a topnotch crazy climax, but it is definitely a lesser Marx Brothers' contribution to current gaiety." Howard Barnes H NY Herald Tribune pl6 N 17 '39 "In all charity and with a very real twinge of regret, we must report that the Marx Brothers' new frolic is not exactly frolicsome; that it is, in cruel fact, a rather dispirited imitation of former successes, a matter more of perspiration than inspiration and not at all up to the Marx standards (foothigh though they may be) of daffy comedy." Frank S. Nugent -\ NY Times pl7 N 17 '39 "That annual hour we put aside for reflection upon the prowess of the Marx Brothers used to be a happier affair than it has been for the last couple of years. One can yearn a little now, considering 'Room Service' and the current 'At the Circus,' for the old glory and resilience these Marxes once displaved. . . It is possible they are indifferent. * In 'Room Service' one felt they hardly bothered to try. They have pulled themselves together somewhat for 'At the Circus,' taking the trouble to revive some of their old tricks and scurrying around with a semblance of kindly effort, but the achievement of novelty or surprise, the true Marx note, is never apparent." John Mosher h New Yorker p83 N 25 '39 "Abandoning their recent unsuccessful efforts to hew to a story line, the Marx Brothers return to the zany technique of their 'Horsefeathers' and 'Animal Crackers' to turn out a first-rate demonstration of crackbrained entertainment. A story of sorts is laughed under by a swift and steady barrage of gags — old, new, and typically Marx-made." + Newsweek p39 O 30 '39 Photoplay p64 N '39 "It checks the recent decline in Marx Brothers' pictures with two of their fastest, funniest sequences — a riotous Newport society and circus climax, and Groucho doing a combination rumba, tango and nautch dance. . . 'At the Circus' is funny, should have been funnier. But cinemarxists, as they rest up from more laughs than the Marx Brothers have given them in many a long picture, may agree that the Marxes are still U. S. comedy trio No. 1." + Time pSl D 4 '39 Trade Paper Reviews "We enjoyed it. . . It is not for us to say whether this is the best of the Marx Brothers' offerings, because that is a matter of opinion on which there can be many opinions. We must repeat that we are reporters and that we enjoyed the picture very much. It is just as screwy and crazy as anything you would expect from the Marx Brothers." + Box Office Digest p7 O 16 '39 "It is long, loud and sometimes funny. Ditto for the Marx Brothers, except that the film's length comes from another direction; the romancing and 'straight' story development left to Kenny Baker as disinherited heir and embryonic circus operator. In the general hubbub that the Marxes generally manage to generate there are enough laughs to keep most audiences in a highly amused state." + Boxoffice p65 O 14 '39 " 'At the Circus' should enhance the popularity of the Marx Brothers. The picture more than compensates for 'Room Service.' . . Where the trio is popular this should rank with 'Animal Crackers' and the priceless 'A Night at the Opera.' Where the Marxes don't click — well — this just won't click." David J. Hanna -f + Film Bulletin p8 O 21 '39 "Marx antics and amusing story make picture a laugh riot for all audiences." -f Film Daily p7 N 17 '39 "The audience had a few good laughs and an occasional snicker at the latest Marx Brothers' antics . . . but in the opinion of this reviewer the picture is a further stepdown for the Marxes and their brand of comedy, not because of the Marxes, nor of the swell job of direction by Eddie Buzzell, but because of the thin story, a lack of good gags and fewer lines of comedy. . . It was a valiant attempt to accomplish a top comedy, but in our opinion it missed." \ Hollywood Reporter p3 O 13 '39 Reviewed by Charles S. Aaronson 4 Motion Pict Daily p2 N 17 '39 "The Marx Brothers revert to the rousing physical comedy and staccato gag dialog of their earlier pictures in 'At the Circus.' Picture will give a fine account of itself at the box-office for general audience appeal. Long on typical crazy antics of the Marxians, decidedly short on story or logic, and neatly mixed with some tuneful melodies, offering hits a popular groove at this time." + -f Variety pl4 O 18 '39 "Hilarious clowning, which ranks 'At the Circus' up amongst the first three in the Marx Brothers deliveries, comparable to 'Animal Crackers' and 'A Night at the Opera.' Out at a time when broad comedy will be at a premium, it pours forth lavish laugh entertainment and will swell the Marxian patronage and needle the box office sharply." + + Variety (Hollywood) p3 O 13 '39