Certainly, Groucho does his best to deliver his lines with the usual gusto, but he didn't really have a hand in writing them, so it appears that the heart is gone from how he says them. A few zingers seem ad-libbed, but he's playing the role straight even though he's running around as if he was still playing Otis P. Driftwood. Chico and Harpo are fine too, but other than Harpo's silent antics (especially with the cupie doll while getting his tonsils checked and chasing a nervous turkey), they are trapped by material that sadly miscasts them all.
For their one film away from MGM, they are starring in the film version of a Broadway smash, the tale of a broke Broadway producer refusing to leave his hotel suite in efforts to get his show produced. With playwright Frank Albertson and secretary Lucille Ball, they all deal with the irritated hotel manager Donald MacBride (deliciously over the top and the best performance in the film) who finds out little by little the extent of Groucho's machinations.
A Marx Brothers movie without the zest of their best work (or even their worst work) is heartbreaking, but there are some very funny moments that in outtakes make this film seem better than it was. Lucy fans will be majorly disappointed as her role is standard contract obligation and nothing special. The same goes for Ann Miller in an even smaller part, although it's a nice reunion of Lucy and Annie from "Stage Door", another RKO film version of a play that they did right.
For their one film away from MGM, they are starring in the film version of a Broadway smash, the tale of a broke Broadway producer refusing to leave his hotel suite in efforts to get his show produced. With playwright Frank Albertson and secretary Lucille Ball, they all deal with the irritated hotel manager Donald MacBride (deliciously over the top and the best performance in the film) who finds out little by little the extent of Groucho's machinations.
A Marx Brothers movie without the zest of their best work (or even their worst work) is heartbreaking, but there are some very funny moments that in outtakes make this film seem better than it was. Lucy fans will be majorly disappointed as her role is standard contract obligation and nothing special. The same goes for Ann Miller in an even smaller part, although it's a nice reunion of Lucy and Annie from "Stage Door", another RKO film version of a play that they did right.