The Marx Brothers
Streaming Video Files

Trailers and Promotional Films

Monkey Business -- Promo

In 1931, Paramount produced a 50-minute film called The House That Shadows Built. This film was meant to showcase upcoming productions at the studio (many of which, as it turned out, were never released), as well as present clips from older movies. The Marxes' contribution was a bit from their first Broadway show, I'll Say She Is. (This piece was adapted from their Vaudeville show, On The Mezzanine.) Most of the piece is presented in rhyming couplets, and for once Zeppo is the major character (at least he's the glue that holds the scene together). The main difference between this version and the original is that the name "Maurice Chevalier" was substituted for the original "Joe Frisco." (Frisco was a popular comic when the Marxes were in Vaudeville. The "Chevalier imitations" in this sketch mirror those in the Movie the Marxes were plugging, Monkey Business.)

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Monkey Business -- Trailer

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Duck Soup -- Trailer

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A Night At The Opera -- Trailer

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Room Service -- Trailer

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At The Circus -- Trailer

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Go West -- Trailer

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The Big Store -- Trailer

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Television Appearances

Selections from "The Mikado"

Groucho Marx first became interested in the work of Gilbert and Sullivan when it was introduced to him by Vaudeville colleague, Edward Metcalfe. (Metcalfe replaced Paul Yale in the Marxes' show, Home Again, playing the police detective who shakes Harpo's hand, causing the cutlery to fall out. He also appeared in their Broadway debut, I'll Say She Is!.) In 1960, Groucho was given the opportunity to fulfill a longtime ambition by starring as Ko Ko, Lord High Executioner, in the Bell Telephone Hour presentation of The Mikado on NBC television. Here are a couple of musical highlights from that program.

Groucho's character, Ko Ko, is introduced in this song, As some day it may happen, accompanied by "the men."

Ko Ko, in professing his love, convinces Katisha (Helen Traubel) that someone might, indeed, perish from a broken heart, in song: Willow, tit-willow. Katisha then tries to justify her own bloodthirstiness, and Ko Ko concurs, as they sing a duet, There is beauty in the bellow of the blast.

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Here are some YouTube clips:

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The Deputy Seraph

In 1959, the Marx Brothers came very close to an actual revival on television with their own "sitcom." The Deputy Seraph was intended to center on two novice angels (Harpo and Chico) whose job it would be to intercede in human problems. (Notice the similarity between this and a later Michael Landon program?) Their "chief," a.k.a., "The Deputy Seraph," was to be played by Groucho. Unfortunately, the pilot was never completed as the project was canceled due to the fact that it was discovered that Chico was suffering from arteriosclerosis and could not, therefore, be insured. He would die in two years.

All that remains of the pilot episode of The Deputy Seraph is about 15 minutes of raw footage, presented here.

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Sounds - MIDI Files - WAV Files - Streaming Video Files

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This site uses material originally created by Frank Bland for his website Why A Duck?. Frank did kindly give me permission to use this material.

The Marx Brothers - Los Hermanos Marx - האחים מרקס - マルクス兄弟 - Les Freres Marx - 마르크스형제 - Братья Маркс - Bröderna Marx - برادران مارکس - I Fratelli Marx - Братята Маркс - Bracia Marx - Germans Marx - الأخوة ماركس - 馬克思兄弟 - Αδελφοί Μαρξ - Irmãos Marx