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The Marx Brothers Collection (A Night at The Opera/A Day at The Races/A Night in Casablanca/Room Service/At the Circus/Go West/The Big Store)
Release Date: 2004-05-04
Sales rank: 1301
This set includes seven of only thirteen Marx Brothers films ever made! Collection includes: "A Night at the Opera" (1935) - The Marx Brothers turn Mrs. Claypool's opera into chaos in their efforts to help two young hopefuls get a break. It contains the famous scene where Groucho, Chico and Harpo cram a ship's stateroom with wall-to-wall people, gags, one-liners, musical riffs and two hard-boiled eggs. "A Day at the Races" (1937) - Groucho stars as Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a horse veterinarian dispensing horse pills and quips with equal glee. Chico selling racing tips, Harpo destroying a piano to turn it into a harp and favorite foil actress Margaret Dumont make this thoroughbred comedy wall-to-wall hilarity. "A Night in Casablanca" (1946) - This parody of the Bogart/Bergman 1943 classic features the Nazis vs. the "nutsies" as the Marx Brothers foil Axis criminals when they find stolen jewels and paintings Nazis have hidden in a hotel. "Room Service"/"At the Circus" - These two films are combined on one disc to provide double doses of laughter. In "Room Service" (1938), Lucille Ball and Ann Miller provide comic co-star support while the Marx Brothers play producers trying to keep their show above water and a hotel room over their head. In "At the Circus" (1939) Groucho stars as professional shyster lawyer J. Cheever Loophole in the middle of big-top bedlam as the boys try to save the circus and look to Margaret Dumont for the money to do so. Groucho sings one of his famous songs, "Lydia the Tattooed Lady." "Go West"/"The Big Store" - Another Marx Brothers twin bill makes this a hilarious comedy "two-fer." In the first, the Marxmen "Go West" (1940) to the land of outlaws and Indians where the fun never stops and where they outwit a land grabber. In "The Big Store" (1941), Groucho plays Attorney Wolf J. Flywheel who with sidekick Wacky (Harpo) and bodyguard Ravelli (Chico) are investigating the shady dealings of a crooked department store owner. Bonus extras include commentary by Leonard Maltin.When it comes to long-awaited treats like The Marx Brothers Collection, you can never get too much of a good thing. These seven comedies can't compare to the sheer lunacy of the five classics (The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup) that the Marx Bros. made for Paramount between 1929 and 1933 (available in The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection), but when uber-producer Irving Thalberg signed Groucho, Harpo, and Chico to an MGM contract in 1935 (by which time sibling costar Zeppo had become the team's off-screen manager), he knew just how to cure their box-office blues. As a result, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races were critical and commercial hits, lavishly produced according to the "Tiffany" studio's golden-age formula of glamorous set pieces and musical numbers combined with sensible plots that smoothly integrated snappy, well-written Marxian antics. Opera is the jewel of this set, with timeless scenes (the Stateroom, the Groucho-Chico contract negotiation, etc.) that rank among the greatest bits of silver-screen comedy... not to mention Groucho's flirtatious insults at Margaret Dumont's upper-crust expense. A Day at the Races deserves near-equal acclaim ("Get-a your tootsie-fruitsie ice cream!"), but Thalberg's death in 1937 dealt a devastating blow, and the Marxes suffered from studio indifference, resulting in a succession of comedies that are timelessly enjoyable even as they fall prey to diminishing returns. By the time they made Go West and The Big Store, the Marxes were out of their element, and a few of the musical interludes indulge racial stereotypes that were common in the studio era. Despite this, these movies remain fresh and frantic, and Warner Bros. (holder of the RKO and MGM libraries) has done a marvelous job of packaging The Marx Brothers Collection to nostalgically approximate the filmgoing experience of the 1930s and '40s, with vintage shorts (Our Gang, Robert Benchley comedies, MGM cartoons, etc.) from the time of each feature's original release. Archival materials are slim but worthwhile (especially Groucho's 1961 interview with TV talk-show host Hy Gardner), and while Glenn Mitchell's commentary on Races is sparse and superficial, Leonard Maltin brings his usual superfan's enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge to bear on a full-length Opera commentary track. The new documentaries are somewhat redundant, but essential viewing for Marx Bros. neophytes. With all seven films presented in pristine condition, this is definitely a Marx Brothers Collection worth having. --Jeff Shannon |
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Groucho Marx: You Bet Your Life - 14 Classic Episodes
Release Date: 2006-10-10
Sales rank: 6162
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A Night at the Opera
Release Date: 2004-05-04
Sales rank: 14928
A near riot on a ship, a New York scandal and an evening of insanity in a concert hall are just some of the fall out from Groucho's outrageous business schemes to bring Milan's finest opera stars to Manhattan. Year: 1935 Director: Sam Wood Starring: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle, Allan JonesAbsolutely one of the most hilarious movies ever made, this classic farce featuring the outrageous genius of the Marx Brothers is a chance to see some of their best bits woven together seamlessly in a story of high society, matchmaking, and chaos. In order to bring two young lovers together, brothers Groucho, Chico, and Harpo must sabotage an opera performance even as they try to pass themselves off as stuffed shirts. Featuring the classic sequence where Groucho piles as many people as possible into a ship's stateroom, A Night at the Opera is a deliciously zany romp worth watching again and again. --Robert Lane |
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Groucho Marx - You Bet Your Life
Release Date: 2003-02-12
Sales rank: 16408
Groucho Marx is one of many stars to make a radio broadcast their debut, only to move to TV once the radio show reached popularity. But Marx didn't go the usual route with a sitcom or talk show; rather, he made a name for himself hosting a game show called, You Bet Your Life. The show, broadcast on radio, originally aired in 1947, becoming a televised radio show in 1950. |
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Love Happy
Release Date: 2004-06-15
Sales rank: 26416
Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 06/15/2004 Rating: Nr |
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The Dick Cavett Show - Rock Icons
Release Date: 2005-08-16
Sales rank: 39944
When Dick Cavett joined the late-night talk show parade in 1969, his intelligent wit pumped a much-needed breath of fresh air into the format. The show offered guests a forum for controversial opinions and didn’t shy away from an occasional debate about women’s liberation or the war in Vietnam. The Dick Cavett Show also became the late-night home of rock ’n’ roll, with a guest list that reads like a who’s who of the era’s top performers. The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons features 9 episodes from 1969 to 1974 featuring Janis Joplin, David Bowie, George Harrison, Sly And The Family Stone, Stevie Wonder and many more. Highlights include 3 episodes with Janis Joplin and "The Woodstock Show," taped the day after the festival with Jefferson Airplane, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby and Stephen Stills. The shows also feature Cavett's interviews with many of the fascinating personalities of the day from Gloria Swanson to Debbie Reynolds to Raquel Welch. Also included is the featurette Cavett Meets The Rolling Stones, featuring live performance footage from the Stones and a revealing backstage interview with Mick Jagger. Adding insight and perspective to the set are episode introductions and a brand new interview with Dick Cavett. Over 25 Historic Performances on 3 DVDs including: Chelsea Morning – Joni Mitchell
Somebody To Love – Jefferson Airplane with David Crosby
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again) – Sly And The Family Stone
Young Americans – David Bowie
To Love Somebody – Janis Joplin
Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) – Janis Joplin
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours – Stevie Wonder
Bangla Desh – George Harrison
Still Crazy After All These Years – Paul Simon
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Paul Simon with The Jessy Dixon SingersWhile it's a stretch calling Paul Simon or Stevie Wonder "rock," this triple DVD set presents nine entire, commercial-free episodes where Dick Cavett welcomed music superstars to his stage. From 1969-'74 his was the only talk show to invite these acts to meet mainstream America, at least half way. Although he might have been more comfortable conversing with crusty Hollywood actors, Cavett's quick mind, relatively youthful demeanor and respectful if slightly stilted approach worked moderately well with music acts not accustomed to the restrictions of network television. Here he interviews the good (a post-Bangla Desh concert George Harrison is witty and honest, as is a very articulate Paul Simon), the bad (Sly Stone in a druggy haze) and the nervous (a painfully uncomfortable David Bowie fiddles with a cane, looking as if he wished he was somewhere else), while holding his own, sometimes barely, with the Woodstock generation. The latter dominates an entire show as Jefferson Airplane, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Joni Mitchell hold court the day after the 1969 event. Janis Joplin appears three times (July '69, June and August '70) and is sharp, intelligent and affable mixing with guests as varied as Raquel Welch, Gloria Swanson and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. A July '72 pre-concert chat with Mick Jagger demonstrates how effectively the comparatively straight-laced Cavett meshed with the Stones' lead singer backstage at Madison Square Garden. Sonically, the primitive mono sound is surprisingly well mixed, and the discs are conveniently chapter divided to find the musical interludes, an enormous convenience that helps skip some dull patter with Cavett's other guests. These appearances by musicians that were rarely interviewed on television are historically significant and will delight fans that previously sufficed with sketchy bootlegs of this material. --Hal Horowitz |
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You Bet Your Life - The Best Episodes
Release Date: 2004-07-27
Sales rank: 26527
Groucho Marx is arguably the most famous, iconic comedian of all time. "You Bet Your Life" began on radio in 1947, ostensibly as a game show, and became a huge hit television program and as big a part of Groucho’s legacy as the amazing movies he made with his brothers earlier in his career. After the start on radio, the show ran through 423 episodes from 1950 – 1961. These 18 episodes are some of the absolute best from over a decade of popular TV, restored for the highest quality sound and picture possible. They feature guest stars like Phyllis Diller, Edgar and Candace Bergen, Joe Louis, Johnny Weismuller, Frankie Avalon, Groucho's daughter Melinda Marx, Harpo Marx and the first appearance of the show's trademark duck. DVD extras include three Groucho pilots including "What Do You Want", "Tell It To Groucho" and the never-before-seen "The Plot Thickens," plus tons of outtakes and bloopers.The secret word for Groucho Marx fans is "DVD." This three-disc set collects a priceless archive of 18 complete and uncut episodes filmed between 1950 and 1960. The surprise success of the radio incarnation of You Bet Your Life assured for Groucho that there would be life after the Marx Brothers, whose film career came to a sad end with 1950's Love Happy. The television series would be an even bigger hit, and make Groucho a household name. You Bet Your Life was ostensibly a quiz show, but it was more just a forum for Groucho to crack wise with the contestants. These were mostly ordinary people with oddball jobs or interests, or extraordinary talents, like the man who blows up a tire's inner-tube on an episode included on disc 2. Knowing now that the program was carefully planned does not diminish the fun. There are many precious spontaneous moments, such as the trombone-playing female contestant who practically swoons over Groucho's announcer/straight man George Fenneman. Appearances by some "special guests" add to this set's nostalgia value. Former Western star Hoot Gibson, Johnny "Tarzan" Weissmuller, and former boxing champion Joe Louis play the game, as do future stars Candice Bergen (age 11-1/2) and comedian Phyllis Diller in her first television appearance. Marx Brothers fans will cherish the now-poignant cameo by Harpo (hawking his autobiography, Harpo Speaks!) and the Creamy Prom commercials featuring Harpo and Chico. Screen and songwriter Harry Ruby, who looms large in Marxian folklore (he co-wrote Horse Feathers and Duck Soup), sings a delightful duet with Groucho, "The Window Cleaners." This set's special features aren't horse feathers either. There are rare pilots for some failed post-You Bet Your Life quiz shows, vintage commercials, and so-called "stag reels," featuring mildly risqué humor that censors cut from final broadcast. And now, to quote Fenneman, it's time to sit back, and relax, and enjoy the best of Groucho. --Donald Liebenson |
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Jayne Mansfield Collection (The Girl Can't Help It / The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw / Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?)
Release Date: 2006-08-08
Sales rank: 14959
Bonus Features: **The Jayne Mansfield Collection includes Girl Can't Help It, Sheriff of Fractured Jaw and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter. **All three titles are available for the first time on DVD in the giftset for $49.98 & $69.98.** Episode Description: Disc 1: Girl Can't Help It Disc 2: Sheriff of Fractured Jaw Disc 3: Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? |
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A Day at the Races
Release Date: 2004-05-04
Sales rank: 43431
Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's farm by winning a big race with her horse. There are a few problems. Hackenbush runs a high priced clinic for the wealthy who don't know he has his degree in Veterinary Medicine.A Day at the Races is the Marx Brothers at their commercial and popular peak, working with a top Hollywood director (Sam Wood of The Pride of the Yankees), supported with a healthy screen budget paying for such extras as a blue-tinted ballet sequence, love songs from crooner Allan Jones, and decorative sets. But the brothers are also at the top of their game in terms of their own comic material and timing. The story finds Groucho, Chico, and Harpo helping out at a sanatorium, where their longtime foil in the movies, Margaret Dumont, is the leading patient. The film has some of the trio's funniest and most memorable bits and a dazzling horserace at the climax. Not quite as good as its predecessor, A Night at the Opera, this is still a highlight in the Marxian filmography. --Tom Keogh |
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The Dick Van Dyke Show/Petticoat Junction/Jack Benny Show/Groucho Marx
Release Date: 2005-06-07
Sales rank: 62555
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