SmileysWorld The scenario just never seems to matter when it comes to The Marx Brothers.For me,as funny as their films always are to me,they have a tendency to run together and I can never remember off the top of my head what plot goes with what film.They were always just so busy doing what they did so well that you were just too busy laughing.They were very good at making you not care what the plot was about at all.They were also so musically inclined that they could hypnotize you with that too.Every film was a grand showcase for their talent,and A Day at the Races was certainly no different.It's another gem from these multi talented genius's.

Magenta_Bob With their seventh film, A Day at the Races, the Marx brothers return with yet another entertaining show. The story, this time, is about Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan), the owner of a sanatorium in financial distress. In order to save the sanatorium from the evil creditors, the dubious horse doctor Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) is hired, since one of the rich patients Mrs. Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) is hopelessly in love with him. Certainly, it is not the most original plot ever – it is quite similar to the one in most Marx films I have seen – nor is it the best, but after all, it is merely a vehicle for a number of sketches, and as long as those are good enough, it is fine by me.In fact, for those who have seen a fair share of the Marx brothers' films, a lot of things will be familiar. Margaret Dumont is the naive, hysterical lady who never understands what is going on. Chico is the charming Italian who is trying to save the lady in trouble and gets his moment with the piano. Harpo is the mischievous and silent helper, who, of course, gets to play the harp. Groucho is the quick guy with the killer one-liners, strange posture, and who has a keen eye for most girls, except for Dumont. But the beauty of it is that it works; since the sketches are different, it does not matter much.Speaking of sketches, A Day at the Races definitely has some of the funniest that the brothers have done. There is a hilarious scene in which Groucho is trying to fool the evil Whitmore (Leonard Ceeley) over the telephone regarding his credentials as a doctor. Another highlight is when Groucho is trying to get a tip from Chico at the race track but ends up with a library. And overall, the sharp dialogue is truly excellent (take, for instance, Dr. Steinberg's (Sig Ruman) claim that Mrs. Upjohn "looks as healthy as any woman I ever met," to which Groucho replies that "you don't look as though you've ever met a healthy woman"). Actually, one of the musical numbers, where Groucho is trying to pick up Flo (Esther Muir) while fending off Dumont, is very amusing as well.While the musical numbers are always my least favourite part of the Marx films, A Day at the Races offers some of the best ones. The classical dance segment is at least pretty, and perhaps offers the best visuals I have seen in these films, with stark black and white reflections in the water at which the scene takes place, and the lindy hop number is very energetic. Only Allan Jones' "Tomorrow Is Another Day" is somewhat of a drag. That being said, they still hamper the pace of the film severely, and without them the film would be half an hour shorter without losing much in terms of comedy or plot; they were perhaps needed in the vaudeville show, but might just as well have been lost in the translation to film. Still, music or not, A Day at the Races finds the Marx brothers at their comedic peak and, to me, even surpasses classics such as A Night at the Opera.

gridoon2018 "A Day At The Races" is generally considered the last great movie that the Marx Brothers gave us, and I also agree that it's better than anything that followed, though all their 1938-1949 movies have their moments and are most definitely worth seeing for their fans. The secret of this film's success is that, although it remains loyal to the MGM formulas (let's face it, the pre-1935 Marxes would hardly care about a young couple in love, much less devote themselves completely into helping them out), it retains most of their anarchic and destructive spirit: from the biggest (Margaret Dumont's unorthodox "examination") to the smallest (Harpo and Chico paying one of their debts by using and re-using the same 5-dollar bill!) comedy bit, there are many hits and almost no misses here. Where the film does miss slightly is in the musical numbers: these are entertaining in their own right, but they feel tacked-on, as if they've come from a different movie altogether. Plus, there are too many of them, and they go on too long, making "A Day At The Races" the longest - by far - Marx Brothers movie (and to think that there were two more full numbers eliminated before release!). Still, this is good zany fun that mostly lives up to its reputation. *** out of 4.

JohnWelles The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico and Harpo, Zeppo left after "Duck Soup) "A Day at the Races" (1937) surpasses "A Night at the Opera" because of its sheer amount of good scenes. For instance, in this picture you have: The Tutsi Fruitsy Ice Cream skit, Chico and Harpo trying to interrupt Dr. Hugo V. Hackenbush's (Groucho) romancing femme fatale (Esther Muir), Groucho's telephone conversation with Whitmore (Leonard Ceeley) and of course the medical examination of Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) by Groucho. One of the reasons I like this film so much is the way it ends up getting rid of the plot and boils down to a series of extremely funny sketches. Not to be missed.