Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.
"War is swell...when the Marx Brothers are in it. They'll be out of the trenches by Christmas...if the food doesn't improve!"
I never get tired of the idea that someone would think of Groucho Marx is the perfect man to lead a nation into war. Or that Harpo and Chico would be good spies. Or that Zeppo would be interested in another film after this one....
The Marx Bros are to Blockbuster as Monty Python are to Netflix and I mean that in the best way possible...
**I would love to send a copy of the film to Vladimir Putin. Would he understand the gesture?**
Who would have thought that this film is almost a hundred years old? I just saw it, and it is fresher and lusher than many vegetables in the supermarket! Many people no longer know who the Marx Brothers are, but a hundred years ago, at a time when there were no internet memes (or the internet), they were the kings of comedy, and it's always worth seeing what they did. They passed away a long time ago, but they left us a polite, intelligent, sharp, accessible humor that the whole family can see.
...
Ok, so I’m probably in a tiny minority here but I simply didn’t find the Marx brothers’ style of comedy particularly funny, and this didn’t really do much to change that view. This is all set in the tiny nation of “Freedonia” that urgently needs $20 millions to avoid bankruptcy. They can get it from a wealthy benefactress, “Mrs. Teasdale” (Margaret Dumont) but only if they agree to appoint “Firefly” (Groucho) as their new Prime Minister. Of course he hasn’t a clue, but she is sweet on him and so he is left to run/ruin this nation whilst the scheming ambassador “Trentino...