Animal Crackers

Animal Crackers (1930) starring Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Lillian Roth. Groucho plays Captain Spaulding, an African explorer just returned from the Dark Continent. Chico plays the piano, Harpo plays the harp, and Groucho shoots an elephant in his pajamas. There's a stolen painting in the mix, but it only serves as a convenient plot device. The Marx Brothers are given plenty of latitude to practice their patented brand of insanity, and many of the jokes will be familiar to fans of the comedians. This was only the Marx Brothers second movie, and there are plenty of rough spots and wasted moments, but it still manages to get enough jokes in to be worth watching. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B