Marx-ist Humor

“Groucho: You know what an auction is, don’t you?” “Chico: Sure, I come from Italy on the Atlantic auction,” (The Cocoanuts). The Marx Brothers are arguably one of the most famous and beloved comedy teams in history. They were ingenious in their combination of witty wordplay and lowbrow slapstick comedy, beginning their career in vaudeville and eventually taking over Broadway and Hollywood. Though popular in the decades after the period discussed in Ross’ book, Working-Class Hollywood, I believe the Marx Brothers are a prime example of the amalgam of ethnic and working-class experiences to create a brand of comedy that transcended class barriers.

Ross writes: “the widespread popularity of movies helped to break down long standing patterns of ethnic isolation among immigrant groups.” (21) Ross also goes on to say, “Many of the first ‘movie stars’-Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, etc.-came from working-class backgrounds and began their careers by making films that related to the lives and fantasies of working-class audiences.” (44) As first-generation New Yorkers, the Marx Brothers were able to collect material from the diverse world in which they lived. “Fresh off the boat” immigrants, gangsters, gamblers, and intelligentsia – these were all people that the brothers would come into contact with throughout their lives.

There is evidence of binaries that can be attributed to life in New York: most importantly, “insider vs. outsider” is visible in their work. The emotive existence of “outsiders” gives special significance to their experience as the children of Jewish immigrants and the diversity of New York City would go on to greatly affect their mode of comedic performance. For example, the Cocoanuts quotation above utilizes the incongruence of Chico’s status as an “ignorant immigrant” to grain humor from his misunderstanding. In addition, the brothers often used Margaret Dumont’s rich upper-class society woman as the foil for their lower-class immigrant “other.” In Animal Crackers, he asks both Mrs. Rittenhouse (Dumont) and another New York socialite to marry him (at the same time). As he proposes to both of them, he says, “why you’ve both got charm, beauty, money – you have got money haven’t you? Because if you haven’t, we can quit right now,” (Animal Crackers).

The Marx Brothers gained popularity during a time of transition in the United States: World War One was sinking into the past, the Roaring Twenties were a joyous part of the present, and the Great Depression loomed in the future. They took this unique moment in time to take the New York City experiences they had shared and bring them to national audiences, allowing others, whether outsiders or not, to feel included in the mirth of the motion picture form. The city allowed them to cross cultural lines and thus, transcend the Jewish restrictions given to them in this time period. Groucho was able to wobble his way up the social ladder while zinging Margaret Dumont and letting her fall, just a little bit. Chico and Harpo gave immigrant humor a voice and together, they broke down some social barriers using one simple tool – laughter.