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Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made
This lushly illustrated graphic novel re-creates a lost Marx Brothers script written by modern art icon Salvador Dali.
Grab some popcorn and take a seat...The curtain is about to rise on a film like no other! But first, the real-life Giraffes on Horseback Salad was a Marx Brothers film written by modern art icon Salvador Dali, who’d befriended Harpo. Rejected by MGM, the script was thought lost forever. Author and lost-film buff Josh Frank unearthed the original script, and Dali’s notes and sketches for the project, tucked away in museum archives. With comedian Tim Heidecker and Spanish comics creator Manuela Pertega, he’s re-created the film as a graphic novel in all its gorgeous full-color, cinematic, surreal glory. In the story, a businessman named Jimmy (played by Harpo) is drawn to the mysterious Surrealist Woman, whose very presence changes humdrum reality into Dali-esque fantasy. With the help of Groucho and Chico, Jimmy seeks to join her fantastical world—but forces of normalcy threaten to end their romance. Includes new Marx Brothers songs and antics, plus the real-world story behind the historic collaboration.
Grab some popcorn and take a seat...The curtain is about to rise on a film like no other! But first, the real-life Giraffes on Horseback Salad was a Marx Brothers film written by modern art icon Salvador Dali, who’d befriended Harpo. Rejected by MGM, the script was thought lost forever. Author and lost-film buff Josh Frank unearthed the original script, and Dali’s notes and sketches for the project, tucked away in museum archives. With comedian Tim Heidecker and Spanish comics creator Manuela Pertega, he’s re-created the film as a graphic novel in all its gorgeous full-color, cinematic, surreal glory. In the story, a businessman named Jimmy (played by Harpo) is drawn to the mysterious Surrealist Woman, whose very presence changes humdrum reality into Dali-esque fantasy. With the help of Groucho and Chico, Jimmy seeks to join her fantastical world—but forces of normalcy threaten to end their romance. Includes new Marx Brothers songs and antics, plus the real-world story behind the historic collaboration.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published March 19, 2019
28 people are currently reading
2211 people want to read
About the author
Josh Frank
8 books44 followersJosh Frank is a writer, producer, director and composer. He has penned numerous plays, including an authorized adaptation of Werner Hergoz’s Stroszek, screenplays, including an adaptation of Mark Vonnegut's The Eden Express, and musicals, including The Jonathan Richman Musical. He is the author of Fool The World, the Oral History of the Band Called Pixies (St. Martins Press USA/Virgin Books U.K.) and In Heaven Everything Is Fine - - The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers (Simon and Schuster/Free Press.)
Over the last decade, Frank has worked with some of the most interesting and innovative musicians, filmmakers, producers and artists in the industry, including Black Francis of the Pixies, David Lynch and Harold Ramis. He has interviewed over 400 of America’s most notable names in entertainment for his books and screenplays.
His Latest Book an Illustrated Novel based on a song cycle by influential band Pixes, is a collaboration with it’s lead singer Black Francis. It will be released in the U.S. by Harper Collins and in the U.K. by SelfmadeHero in 2014. In his spare time, he created and runs a Mini-Urban Drive-In Movie Theatre in Austin, Tx.
Over the last decade, Frank has worked with some of the most interesting and innovative musicians, filmmakers, producers and artists in the industry, including Black Francis of the Pixies, David Lynch and Harold Ramis. He has interviewed over 400 of America’s most notable names in entertainment for his books and screenplays.
His Latest Book an Illustrated Novel based on a song cycle by influential band Pixes, is a collaboration with it’s lead singer Black Francis. It will be released in the U.S. by Harper Collins and in the U.K. by SelfmadeHero in 2014. In his spare time, he created and runs a Mini-Urban Drive-In Movie Theatre in Austin, Tx.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
July 16, 2024
I know, I know, you want this to be fabulous, but there is a reason that such scripts are "lost." As Groucho (who knew funny) succinctly assessed it: "It won't play," and it doesn't, as story or as comic. Josh Frank hears there was a script or set of notes for a surrealist film that Dali took to a meeting with Harpo. They couldn't communicate well with each other, that language barrier. And they were crazy and smart in different ways. Dali spent some time doing sketches and making notes and nothing came from it. The story of Franks' finding the lost notebook is somewhat interesting, and Quirk Press creates a very nice-looking artifact out of the process, but ultimately there's no "there" there.
Frank is a fan especially of the Marx Brothers (as many of us are!), so he wants to make a film of it, "the last Marx Bros film, seventy years later," but no one in Hollywood is interested, so he teams with comedian Tim Heidecker and enlists Spanish comics creator Manuela Pertega to do a comics version. In the story, a businessman named Jimmy (played by Harpo) is drawn to a mysterious Surrealist Woman, whose very presence changes humdrum reality into Dali-esque fantasy. If you have seen Duck Soup or Animal Crackers, you can almost imagine it working. Almost. But it doesn't, and so this is a full comics version of a story that is neither funny nor very interestingly surreal in its visual representation. Maybe if someone had made the film? But see above on Groucho's opinion, who knew funnier better than Frank. Could Dali-an surrealism and Marx-ian absurdism really make a funny (reprise to Duck) soup?
Some of the "gags" that get proposed: The butler serves cocktails on a soft cello. Harpo enters with a lobster on his head, while stroking a monkey, surrounded by a sea of harps that are played by the wind. Harpo plays his harp with a live octopus attached. And so on. I know, fans of surrealism and the Marx Brothers, like me, feel like you have to at least take a look.
Frank is a fan especially of the Marx Brothers (as many of us are!), so he wants to make a film of it, "the last Marx Bros film, seventy years later," but no one in Hollywood is interested, so he teams with comedian Tim Heidecker and enlists Spanish comics creator Manuela Pertega to do a comics version. In the story, a businessman named Jimmy (played by Harpo) is drawn to a mysterious Surrealist Woman, whose very presence changes humdrum reality into Dali-esque fantasy. If you have seen Duck Soup or Animal Crackers, you can almost imagine it working. Almost. But it doesn't, and so this is a full comics version of a story that is neither funny nor very interestingly surreal in its visual representation. Maybe if someone had made the film? But see above on Groucho's opinion, who knew funnier better than Frank. Could Dali-an surrealism and Marx-ian absurdism really make a funny (reprise to Duck) soup?
Some of the "gags" that get proposed: The butler serves cocktails on a soft cello. Harpo enters with a lobster on his head, while stroking a monkey, surrounded by a sea of harps that are played by the wind. Harpo plays his harp with a live octopus attached. And so on. I know, fans of surrealism and the Marx Brothers, like me, feel like you have to at least take a look.
May 20, 2019
Such a strange book: a Marx Brothers film written by Salvador Dali after he befriended Harpo. Really enjoyed this 'what-if' glimpse into a collaboration that would have had cultic reverberations that 'rippled' into deeper pools of consciousness. Fantastic amount of research and collaboration make this book a one of a kind journey into the absurdity of artistic resonance that Dali/Harpo were masters of.
February 21, 2019
First, I want to thank Quirk books for sending this book to me. This book technically doesn't come out until my birthday which is March 19. I wasn't given any instructions not to post a review so here it is.
I'm all about the quirky. I love the strange and unusual. I found this graphic novel to be zany and whimsical and overall weird. I am a big fan of movies like Hot Shot, Naked Gun, Airplane, etc. and this graphic novel is similar. I have to admit I've never seen the Marx brothers in anything. I'm a little too young for that. I grew up on the three stooges reruns. Both comedy acts could be found on vaudeville but the Marx brothers were first on the scene.
I really enjoyed the introduction to this graphic novel with the history of how Dali and Harpo became friends. What happened when Dali and Harpo pitched this movie to MGM and how Josh got all the lost manuscripts, notes, drawings etc. Josh Frank was lucky to find the information in order to create this long lost story. He had to take a few liberties and fill in the blanks.
What I want to know is....what inspired Dali to have this as his title. It's as random as my 13 year old son creating an Elvis Priestly spider drawing. Super random.
My absolute favorite part of the graphic novel is the illustrations. Josh Frank chose an amazing artist in Manuela Pertega. Every page is beautiful. Some pages are like a sepia color and some are full color, but my favorites are the sepia pages with pops of color. Not just a single color either, bright rainbow colors.
What about the story you ask...? At some points I thought the story was a bit too silly. I know....this is the Marx brothers. The story will be absurdly silly with them in the mix, I get that, however some went from silly cute to silly ew...why? I just thought some jokes dragged on. The inner story is about an imaginative business man who falls in love with the Surrealist Woman. This businessman is to marry an unfaithful woman. He meets his fiancee at a club and in walks the Surrealist Woman who is much more exotic than his plain jane and not as shallow. The fiancee realizes she doesn't want the man to leave her. She is jealous.
What does the Surrealist Woman represent? What does it mean to want to protect your partner by stifling her creativity? Are the Marx brothers and Jimmy representing the devil and angel on each shoulder of the Surrealist Woman. The brothers whispering to "be bold, daring, wild" while Jimmy whispers "conform, be normal, fit in". I enjoyed the deeper side of the story.
I don't know if you would call Salvador Dali mad. He did have a huge imagination and I'm sure with his art and this manuscript there's a deeper meaning. I had fun trying to guess at Dali's intentions with his choice of characters. Overall I really enjoyed the book. You have this history introduction to Dali mixed with the ethereal illustrations of Manuela Pertega and the writing of Josh Frank taking bits and pieces of a movie that was never made and creating this semi non-fiction graphic novel.
Reading this book has made me curious to check out the Marx Brothers.
I'm all about the quirky. I love the strange and unusual. I found this graphic novel to be zany and whimsical and overall weird. I am a big fan of movies like Hot Shot, Naked Gun, Airplane, etc. and this graphic novel is similar. I have to admit I've never seen the Marx brothers in anything. I'm a little too young for that. I grew up on the three stooges reruns. Both comedy acts could be found on vaudeville but the Marx brothers were first on the scene.
I really enjoyed the introduction to this graphic novel with the history of how Dali and Harpo became friends. What happened when Dali and Harpo pitched this movie to MGM and how Josh got all the lost manuscripts, notes, drawings etc. Josh Frank was lucky to find the information in order to create this long lost story. He had to take a few liberties and fill in the blanks.
What I want to know is....what inspired Dali to have this as his title. It's as random as my 13 year old son creating an Elvis Priestly spider drawing. Super random.
My absolute favorite part of the graphic novel is the illustrations. Josh Frank chose an amazing artist in Manuela Pertega. Every page is beautiful. Some pages are like a sepia color and some are full color, but my favorites are the sepia pages with pops of color. Not just a single color either, bright rainbow colors.
What about the story you ask...? At some points I thought the story was a bit too silly. I know....this is the Marx brothers. The story will be absurdly silly with them in the mix, I get that, however some went from silly cute to silly ew...why? I just thought some jokes dragged on. The inner story is about an imaginative business man who falls in love with the Surrealist Woman. This businessman is to marry an unfaithful woman. He meets his fiancee at a club and in walks the Surrealist Woman who is much more exotic than his plain jane and not as shallow. The fiancee realizes she doesn't want the man to leave her. She is jealous.
What does the Surrealist Woman represent? What does it mean to want to protect your partner by stifling her creativity? Are the Marx brothers and Jimmy representing the devil and angel on each shoulder of the Surrealist Woman. The brothers whispering to "be bold, daring, wild" while Jimmy whispers "conform, be normal, fit in". I enjoyed the deeper side of the story.
I don't know if you would call Salvador Dali mad. He did have a huge imagination and I'm sure with his art and this manuscript there's a deeper meaning. I had fun trying to guess at Dali's intentions with his choice of characters. Overall I really enjoyed the book. You have this history introduction to Dali mixed with the ethereal illustrations of Manuela Pertega and the writing of Josh Frank taking bits and pieces of a movie that was never made and creating this semi non-fiction graphic novel.
Reading this book has made me curious to check out the Marx Brothers.
March 23, 2025
✨3.5 stars✨
December 26, 2018
The whole idea started with the fact that Salvador Dali and Harpo Marx admired each other's work. In fact, Dali viewed the Marx Brothers as being a genuinely surreal comedy group, although perhaps only Harpo would have agreed.
The story itself is almost secondary, since surrealism was big on mind games, and that is what much of this story is. If you don't insist on a plot that makes sense, and what Marx Brothers fan is really that limited, then the weird happenings in this book can be viewed as one of their films as seen through a kaleidoscope by someone on major drugs, and then it's just fine...well, except for the scene with the hired hands, which is just weird.
According to the author of this book, a complete copy of the original screenplay may no longer really exist. There were copious notes, in two languages, describing some of the gags and scenes, but what Dali did with the original script is unclear. In fact, there is little evidence that he ever really wrote the whole thing, since only the 14-page "treatment" was ever shown to the studio. The studio executive, Louis B. Mayer, didn't like the idea, and if this book is a good representation of what it would have been like, I can see his point. It works well on paper, but would have been nightmarish to film, and audiences who flocked to the earlier Marx Brothers movies probably wouldn't have liked it.
To me, that's because the Marx Brothers style of comedy works by pitting weirdness against the ordinary world. In Giraffes on Horseback Salad, there IS no ordinary world. It's very good, and very weird, but not a good screenplay just because of that. There's basically nothing to play off of, and that undercuts the comedy.
In the finished graphic novel, I was mildly annoyed by the inclusion of inside jokes referring to other Marx Brothers movies. That brought me out of the story whenever it happened, and in a story this complex, that is a bad thing.
There was a carbon copy of the 14-page version still in the possession of the Marx family, but that is far short of a complete script. This, combined with the French and Spanish notes, were what author Josh Frank had to work with. He has synthesized a remarkable thing from those pieces, but...it's not a Marx Brothers movie, or even a good Marx comedy. Serious surrealism dominates, and as a serious film with a bunch of sight gags, it might have worked for Harpo's style of comedy, but the others feel wildly out of place.
On the other hand, as a look inside the creative work of Salvador Dali, and a very different view of Harpo Marx in particular, this graphic novel is well worth reading. It's also a piece of movie history that's hard to ignore, whether you like Dali or not.
The book includes some wonderful notes, including a story about Harpo's son, Bill, who also contributed a short prose segment to the book. That, combined with the historical prose sections, are another reason to read the book.
The story itself is almost secondary, since surrealism was big on mind games, and that is what much of this story is. If you don't insist on a plot that makes sense, and what Marx Brothers fan is really that limited, then the weird happenings in this book can be viewed as one of their films as seen through a kaleidoscope by someone on major drugs, and then it's just fine...well, except for the scene with the hired hands, which is just weird.
According to the author of this book, a complete copy of the original screenplay may no longer really exist. There were copious notes, in two languages, describing some of the gags and scenes, but what Dali did with the original script is unclear. In fact, there is little evidence that he ever really wrote the whole thing, since only the 14-page "treatment" was ever shown to the studio. The studio executive, Louis B. Mayer, didn't like the idea, and if this book is a good representation of what it would have been like, I can see his point. It works well on paper, but would have been nightmarish to film, and audiences who flocked to the earlier Marx Brothers movies probably wouldn't have liked it.
To me, that's because the Marx Brothers style of comedy works by pitting weirdness against the ordinary world. In Giraffes on Horseback Salad, there IS no ordinary world. It's very good, and very weird, but not a good screenplay just because of that. There's basically nothing to play off of, and that undercuts the comedy.
In the finished graphic novel, I was mildly annoyed by the inclusion of inside jokes referring to other Marx Brothers movies. That brought me out of the story whenever it happened, and in a story this complex, that is a bad thing.
There was a carbon copy of the 14-page version still in the possession of the Marx family, but that is far short of a complete script. This, combined with the French and Spanish notes, were what author Josh Frank had to work with. He has synthesized a remarkable thing from those pieces, but...it's not a Marx Brothers movie, or even a good Marx comedy. Serious surrealism dominates, and as a serious film with a bunch of sight gags, it might have worked for Harpo's style of comedy, but the others feel wildly out of place.
On the other hand, as a look inside the creative work of Salvador Dali, and a very different view of Harpo Marx in particular, this graphic novel is well worth reading. It's also a piece of movie history that's hard to ignore, whether you like Dali or not.
The book includes some wonderful notes, including a story about Harpo's son, Bill, who also contributed a short prose segment to the book. That, combined with the historical prose sections, are another reason to read the book.
June 17, 2019
I guess it is pointless to call a work of surrealism absurd nonsense. It is what it is.
Most of the Marx Brothers gags felt pretty authentic, at least. But they were sort of secondary to the main tale, which sort of turned out to be a secret origin story for Harpo, which was odd, because in Dalis script treatment, Harpo and the protagonist are separate characters. I wonder if the adapters took it upon themselves to change that or if Dali changed it in some of the other papers to which the adapters had access.
Groucho dismissed the film pitch with a curt, "It won't play," and it really doesn't. But it is an interesting artifact, or at least the adaptation of one. The introductory material, the story of the story, is more fascinating than the story itself.
Most of the Marx Brothers gags felt pretty authentic, at least. But they were sort of secondary to the main tale, which sort of turned out to be a secret origin story for Harpo, which was odd, because in Dalis script treatment, Harpo and the protagonist are separate characters. I wonder if the adapters took it upon themselves to change that or if Dali changed it in some of the other papers to which the adapters had access.
Groucho dismissed the film pitch with a curt, "It won't play," and it really doesn't. But it is an interesting artifact, or at least the adaptation of one. The introductory material, the story of the story, is more fascinating than the story itself.
August 5, 2019
I don't usually go for weird fiction or art, but I adore the Marx Brothers, and the almost preposterous nature of this graphic novel piqued my curiosity. I tried to win a galley from the publisher, and didn't luck out. Then I was on a dream-come-true trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, of all places, and in the Transreal bookstore. Lo and behold, there was the book. I had to buy it as a special souvenir.
Even having read the book, I can't help but shake my head in awe of the incredible story behind its making: Salvador Dali struck up a friendship with Harpo Marx and decided to write a Marx Brothers screenplay. He wrote up a film treatment, and with Harpo, he pitched it to Louis B. Mayer in Hollywood. The idea was shot down. It was the kind of thing that earned mention in Dali and Marx interviews over later decades, but no one living person seemed to know much about the project.
Author Josh Frank set out to change that, doing some heavy-duty research--hiring a translator, meeting Harpo's son Bill Marx--and pieced together bits and pieces of Dali's surreal movie concept. He made it into a graphic novel, lavishly illustrated by Manuel Pertega.
Again, I don't typically go for surreal stuff, but this book is incredible. I found it even more so when I reached the end to find pictures of Dali's original treatment. Pertega did an admirable job of translating Dali's vision--dripping roast chickens strapped to musicians' heads and all. To my utter delight, they really researched their Marx Brothers, too. The banter between Groucho and Chico feels genuine and is laugh-out-loud funny, though a bit anachronistic at times. The story follows a wealthy, ambitious young man, Jimmy, who scorns his controlling fiance as he falls in love with Surrealist Woman--a woman whose fantastical imaginings become real. In true 1930s style, there are even songs written into the book!
The book is totally bonkers, but that's totally true to concept. I found it to be a joy to read, and I'm so grateful that the author and team took a weird historical footnote and gave it life at long last.
Even having read the book, I can't help but shake my head in awe of the incredible story behind its making: Salvador Dali struck up a friendship with Harpo Marx and decided to write a Marx Brothers screenplay. He wrote up a film treatment, and with Harpo, he pitched it to Louis B. Mayer in Hollywood. The idea was shot down. It was the kind of thing that earned mention in Dali and Marx interviews over later decades, but no one living person seemed to know much about the project.
Author Josh Frank set out to change that, doing some heavy-duty research--hiring a translator, meeting Harpo's son Bill Marx--and pieced together bits and pieces of Dali's surreal movie concept. He made it into a graphic novel, lavishly illustrated by Manuel Pertega.
Again, I don't typically go for surreal stuff, but this book is incredible. I found it even more so when I reached the end to find pictures of Dali's original treatment. Pertega did an admirable job of translating Dali's vision--dripping roast chickens strapped to musicians' heads and all. To my utter delight, they really researched their Marx Brothers, too. The banter between Groucho and Chico feels genuine and is laugh-out-loud funny, though a bit anachronistic at times. The story follows a wealthy, ambitious young man, Jimmy, who scorns his controlling fiance as he falls in love with Surrealist Woman--a woman whose fantastical imaginings become real. In true 1930s style, there are even songs written into the book!
The book is totally bonkers, but that's totally true to concept. I found it to be a joy to read, and I'm so grateful that the author and team took a weird historical footnote and gave it life at long last.
December 25, 2018
For me, this just wasn't the right format in which to experience this work. The art is weird and lovely and the supplemental materials are very interesting, but the story itself just didn't quite fit in to the graphic novel format. I would love to see someone produce this as an animated film, which is probably the only genre in which the ideas could be allowed to fully blossom.
August 10, 2023
Brilliant graphic novel of a forgotten Marx Brothers movie script as written by Harpo’s friend, Salvador Dali ( with major touch ups by Josh Frank and Tim Heidecker). They capture all the absurdity, banter and zaniness of all the Marx Brothers movies and Perth’s masterfully depicts it all in her art.
Just a fun and lengthy read for a GN, but worth it for fans.
Just a fun and lengthy read for a GN, but worth it for fans.
May 28, 2019
DNF. It may come as no surprise that a graphic history of a lost Marx brothers/Salvador Dali film is basically unreadable. But it's unreadable precisely because Josh Frank dispenses with the "history" portion of the book and instead settles in to a retelling of the lost movie. Yes, that's right: Frank and a few collaborators attempt to stage an unfilmable movie in graphic novel format rather than simply providing a history of the movie and the characters involved. Imagine how interesting a combined biography of the Marx brothers and Dali would be? Especially with added information about early American cinema and surrealism. I'd read that for sure!
Instead, we get "Giraffes on Horseback Salad," as told by Josh Frank. It's predictably unintelligible. None of the Marx brothers humor carries over to the page. The surrealist portions are well illustrated by Manuela Pertega, but his art for the non-surreal scenes is amateurish. The whole production is too weird and poorly conceived to be worth reading. Just give me the history!
Instead, we get "Giraffes on Horseback Salad," as told by Josh Frank. It's predictably unintelligible. None of the Marx brothers humor carries over to the page. The surrealist portions are well illustrated by Manuela Pertega, but his art for the non-surreal scenes is amateurish. The whole production is too weird and poorly conceived to be worth reading. Just give me the history!
May 14, 2019
Three-and-a-half? Three-and-three-quarters? Really not sure how to rate this one since it is such a unique creation. I will say that I was slightly disappointed that the story was more Dali than Marx Brothers, but I am really happy that this piece of long-forgotten Marx Brothers marginalia has been brought to life for future generations to enjoy.
January 21, 2019
What a trip! This was delightfully crazy and absurdly surreal!
I'm just not sure how true to the original concept of the film that it is. Would those who had conceived it appreciated it? Probably. But who can really say.
I have nothing but praise for the people involved with creating this project. Kudos!
About the only thing I didn't like, was that the creators were trying to make a graphic novel of a film that might have been made in the late 1930s, and there are some anachronisms that just really stood out and screamed like a herd of giraffes on fire. But even then, it all sort of worked.
It's a trip and some scenes felt truly cinematic, others were so improbable that they'd be almost impossible to film (animate sure, film? doubtful).
What a trip!
(I always forget to add this: I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy through the library where I work)
I'm just not sure how true to the original concept of the film that it is. Would those who had conceived it appreciated it? Probably. But who can really say.
I have nothing but praise for the people involved with creating this project. Kudos!
About the only thing I didn't like, was that the creators were trying to make a graphic novel of a film that might have been made in the late 1930s, and there are some anachronisms that just really stood out and screamed like a herd of giraffes on fire. But even then, it all sort of worked.
It's a trip and some scenes felt truly cinematic, others were so improbable that they'd be almost impossible to film (animate sure, film? doubtful).
What a trip!
(I always forget to add this: I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy through the library where I work)
March 28, 2019
FAScinating. The story behind it, which is printed in front of it (of which I knew little & always longed for more, which I got shortly), and Pertega’s art in particular. Groucho was right - “It wouldn’t play” - but it’s something else presented like this.
July 11, 2019
I saw this while browsing the page of new acquisitions at the library and waffled about requesting it multiple times, until I finally gave in. I mean, the Marx Brothers AND Dali? Who am I kidding, I needed to read this.
The format of the book is lovely, and the introduction and history behind the script and Dali and Harpo's friendship was 5 star worthy. While I craved more, Frank did about all he could with the material available, apart from publishing the actual pages of the script from the archives. And while I still don't really agree that Marx Bros. movies are "surrealist" so to speak, I do now understand how the line between absurdity and slapstick humor can easily cross into the surreal realm.
In terms of the script-turned-graphic-novel, I was fairly indifferent towards it, verging on disliking. It made sense to present this as a graphic novel, but there's no matching an actual Marx Bros. movie, in terms of hearing the puns, seeing the gags, and actually laughing at what's going on (I very rarely ever actually laugh at anything whilst reading). Pertega's illustrations were definitely, I'm sorry to say, not at all really that surreal? The meltiness of it all really bothered me, despite that being a key feature in multiple Surrealist's works, Dali's included. But this was just... garish, and MAD magazine like, due to the bright vivid colors, as opposed to the subtle, washed out gradients of surreal paintings. Perhaps she was trying to capture the Technicolor palette that would have been used in the movie; much like Wizard of Oz, it sounds like the most Surrealist Woman inspired scenes were to be in color, the rest in black and white. Her characters all looked the same as well, background ones as well as main ones.
I also had to constantly reread bits of dialogue in the proper character voices, as that's at least a quarter of the essence of Marx Bros. movies, and something that can't come across on the page.
The character types were typical of a Marx Bros. movie, and I could picture Zeppo playing Jimmy in the black and white bits, and Harpo playing him in the color bits (which essentially the whole premise of the movie, an origin story for Harpo's character). I was quite disappointed that there wasn't any obvious role for Margaret Dumont in this though.
This is worth picking up if you are a fan of either artists, at least so you can read the introduction and history of the lost movie. But the "script" itself was relatively boring to me (again, I need the visual... who knows I might have thought it hilarious on screen!) and the visual portrayal is definitely not going to appeal to certain people.
(Cross posted on my blog.)
The format of the book is lovely, and the introduction and history behind the script and Dali and Harpo's friendship was 5 star worthy. While I craved more, Frank did about all he could with the material available, apart from publishing the actual pages of the script from the archives. And while I still don't really agree that Marx Bros. movies are "surrealist" so to speak, I do now understand how the line between absurdity and slapstick humor can easily cross into the surreal realm.
In terms of the script-turned-graphic-novel, I was fairly indifferent towards it, verging on disliking. It made sense to present this as a graphic novel, but there's no matching an actual Marx Bros. movie, in terms of hearing the puns, seeing the gags, and actually laughing at what's going on (I very rarely ever actually laugh at anything whilst reading). Pertega's illustrations were definitely, I'm sorry to say, not at all really that surreal? The meltiness of it all really bothered me, despite that being a key feature in multiple Surrealist's works, Dali's included. But this was just... garish, and MAD magazine like, due to the bright vivid colors, as opposed to the subtle, washed out gradients of surreal paintings. Perhaps she was trying to capture the Technicolor palette that would have been used in the movie; much like Wizard of Oz, it sounds like the most Surrealist Woman inspired scenes were to be in color, the rest in black and white. Her characters all looked the same as well, background ones as well as main ones.
I also had to constantly reread bits of dialogue in the proper character voices, as that's at least a quarter of the essence of Marx Bros. movies, and something that can't come across on the page.
The character types were typical of a Marx Bros. movie, and I could picture Zeppo playing Jimmy in the black and white bits, and Harpo playing him in the color bits (which essentially the whole premise of the movie, an origin story for Harpo's character). I was quite disappointed that there wasn't any obvious role for Margaret Dumont in this though.
This is worth picking up if you are a fan of either artists, at least so you can read the introduction and history of the lost movie. But the "script" itself was relatively boring to me (again, I need the visual... who knows I might have thought it hilarious on screen!) and the visual portrayal is definitely not going to appeal to certain people.
(Cross posted on my blog.)
August 8, 2019
Perhaps it takes a greater appreciation of surrealism that I apparently possess, but as interesting as the backstory and history are, the story itself is a slog to get through, and less than the sum of its parts.
May 6, 2019
This is the interesting and absurdly true story about the famous painter Salvador Dali who had written a screenplay and wanted the Marx Brothers to be in it. Josh Frank had been researching unmade film scripts when he found mention of Dali’s script originally titled The Surrealist Woman and from there he had his subject for this book. Through painstaking research he pieced together the story of Giraffes on Horseback Salad screenplay. Illustrated by Manuela Perte and adapted with Tim Heidecker, this book contains the graphic novel based on the screenplay and the written story of the strangest movie never made. One of my favorite trivia bits from the book was how did Harpo and Dali (who became friends) communicate. Neither spoke each other’s language but both wives spoke German so they could translate for their husbands
September 22, 2019
There are many parts of this Giraffe's on Horseback Salad that are passably interesting. It is a combination of improbable but mostly true history and a script based on mostly some notes for a screen play. In Hollywood this may be enough to establish screen credits, but list me among the uncertain. Author Josh Frank, his adaptation writer, Tim Heidecker and illustrator Manuela Pertega have put together something worth some of your time, perhaps not this much and also perhaps with some decrease in ballyhoo. It is a graphic novel except when it is a history of the background. Confused yet? Then you understand.
I think we can class Giraffes on Horseback Salad as the story of a movie that was never made backed by what may be a reasonable version of what it may have looked like if it ever got to a detailed story board stage. If you are a fan of surrealism the subtitle is The Surrealist Woman. The artwork in the graphic part of the hypothetical movie is extravagantly surreal.
In 1937 Harpo Max formed a friendship with Salvador Dali. Dali was recently out of revolution wracked Spain and had or would have a role in some special set designer in Hollywood movies. In succeeding years several seconds of his work can be found in Fritz Lang’s Moontide and Walt Disney’s, Fantasia. He also worked with Alfred Hitchcock and etcetera.
The basis of his friendship with Harpo was Dali status as a fan of the Brothers brand of humor. It is easy to posit that their comic mayhem reached into the surreal. The Harpo/Dali relationship also classes in that direction in that they had no common language. Via their wives they could share, at second hand German. The most well know aspect of their friendship was when Dali sent Harpo a harp strung with barbed wire and Harpo sent back a photo of himself at that harp playing with bandaged fingers.
mage:
Less well known, until this book is a collaboration between these two for the movie that was never made. Josh Frank believed that the studio bosses killed it, other references say that Groucho disliked it. My sympathies are with Groucho.
The basic plot revolves around a wildly successful industrialist who meets with and falls in love with The Surrealist Woman. From there the basic plot takes us through an ever-wilder sequence of events as the main character, intended to be portrayed by Harpo contends with the fact that he can continue to live and advance in the conventional world or risk everything to follow his new muse Surrealism. Mayhem and a plenitude of Groucho/Chico by play ensue.
This is a madhouse script with madhouse illustrations. All is fine if you’ve an interest in surrealist art, more sex than the Marx’s ever allowed and well mayhem.
Mostly I do not know what the final package means. Is it a dream? A legitimate effort to finish an abandoned work? Are we better off having the unfinished, ‘lost work’ or with this version in this format?
Maybe if it looked less like an LSD trip. Maybe if the story outline were not so shallow. I will not conclude that Giraffes on Horseback Salad is bad or a waste of time, only that I do not think most of us have missed much if we skip it. There is something here. That something not ordinary. I am glad that I have it behind me, just not that certain that it was better in the anticipation than in the completion.
I think we can class Giraffes on Horseback Salad as the story of a movie that was never made backed by what may be a reasonable version of what it may have looked like if it ever got to a detailed story board stage. If you are a fan of surrealism the subtitle is The Surrealist Woman. The artwork in the graphic part of the hypothetical movie is extravagantly surreal.
In 1937 Harpo Max formed a friendship with Salvador Dali. Dali was recently out of revolution wracked Spain and had or would have a role in some special set designer in Hollywood movies. In succeeding years several seconds of his work can be found in Fritz Lang’s Moontide and Walt Disney’s, Fantasia. He also worked with Alfred Hitchcock and etcetera.
The basis of his friendship with Harpo was Dali status as a fan of the Brothers brand of humor. It is easy to posit that their comic mayhem reached into the surreal. The Harpo/Dali relationship also classes in that direction in that they had no common language. Via their wives they could share, at second hand German. The most well know aspect of their friendship was when Dali sent Harpo a harp strung with barbed wire and Harpo sent back a photo of himself at that harp playing with bandaged fingers.
mage:
Less well known, until this book is a collaboration between these two for the movie that was never made. Josh Frank believed that the studio bosses killed it, other references say that Groucho disliked it. My sympathies are with Groucho.
The basic plot revolves around a wildly successful industrialist who meets with and falls in love with The Surrealist Woman. From there the basic plot takes us through an ever-wilder sequence of events as the main character, intended to be portrayed by Harpo contends with the fact that he can continue to live and advance in the conventional world or risk everything to follow his new muse Surrealism. Mayhem and a plenitude of Groucho/Chico by play ensue.
This is a madhouse script with madhouse illustrations. All is fine if you’ve an interest in surrealist art, more sex than the Marx’s ever allowed and well mayhem.
Mostly I do not know what the final package means. Is it a dream? A legitimate effort to finish an abandoned work? Are we better off having the unfinished, ‘lost work’ or with this version in this format?
Maybe if it looked less like an LSD trip. Maybe if the story outline were not so shallow. I will not conclude that Giraffes on Horseback Salad is bad or a waste of time, only that I do not think most of us have missed much if we skip it. There is something here. That something not ordinary. I am glad that I have it behind me, just not that certain that it was better in the anticipation than in the completion.
April 22, 2019
Harpo Marx and Salvador Dali hanging out together may sound like its own surrealist dream but it was actually a perfect match. Modern day surrealist, Tim Heidecker (along with Josh Frank) have completed quite the feat of adapting Dali and Harpo's loose screenplay into a graphic novel. The "movie" is called The Woman Surreal or The Surrealist Woman and, surprisingly to me, has an actual plot.
It is fun and silly, especially when you read the lines with a Marx voice. The illustrations are just amazing and if you're a surrealist fan who is looking for tattoo ideas, I highly recommend pulling from Manuela Pertega's packed pages.
It is fun and silly, especially when you read the lines with a Marx voice. The illustrations are just amazing and if you're a surrealist fan who is looking for tattoo ideas, I highly recommend pulling from Manuela Pertega's packed pages.
April 10, 2019
The graphic novel imagines the movie Giraffes on Horesback Salad written by Salvador Dali to star the Marx Brothers. The story imagines a young, imaginative inventor and designer named Jimmy who is trying to make it in New York City. He's engaged to Linda, a very ordinary woman who seems a fitting wife, but isn't actually faithful to Jimmy but wants the prestige of being his wife. The couple go to a nightclub where they encounter the Surrealist Woman who, for all intents and purposes, bends reality around her. Her pals, fittingly enough, are the surrealist Marx Brothers. More precisely we only see two of the brothers at first: Groucho and Chico. Jimmy soon falls for the Surrealist Woman who unleashes the power of his imagination. Linda, who doesn't want to lose her place in society, fights to ground Jimmy. The plot is ultimately resolved in the courtroom with Groucho and Chico as the competing attorneys.
The graphic novel contains many supplemental notes and reveals that Salvador Dali intended Harpo to play Jimmy. The result is a very different kind of Marx Brothers experience. It gives us a Harpo (of sorts) who both speaks and takes center stage. This all would have happened during the Marx Brothers' time at MGM, which is after Zeppo left the act. Recommended for fans of the Marx Brothers or Salvador Dali.
The graphic novel contains many supplemental notes and reveals that Salvador Dali intended Harpo to play Jimmy. The result is a very different kind of Marx Brothers experience. It gives us a Harpo (of sorts) who both speaks and takes center stage. This all would have happened during the Marx Brothers' time at MGM, which is after Zeppo left the act. Recommended for fans of the Marx Brothers or Salvador Dali.
March 14, 2020
Since I can't point to anything in particular to indicate that Josh Frank and Tim Heidecker did a bad job of fleshing out the notes for the never-made, never-written Dali / Marx Brothers movie, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume this is more or less what Dali imagined. Of course, there's no way to know, but for the sake of argument...
And so, for the sake of argument, let's first establish that the Marx Brothers made some pretty dreadful movies. They made some great ones too, of course, but Giraffes on Horseback Salad wouldn't have been one of the great ones. It would be remembered as Dali's ego trip, his failed attempt to prove that he was the greatest of the surrealists, that he was the surrealest.
Except that Frank and Heidecker didn't do that faithful a job at imaginings the collaboration that never happened. There are annoying nods to future events and risque scenes that wouldn't have made it into a 1930's motion picture. Worse, Harpo seems inexplicably to be all but written out of the story (or more precisely miscast in a dramatic and decidedly non-Harpo role), even though he was the one meeting with Dali to discuss the project. A few pages of Dali's notes, reproduced as an appendix, suggest that the Harpo was replaced with Chico in the opening scenes. So much for being faithful.
Heidecker's dialogue is pretty convincing at times and is the strongest part of the project. Manuela Pertega's drawings don't quite capture the characters and the occasional over-exaggerated expressions (reminding me of Roberta Gregory's comics at times but not nearly as nicely rendered) take away from imagining the page as a movie screen. I'd call this one big, missed opportunity, but I'm not sure there was that much opportunity there to begin with.
And so, for the sake of argument, let's first establish that the Marx Brothers made some pretty dreadful movies. They made some great ones too, of course, but Giraffes on Horseback Salad wouldn't have been one of the great ones. It would be remembered as Dali's ego trip, his failed attempt to prove that he was the greatest of the surrealists, that he was the surrealest.
Except that Frank and Heidecker didn't do that faithful a job at imaginings the collaboration that never happened. There are annoying nods to future events and risque scenes that wouldn't have made it into a 1930's motion picture. Worse, Harpo seems inexplicably to be all but written out of the story (or more precisely miscast in a dramatic and decidedly non-Harpo role), even though he was the one meeting with Dali to discuss the project. A few pages of Dali's notes, reproduced as an appendix, suggest that the Harpo was replaced with Chico in the opening scenes. So much for being faithful.
Heidecker's dialogue is pretty convincing at times and is the strongest part of the project. Manuela Pertega's drawings don't quite capture the characters and the occasional over-exaggerated expressions (reminding me of Roberta Gregory's comics at times but not nearly as nicely rendered) take away from imagining the page as a movie screen. I'd call this one big, missed opportunity, but I'm not sure there was that much opportunity there to begin with.
April 10, 2019
This book is gorgeous. The design and art is reminiscent to the surrealist movement that Dali himself was a leader in. It not only explains the story of how this movie came to be but it talks about the journey the author took to find the movie. Beyond that first introductory chapter the actual movie is a stunning feat of writing and art. The story line is very intriguing and it’s something that hasn’t been done before. The book feels like a Dali masterpiece with elements of the Marx brothers which must’ve been hard to recreate. It’s a stunning recounting of Dali subconscious and it is beautiful. It’s a perfect read for people who admire Dali’s art and words.
December 9, 2018
First of all, I received this book as part of Goodreads Giveaways. And I'm glad I did! I am a big Marx Brothers fan, and during a film study class in college I saw Salvador Dali's short film. It was really interesting. So, the idea of Dali and the Brothers getting together to make a movie. . . wow! Honestly, all of the Marx Brothers early movies were somewhat surrealist. Duck Soup, and Animal Crackers for example. What Josh Frank has done is track down as much first-hand info as he could (like Dali's notebook on the film, and the pitch sheet for the studio).Then using some comedy writers familiar with the Marx Bros. style, and a very fine artist, Josh Frank has put together a storyboard/graphic novel representing what the movie might have been had it made it to production. It's pretty funky, and likely not everybody's cup of tea, but if you like the Marx Brothers and Salvador Dali I think you'll find it interesting and entertaining. (By the way, the artist, Manuela Pertega, does a nice job channeling Salvador Dali's style.) Oh, and at the end of the book are some reproductions of the pages from Dali's notebook. Pretty cool.
June 10, 2019
i liked this. the illustrations were great.... the free spirit it had in the surrealistic parts made the words and images float in broadstrokes diagonally over the pages.... it's wondeful when many creative people can get to-gether to preserve art.
this would be a great movie to animate. it's sad that thalberg didn't get a chance to make it.
special kudos to noah diamond for his lyrics. diamond also searched, researched, and filled in the blanks to make a marx brother classic: Gimme a Thrill: The Story of I'll Say She Is, the Lost Marx Brothers Musical, and How It Was Found
this would be a great movie to animate. it's sad that thalberg didn't get a chance to make it.
special kudos to noah diamond for his lyrics. diamond also searched, researched, and filled in the blanks to make a marx brother classic: Gimme a Thrill: The Story of I'll Say She Is, the Lost Marx Brothers Musical, and How It Was Found
July 28, 2020
So a long time ago Salvador Dali came to Southern California and met Harpo Marx. They got along like gangbusters despite the fact that they had no languages in common (fortunately both of their wives spoke German). They painted portraits of each other, Dali gave Harpo a surrealist harp with barbed wire strings and spoons all over it, and they generally had a good time.
Also, Dali decided to write a movie for the Marx Brothers. He wrote a fairly detailed treatment and, with Harpo, went to M-G-M Studios to pitch it.
This was after the death of Irving Thalberg, and Louis B. Mayer was running things his way. He was having none of it. Indeed, with the movie technologies of the time it might have been impossible to film.
And so this became one of the legendary Lost Film Projects. Josh Frank decided to track down everything he could about the film, and - with help from Harpo's son Bill, the Georges Pompidou Center, and many others, was able to acquire (copies of) some of Dali's notes and sketches for the movie, and, ultimately, a copy of a treatment (possibly not _the_ treatment that was proposed to Louis B.?) With some help from Tim Heidecker he adapted it to a graphic novel script, which was ultimately drawn by a modern Spanish artist, Menuela Pertega.
And that, with various accessories, is what we have here.
It begins with Jimmy, a successful businessman, who runs his own company, is advantageously affianced to Linda, a socialite with a strong will.
But he becomes fascinated by, and falls in love with, the Surrealist Woman, who has the power to impose her dream-stuff on reality. With some help from her henchpeople (Groucho and Chico), she lives life unfettered by social or physical constraints. Jimmy gets sucked into her world. Linda isn't putting up with this and pursues them to the ends of the earth, or at least the Southern California desert. Then things get _really_ weird.
You may have notice that I haven't mentioned Harpo. Harpo was to play Jimmy, who over the course of the story _becomes_ the Harpo we know. This in itself would have been interesting - Harpo in a straight(ish) part, and _talking_.
Frank comes up with appropriate dialog for both Groucho and Chico. Antics and quips ensue. A very few of the quips sounded a little familiar to me, but that could simply be that they fit so well with the characters that they fit right in with my memories of various Marx Bros. tilms.
A great deal of fun, if you are the sort of person who enjoys this sort of "if only". Very much for fans of Jodorowski's attempt to film _Dune_ (which would have cast Dali as the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV).
Also, Dali decided to write a movie for the Marx Brothers. He wrote a fairly detailed treatment and, with Harpo, went to M-G-M Studios to pitch it.
This was after the death of Irving Thalberg, and Louis B. Mayer was running things his way. He was having none of it. Indeed, with the movie technologies of the time it might have been impossible to film.
And so this became one of the legendary Lost Film Projects. Josh Frank decided to track down everything he could about the film, and - with help from Harpo's son Bill, the Georges Pompidou Center, and many others, was able to acquire (copies of) some of Dali's notes and sketches for the movie, and, ultimately, a copy of a treatment (possibly not _the_ treatment that was proposed to Louis B.?) With some help from Tim Heidecker he adapted it to a graphic novel script, which was ultimately drawn by a modern Spanish artist, Menuela Pertega.
And that, with various accessories, is what we have here.
It begins with Jimmy, a successful businessman, who runs his own company, is advantageously affianced to Linda, a socialite with a strong will.
But he becomes fascinated by, and falls in love with, the Surrealist Woman, who has the power to impose her dream-stuff on reality. With some help from her henchpeople (Groucho and Chico), she lives life unfettered by social or physical constraints. Jimmy gets sucked into her world. Linda isn't putting up with this and pursues them to the ends of the earth, or at least the Southern California desert. Then things get _really_ weird.
You may have notice that I haven't mentioned Harpo. Harpo was to play Jimmy, who over the course of the story _becomes_ the Harpo we know. This in itself would have been interesting - Harpo in a straight(ish) part, and _talking_.
Frank comes up with appropriate dialog for both Groucho and Chico. Antics and quips ensue. A very few of the quips sounded a little familiar to me, but that could simply be that they fit so well with the characters that they fit right in with my memories of various Marx Bros. tilms.
A great deal of fun, if you are the sort of person who enjoys this sort of "if only". Very much for fans of Jodorowski's attempt to film _Dune_ (which would have cast Dali as the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV).
December 3, 2020
I knew exactly what I was in for when I picked this up. The Marx Brothers, zany, legendary, anarchic. Dali, brilliant, difficult, bizarre. The idea of a collaboration between the two, as Harpo and Salvador pitch a never-made script to MGM? Delightful, improbable and unlikely to yield anything at all coherent.
Which is pretty much the graphic novel in a nutshell. The "story of the story," as others have noted, is fascinating, a bit of art and Hollywood history well worth reading.
The graphic novelization itself, well, not so much. The "plot?" It's borderline entropy, with barely more cohesion than a fever dream. Which is no surprise, and kind of what I expected. Not easy to get through, though. Stronger artwork could have carried the whole affair, particularly work that manifested Dali-esque technique. Dali could blend deep realism and refined technique with his warped abstractions, which is what made him a master. Surreality requires a warping of apparent reality, a willful expression of an uncanny valley.
But that's not what we get. There's little attention to the flow of the paneling, rushed and sketchy characterization, awkward and wan use of color. The imagery all just feels flat and more than a little bit amateurish. I mean, look at the cover. Again, I knew what I was getting.
A two point five, because dang, the idea of it. Plus the opening essay is cool.
Which is pretty much the graphic novel in a nutshell. The "story of the story," as others have noted, is fascinating, a bit of art and Hollywood history well worth reading.
The graphic novelization itself, well, not so much. The "plot?" It's borderline entropy, with barely more cohesion than a fever dream. Which is no surprise, and kind of what I expected. Not easy to get through, though. Stronger artwork could have carried the whole affair, particularly work that manifested Dali-esque technique. Dali could blend deep realism and refined technique with his warped abstractions, which is what made him a master. Surreality requires a warping of apparent reality, a willful expression of an uncanny valley.
But that's not what we get. There's little attention to the flow of the paneling, rushed and sketchy characterization, awkward and wan use of color. The imagery all just feels flat and more than a little bit amateurish. I mean, look at the cover. Again, I knew what I was getting.
A two point five, because dang, the idea of it. Plus the opening essay is cool.
May 12, 2019
I have mixed feelings about this book. The backstory is very interesting, and it is certainly a bold experiement, but ultimately I don't think it delivers on the potential. Half surrealist fantasy and half Marx Brothers farce, the two halves don't quite fit together as well as they would seem to at first glance. The joy of the Marx Brothers is that they are agents of chaos in a world of order. In this story, chaos is the norm, so the Marx Brothers don't stand out like they normally do in their classic movies.
However, while I don't think the story works completely, I did enjoy it, and as an interesting footnote to history, fans of either Dali or the Marx Brothers should definitely check it out. The writing is good, and captures the spirit of the Marx's as well as anyone probably could. The art is also stunning, and perfectly fits the story and tone.
While it may not click completely, it is certainly a great effort, and definitely a worthy addition to any comic collection.
However, while I don't think the story works completely, I did enjoy it, and as an interesting footnote to history, fans of either Dali or the Marx Brothers should definitely check it out. The writing is good, and captures the spirit of the Marx's as well as anyone probably could. The art is also stunning, and perfectly fits the story and tone.
While it may not click completely, it is certainly a great effort, and definitely a worthy addition to any comic collection.
November 4, 2019
This was suitably weird as I was expecting. I can't ever imagine it working as a film. The humor is occasionally very spot on for the Marx Bros. The artwork is fantastic and very surreal at times, kudos to the artist as that is easily the best aspect of this graphic novel in my opinion.
However, I feel like the story itself doesn't work very well, maybe because they're adapting an unfinished story but unfortunately it comes off as confusing and occasionally a little boring, shocking I know. I can applaud the unique premise of what they were trying to do here but in the end I didn't find this graphic novel to be be very enjoyable, despite the aspects I did enjoy. I can't really reccommend it unless you are a die-hard Marx Brothers or Salvador Dali fan or you find the premise interesting enough to give it a try.
2.5/5
However, I feel like the story itself doesn't work very well, maybe because they're adapting an unfinished story but unfortunately it comes off as confusing and occasionally a little boring, shocking I know. I can applaud the unique premise of what they were trying to do here but in the end I didn't find this graphic novel to be be very enjoyable, despite the aspects I did enjoy. I can't really reccommend it unless you are a die-hard Marx Brothers or Salvador Dali fan or you find the premise interesting enough to give it a try.
2.5/5
May 19, 2019
The description on the cover tells you what to expect: the unexpected. The Marx Brothers trademark controlled chaos melds perfectly with Dali's surreal vision. The result is something so weird and so funny you're sorry it never became an actual movie. Although, it's pretty easy to see why it didn't.
At times, the creators faithfully render what really do feel like scenes from a 1930's movie. At other times they take full advantage of the fact that they are making a modern day graphic novel.
Underneath the comedy and weirdness, there is a story. It's a rather simple story, like the best of the Marx Brothers' movies. A man discovers that his world can be so much more exciting than he's letting it be. It's a relatable story and it's beautiful.
At times, the creators faithfully render what really do feel like scenes from a 1930's movie. At other times they take full advantage of the fact that they are making a modern day graphic novel.
Underneath the comedy and weirdness, there is a story. It's a rather simple story, like the best of the Marx Brothers' movies. A man discovers that his world can be so much more exciting than he's letting it be. It's a relatable story and it's beautiful.
November 22, 2019
Giraffes On Horseback Salad
by Josh Frank
2019
Quirk
4.0 / 5.0
What a colorful imagination!!
A lost Marx Bros. film, written by Salvador Dali. He has been friends with Harpo for awhile. Offered to MGM Studios, they rejected the script. It has been thought lost and was forgotten. Author and "lost-film fan", Josh Frank found the original script, along with Dali's notes and sketches in a museum archive.
The story is about a business man, Jimmy ( played by Harpo) who is attracted to a mysterious female, known as the Surrealist Women. Groucho and Chico help Jimmy try to tap into her surreal world.
Amazing surreal graphics, imaginative and witty.
by Josh Frank
2019
Quirk
4.0 / 5.0
What a colorful imagination!!
A lost Marx Bros. film, written by Salvador Dali. He has been friends with Harpo for awhile. Offered to MGM Studios, they rejected the script. It has been thought lost and was forgotten. Author and "lost-film fan", Josh Frank found the original script, along with Dali's notes and sketches in a museum archive.
The story is about a business man, Jimmy ( played by Harpo) who is attracted to a mysterious female, known as the Surrealist Women. Groucho and Chico help Jimmy try to tap into her surreal world.
Amazing surreal graphics, imaginative and witty.
December 29, 2021
A dreadful book. The author’s introduction is interesting, chronicling the history of a never-to-be film collaboration between Salvador Dali and the Marx Brothers. The graphic novel that follows is a failure in all respects. Terrible, clumsy artwork. Ugly typography and lettering. A clumsy attempt to merge Dali’s rejected script with new comic material by Tim Heidecker and song lyrics by the author himself. I hated every moment of this book.
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