The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx

by Stefan Kanfer, Stefan Kanfer (Editor)

From early scripts to complete screenplays, from magazine articles to fascinating personal correspondence, Kafner's collection captures the essence of Groucho's inimitable comic genius.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Biography, Memoir, Essays, Film

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Stefan Kanfer is the author of fifteen books, including the bestselling biographies of show business icons: GROUCHO; BALL OF FIRE (Lucille Ball); SOMEBODY (Marlon Brando); and TOUGH WITHOUT A GUN (Humphrey Bogart). He has also written many social histories, among them THE LAST EMPIRE, about the De Beers diamond company, and STARDUST LOST, an account of the rise and fall of the Yiddish Theater in New York.

Kanfer also wrote two novels about World War II and served as the only journalist on the President’s Commission on the Holocaust. He was the first by-lined cinema critic for Time magazine, where he worked as writer and editor for more than two decades. He has been given many writing awards and was named a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library. He lives in New York where he serves as a columnist for the City Journal of the Manhattan Institute.

Reviews

[paper0r0ss0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo so, tre stelle sono poche per Groucho, il piu' simpatico e geniale marxista della Storia, ma vedere trasportati sulla carta il brio e lo scoppiettante umorismo dei fratelli Marx non mi ha soddisfatto piu' di tanto. La traduzione necessariamente approssimativa dei giochi di parole e dei calambour, il tempo trascorso che depotenzia i rimandi contemporanei, hanno come risultato una "sedazione" della frenesia grouchana. Molto meglio i film o gli spezzoni radio. Li' si che la potenza geometrica della parlantina e la gestualita' del (finto)baffuto genio si dispiegano e restano memorabili.

[Gero Mannella · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about Groucho are his mental short circuits, the sense of estrangement of some of his phrases that slip into an apparent non-sense, which is often a black hole of experience. And I love his professed lightness, his flying over the human comedy with shrewdness and aplomb, making a mockery of the masks we use to wear.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

includes the best of the movie monologues. Including my fave from "Duck Soup" :

Mrs. Teasdale: Oh, your Excellency. We've been expecting you. As chairwoman of the reception committee, I extend the wishes of every man, woman, and child of Freedonia. [Notice the continuity error: Firefly's coat has changed from a formal black tuxedo coat with tails, to a gray coat with black edging.]
Firefly: Never mind that stuff. Take a card.
Mrs. Teasdale: Card? What will I do with the card?
Firefly: You can keep it. I've got fifty-one left. Now what were you saying?
Mrs. Teasdale: As chairwoman of the reception committee, I welcome you with open arms.
Firefly (snapping back): Is that so? How late do you stay open?
Mrs. Teasdale (with high regard): I've sponsored your appointment because I feel you are the most able statesman in all Freedonia.
Firefly (insulting her): Well, that covers a lot of ground. Say! You cover a lot of ground yourself. You'd better beat it. I hear they're gonna tear you down and put up an office building where you're standing. You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff. You know, you haven't stopped talking since I came here. You must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Now, here is a little peninsula, and here is a viaduct leading over to the mainland.”

“Why a duck? … Why-a-no-chicken?”

“I don’t know why-a-no-chicken…. All I know is that it’s a viaduct. You try to cross over there a chicken, and you’ll find out why a duck. It’s deep water, that’s viaduct.” (p. 17)

That’s a famous routine from the Marx Brothers play-cum-film, “The Cocoanuts,” and if that kind of wordplay’s over your head, you’ll hate this short anthology. This is wild, antic stuff, excerpts of the wooliest and wickedest puns, misdirections, double entendres, non sequiturs, and plain nonsense that ever one Julius (nee Groucho) was privileged to put over, even including one-liners from his role as host of the quiz show “You Bet Your Life.”

Interestingly, the weakest material in this slim volume was penned by Groucho himself – the freelance essays he sold from the late ‘30s to the early ‘50s. However, this content is livened by semi-autobiographical interest and insights into the lives of a true vaudevillian mother-managed brother-routine (very Gypsy Rose Lee, that). For example, at p. 156 we learn of the stage origins of canned laughter (that menace of bad sitcoms), as Groucho tells us, “The prop laugh was designed not only to lead the rest of the audience to laughter, but also to fool the managers [who were responsible for hiring and booking the acts]….” And when the managers started catching on and the Marxes started playing to bigger and bigger houses, it was time to up the decibel-level. Prepping for an engagement at the popular (and large) Majestic Theater in Chicago (“our Opportunity, our first experience on the Big Time,”) the Marxes’ father buys and trains 50 boosters, “and such laughter and applause I have never heard since.” From this I gather that Groucho didn’t attend public screenings of his own movies.

Even though most of the gems this book contains were written by S.J. Perelman, Harry Ruby, and Bert Kalmar (and oft by a committee that I can only imagine really putting one another into late-night hysterics), I can’t leave off without one last extended quote from Groucho himself, a shout-out for all fans of Dave Barry and like humorists. Here we have a distillation of the economic principle of inflation (p. 180):

Suppose you take a gallon of whiskey and pour three gallons of water into it…. Perhaps this is an even clearer explanation. Take a small glass; pour in a hooker of rye whiskey, drop in a piece of ice (unless you have your skates on), a lump of sugar, a dash of bitters, a cherry, and a slice of pineapple. This isn’t much of a drink, …but it makes a wonderful fruit salad. And even this is better than inflation.

I couldn’t agree more.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really loving this one so far.
I loved this book! I need to get my hands on some Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel recordings! The Marx Bros. are one of my favs and I appreciated their comedic style on an entirely different level by reading excerpts of their movies rather than listening to them. Their timing was genius and Groucho's ad-libbing essential. I especially enjoyed the sections on Groucho's correspondence with T.S. Eliot and his freelancing work. I'm really looking forward to reading more of Groucho's writings. It's unfortunate that his death was overshadowed by Elvis', who died the same week.

[The Book Nazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A penguin is only a duck in a monkey suit".

Groucho Marx was full of one liners! Many of his one liners are quoted today by almost anyone, sometimes unknowingly.

While preparing to film a movie entitled A Night in Casablanca, the Marx brothers received a letter from Warner Bros. threatening legal action if they did not change the film’s title. Warner Bros. deemed the film’s title too similar to their own ''Casablanca'', released almost five years earlier in 1942, with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.The letter that was sent In response to the studio’s legal department is just hillarious. Here is an extract:

''You claim that you own Casablanca and that no one else can use that name without permission. What about “Warner Brothers”? Do you own that too? You probably have the right to use the name Warner, but what about the name Brothers? Professionally, we were brothers long before you were. We were touring the sticks as the Marx Brothers when Vitaphone was still a gleam in the inventor’s eye, and even before there had been other brothers—the Smith Brothers; the Brothers Karamazov; Dan Brothers, an outfielder with Detroit; and “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (This was originally “Brothers, Can You Spare a Dime?” but this was spreading a dime pretty thin, so they threw out one brother, gave all the money to the other one, and whittled it down to “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”)

This book is filled with such witty letters and quotes and things about Marx. Essential for any fan of Groucho.

[Svalbard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non occorre nessuna presentazione per Groucho Marx, il più noto della celebre famiglia di cabarettisti, forse uno dei primi protagonisti di quella grande tradizione di comici che hanno portato il classico Witz ebraico sulla scena teatrale, nel cinema, alla radio e alla televisione rivolgendosi a un pubblico di “gentili”. Quanto la sua figura abbia impressionato il mondo e la cultura lo dimostra anche il fatto che su di lui sia stata modellata la “spalla” di Dylan Dog, il celebre personaggio dei fumetti investigatore dell’incubo.

Questo libro raccoglie sia suoi scritti che episodi tratti da spettacoli, film e trasmissioni radiofoniche. Si ride molto, anche se, come capita spesso con il comico che si trasfigura nel tragico (e viceversa), rimane sempre un velo di tristezza, che traspare nel racconto filigranato di storie di povertà e disagio alle spalle del mondo dello spettacolo e dell’avanspettacolo.

Fortunatamente il contenuto di questo libro non coincide, o se lo fa lo fa solo in minima parte, con il contenuto di due libretti dati in omaggio molti anni fa dal settimanale satirico “Cuore” e già in mio possesso.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining collection of scripts, letters, stories, quotes and anecdotes by, for and about Groucho Marx.

There's a little biographical information sprinkled in among the gags and witticisms, but this is largely letting Groucho speak for himself. Scenes from "Duck Soup" and "At the Races" are lifted in one chapter. Another uses Groucho's personal and public correspondence. A third curates quotes and out-takes from "you bet your life." There's one for his time on radio as well.

At no point is Marx ever truly serious. Even when consoling TS Elliott on his illness, he still manages an acerbic jab. His stories seem to like corkscrew humor and trying to get at bottled-up truth.

Nevertheless, as a Groucho fan, it was fun for me to hear Groucho's voice in my head as I read through his scripts and correspondence. A quirky and charming read, with a bit of an acid bite. Much like the man himself.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of the Marx Brothers, and especially Groucho Marx. When I was fairly young, our library screened classic movies and my dad, in a display of fantastic parental instinct, dragged me along for all the Hitchcock and Marx Brothers films. The absurdity, the cravenness, the wit--I loved it all. So the five stars for this collection should be understood in that context. I make no attempt at an objective rating here. This was a fantastic collection of scripts, essays by and about Groucho, and transcripts of some of his television and radio performances.

[Maurya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far better than expected. My previous experience with a similar collection was Woody Allen's and it was nowhere as humorous as his on-screen persona. I'd expected a similar let-down in this book, but fortunately my apprehensions proved unfounded :) Though nothing can really match up to that half-sleazy half-spiteful dialogue delivery, his prose comes pretty close.

[Steve Folan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good material about a great comedian who starred on stage, radio, television and cinema. His story is the story of the entertainment industry in the 20th Century. His style was not unique but took influences from the period (there were a lot of con men and hard selling salesman) and added wors play, paradox and a sense of chaos and the absurd.

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book too blah. The humor is present but I did not get the same effect as I would perhaps watching some of the clips. Humor is somewhat outdated. I did find some lines that tickled me but overall it was tedious to get through.

[Bimus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little collection of writings by Groucho as well as highlights from his movies. Not a history of the man but there are some delightful historic memories he's put to paper.

[Gloria DeWeese · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the funniest book!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I like the idea of Groucho more than what I find when I read his stuff. Hope doesn't always win over experience.

[Brett Van Gaasbeek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very fast read and was a good review of the Marx Brothers films, which were so much a part of my childhood. I found the coverage of his freelance work to be very interesting, as I loved his op-ed piece on his Vice Presidential candidacy in 1940 with FDR. The parts that were a drag were the sections of magazine and newspaper coverage of Groucho and the Marx Brothers. Also, some of the jokes selected for this anthology did not age well at all, which is to be expected, but these would not have aged well by the 1960s standards, let alone today. There were comic bits that were much better suited to present. Plus, any written work of comedy will lack the physical delivery and inflection that Groucho would have added, which detracts immensely from the humor. To sum up, it is a good trip down memory lane for a Marx Brothers fan, but not much else.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started this with high hopes, but as I progressed became disillusioned. Perhaps it is too 'American' for me, certain parts referring to things ONLY Americans would understand (appreciate?). When I saw references to Scotch people, it started to go down-hill! This seems a little odd as it was first published in 2000, but the way it is written seems very 'old'. So, although I like Groucho, the book finally came over as 'just too much of a good thing'.

[David Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthy attempt to collect and preserve some of Groucho's writings and quiz-show quips. The section of freelance pieces is too long, since most were only middling, and weighed down what was otherwise a great pleasure of letters and script excerpts. Still, a neat idea, one that salvages a lot of out-of-print or uncollected material.

[Rachel Radice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked this up, having been given it as a present - but I was dubious. Turns out Groucho Marx is an absolute genius, I laughed out loud several times throughout the book. In particular, the years of correspondence between Marx and T.S. Eliot were an absolute joy to read. A real wild card that has turned out to be one of the funniest books I have ever read.

[Celso Moura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Penoso e datado.

[Vincent Lombardo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very uneven. I did not enjoy reading Groucho's prose, and I thought the excerpts from the movies and "You Bet Your Life" were funnier when performed, not read.

[Jack Stonecipher]

Groucho's medium will always be film. His style doesn't always translate to written articles and his quiz show bits lack his central character. ☝️ respect!!!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a brief introduction by Groucho's biographer, Stefan Kanfer, a couple of Time magazine articles about Groucho, then the rest of the material is by the man himself. A kind of "greatest hits" volume. So you know it's guaranteed to be funny. It includes favorite scenes from "Animal Crackers", "Monkey Business", "Horse Feathers", "Duck Soup", "A Night at the Opera", and "A Day at the Races", among other films. There are some freelance articles, as well as selected material culled from his appearances on radio and TV.

All of this is reliably funny stuff, but for my money the best part of this book was "The Groucho Letters", roughly 30 pages of correspondence. There's the surreal correspondence between Groucho and Warner Brothers, who were trying to claim exclusive rights to the name 'Casablanca'. Letters to Fred Allen, Russell Baker, Alistair Cooke, and others. But the oddly moving center to the whole collection is an exchange of letters between Groucho and T.S. Eliot, initiated when Eliot, who was an avid fan, wrote in 1961, requesting an autographed photo.

Anyone troubled by the anti-Jewish sentiments in some of Eliot's writing should read these letters, which go a long way to softening the image of Eliot as a rabid anti-Semite. The two men obviously grew friendly, and held each other in high regard, as this excerpt from a letter from Groucho to Russell Baker shows:

(January 21, 1965)

I was saddened by the death of T.S. Eliot. My wife and I had dinner at his home a few months ago and I realized then that he was not long for this world. He was a nice man, the best epitaph any man can have ....

[Leonard Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

The quotes from movies are pretty worthless, but the real finds here are huge collections of his various letters. There's a nice historical perspective at play here, too, since it was written recently enough to really analyze Groucho's historical impact.

[Tlingit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read "Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx" by Stefan Kanfer first if you want an in depth look at Groucho. This book has the same information but just selections of the other book. Read this book if you are only interested in Groucho's comedy.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If ever there was a book that should exist as an audiobook, this is it.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm as much of a Groucho fan as anyone, but it loses quite a lot on the page. Couldn't finish this one.

[Vanlilith · Rating 5 out of 5]

-

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book in one day.
It's fascinating and hilarious.
Highly recommended!!

[Rick Vickers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though most of the jokes and routines discribed are well over 50 years old they still had me laughing out loud while reading.