tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post693779056088004061..comments2024-01-24T15:33:58.720-05:00Comments on A<br> Mythical<br> Monkey<br> writes<br> about<br> the<br> movies: Well, Okay, Now That You Ask, Why A Duck?Mythical Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-53104991829026602692009-08-03T08:00:31.663-04:002009-08-03T08:00:31.663-04:00Are you saying you're not Douglas Fairbanks? ...<i>Are you saying you're not Douglas Fairbanks? </i> <br /><br /> I'm no more "Douglas Fairbanks" than you're "Mary Pickford."<br /><br />Have you read our respective birth certificates, <b>Gladys</b>?<br /><br /><br />-- Elton<br /><br /><br />What; you thought I meant something <i>else</i> when I said "assumed character". . . .?Douglas Fairbankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07618933609577319699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-57022680252240486242009-08-01T18:00:23.219-04:002009-08-01T18:00:23.219-04:00Douglas, you are always welcome to stop in here at...Douglas, you are always welcome to stop in here at the Monkey to provide your usual pithy guest commentary.<br /><br />By the way, for those who haven't seen the work of the legendary Douglas Fairbanks, I encourage you to jump on over to the Internet Archive -- www.archive.org -- and search for his movies. Click on "Moving Images" at the top of the page and do a search for "Douglas Fairbanks." There you'll find free, public domain copies of <i>The Iron Mask, The Mark of Zorro, Robin Hood, The Thief of Bagdad</i> and <i>The Black Pirate</i> for your viewing pleasure.<br /><br />You can also track them down on DVD (I found <i>The Thief of Bagdad</i> at the library) or look for them on Turner Classic Movies from time to time.<br /><br />Definitely worth the effort.Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-16438609144984026002009-08-01T11:12:26.557-04:002009-08-01T11:12:26.557-04:00Wait a minute -- "assumed character"? A...Wait a minute -- "assumed character"? Are you saying you're <i>not</i> Douglas Fairbanks? Just who have I been living with these last eighty-nine years?Mary Pickfordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-8729072652897339072009-08-01T09:06:39.929-04:002009-08-01T09:06:39.929-04:00Or, put differently, Darwin would probably marvel ...Or, put differently, Darwin would probably marvel that an assumed character could have a survival instinctDouglas Fairbankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07618933609577319699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-42226641221277470662009-08-01T09:05:41.907-04:002009-08-01T09:05:41.907-04:00the assertion of personality accelerates the asser...<i><b>the assertion of personality accelerates the assertion of personality</b></i><br /><br /><br /><br />-- Douglas Fairbanks<br /> Mythical Monkey Movies<br /> 2009Douglas Fairbankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07618933609577319699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-46963578986872154292009-07-30T08:39:17.461-04:002009-07-30T08:39:17.461-04:00Well, you leave the kids alone with matches and a ...Well, you leave the kids alone with matches and a keg of gunpowder for five days and this is what you get -- Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford in a marital spat.<br /><br />I'm back to blogging today -- had another of those drop-dead deadlines yesterday. I'm working on an essay about the Best Supporting Actress of 1929-30. As you no doubt recall, the nominees are Marie Dressler, Nina Mae McKinney and Seena Owen. One of them is going home with the Katie, the other two will no doubt haunt this blog for years.Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-18911555296399495592009-07-30T08:32:29.667-04:002009-07-30T08:32:29.667-04:00What, are you still here? I would have thought tw...What, are you still here? I would have thought two Katie Awards and a nice essay were your cues to get off the stage!<br /><br />Get yourself home to Pickfair where you belong. I've got dinner waiting.Mary Pickfordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-68262591103873931822009-07-30T08:04:00.574-04:002009-07-30T08:04:00.574-04:00(Well, somebody had to make the 12th comment.)
F...<i>(Well, somebody had to make the 12th comment.)</i><br /><br /><br />Fuck you.<br /><br /><br /><br />[there; now ya got thirteen. . . .]Douglas Fairbankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07618933609577319699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-84582041432281019962009-07-29T22:52:20.202-04:002009-07-29T22:52:20.202-04:00"The Story of Mankind." Now, that's ..."The Story of Mankind." Now, that's what I call a Marx Brothers picture! <br /><br />(Well, somebody had to make the 12th comment.)Bellotoothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13867368335490719967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-57112590645491868712009-07-28T16:30:56.103-04:002009-07-28T16:30:56.103-04:00Oh, by the way, speaking of Klute, Mister Starkwea...Oh, by the way, speaking of <i>Klute</i>, Mister Starkweather, I will be writing about that when I get to 1971.<br /><br />Which at my current pace will be in about five years ...Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-73263707296545571612009-07-28T16:28:54.149-04:002009-07-28T16:28:54.149-04:00Mister S, you've inspired me to write about th...Mister S, you've inspired me to write about this in more detail later on, probably when I sum up the Must-See Movies of 1929-30. You've got a real point about the MGM movies (<i>A Night At The Opera</i> and so forth) being more polished, less anarchic and improvised, than their earlier Paramount work. It's entirely possible that Irving Thalberg robbed them of their purity of essence and that as funny as some of their MGM work is, it's not as pure as their Paramount work.<br /><br />On other hand, given the drop off in their audience, especially for <i>Duck Soup</i> which bombed at the theaters, if they hadn't adopted the Thalberg approach, there might not have been any more Marx Brothers at all. Maybe a loss of essence was necessary. (I won't speculate on what became of their precious bodily fluids.)<br /><br />In any event, I advocate any approach to movie watching that encourages the most movie watching, as opposed to necessarily watching the same movies I watch. Call it a bipartisan approach ...Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-8715232266264743062009-07-28T13:01:24.980-04:002009-07-28T13:01:24.980-04:00we're with Mister Muleboy on this one.
GodDAM...<i>we're with Mister Muleboy on this one.</i><br /><br />GodDAMMIT mister s. is a genius!<br /><br /><br /><br />;-)<br /><br /><br /><br />[re: <i>R**m S*rvic*</i> - I couldn't bear to type the name earlier. . . .]mister muleboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14367123802128879318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-88853997946836578722009-07-28T12:20:25.377-04:002009-07-28T12:20:25.377-04:00I've been watching alot of Marx Brothers recen...I've been watching alot of Marx Brothers recently with my kids, and we're with Mister Muleboy on this one. Seems like the Paramount films just have a higher gag/plot ratio that makes them hold up better. (I would rank them: 1. Duck Soup; 2. Horsefeathers; 3. Animal Crackers ("Hooray for Captain Spaulding" gives this one the nod); 4. Cocoanuts; 5. Monkey Business.) <br /><br />I know, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races are more complete films, and they were far greater commercial successes, but it feels like too much of the wackiness has been filtered out and replaced with romantic subplot. The later MGM films are best for devoted Marx fans who can overlook the fact that the brothers look pretty old by this time. (e.g., Groucho's toupee in At the Circus, gives him more hair than he had in the first 5 movies combined.) <br /><br />And even a devoted Marx fan like myself couldn't tolerate Room Service, which wasn't even written with the Marx Brothers in mind.Mister S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-52030612027232727252009-07-28T11:25:23.486-04:002009-07-28T11:25:23.486-04:00I wasn't actually ranking them; I was trying t...I wasn't actually ranking them; I was trying to say that I divvy 'em up by their Universal-ness or their MGM-osity, and ignore most of MGM and after.<br /><br />Using your list, and modifying to my rank, (l) Duck Soup, (2) A Night At The Opera if I can edit the love story and reduce it to a 38-minute Marx Bro movie, (3) Cocoanuts, (4) Animal Crackers, (5)Horse Feathers (6) Monkey Business<br /><br />me no day at races<br /><br /><br />how 'bout an essay on Klute?<br /><br />Outside the box, break up chronology, show you're not a "twentieth-century" stodgy guy.<br /><br />Bust out on Jane and Donald, and such. Opine on her hair.<br /><br />just throwin' curve balls. Call me Micah Bowie. . . .mister muleboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14367123802128879318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-26971048538529409562009-07-28T11:24:18.486-04:002009-07-28T11:24:18.486-04:00I wasn't actually ranking them; I was trying t...I wasn't actually ranking them; I was trying to say that I divvy 'em up by their Universal-ness or their MGM-osity, and ignore most of MGM and after.<br /><br />Using your list, and modifying to my rank, (l) Duck Soup, (2) A Night At The Opera if I can edit the love story and reduce it to a 38-minute Marx Bro movie, (3) Cocoanuts, (4) Animal Crackers, (5)Horse Feathers (6) Monkey Business<br /><br />me no day at races<br /><br /><br />how 'bout an essay on <i>Klute</i>?<br /><br />Outside the box, break up chronology, show you're not a "twentieth-century" stidgy guy.<br /><br />Bust out on Jane and Donald, and such. Opine on her hair.<br /><br />just throwin' curve balls. Call me <i>Micah Bowie</i>. . . .Charley Starkweatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00456716282593911926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-34278009966621357062009-07-28T09:30:48.876-04:002009-07-28T09:30:48.876-04:00Hmm. Interesting. I'm more of the traditiona...Hmm. Interesting. I'm more of the traditional <i>Duck Soup</i>, <i>A Night At The Opera</i> man, followed by <i>Animal Crackers</i>, <i>Horse Feathers</i> and <i>Monkey Business</i> <i>then</i> <i>The Cocoanuts</i> and <i>A Day At The Races</i>. After that, they drop off significantly ...<br /><br />That's if I were recommending them to some poor sucker who's never seen the Marx Brothers. But I personally will watch any of them ...<br /><br />Well, any of them but <i>Room Service</i> ...Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-35466986587620721012009-07-28T08:13:59.617-04:002009-07-28T08:13:59.617-04:00Bellottootsy Fruitsy
I know that I'm in a min...Bellottootsy Fruitsy<br /><br />I know that I'm in a minority, but after <i>Duck Soup</i> ["you'd duck soup for the rest of your life"], the Cocoanuts probably sits atop my MB faves list.<br /><br />I know that it's the stagiest, and the most constrained by mic palcement and static cameras [big soundproofed buggers], etc., but I find that it<br /><br />bristles<br /><br />with Marx Brothers.<br /><br /><br />I guess I just like the gags<br /><br />you know me: movie guy<br /><br /><br /><br />PS like most folks, I set aside<br /><br /><i>Cocoanuts<br />Animal Crackers<br />Monkey Business<br />Horse Feathers<br />Duck Soup</i><br /><br />then think <br /><i>Night At<br />Day at<br /></i><br /><br />then, unlike others, I just lump in "other"<br /><br /><br />I've never ranked the Ritz Brothers<br /><br />Nor the Hudson Brothers.<br /><br />Now the <i><b>Nicholas </b></i> Brothers ! . . . .mister muleboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14367123802128879318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-69095316345816691892009-07-26T15:54:25.043-04:002009-07-26T15:54:25.043-04:00What other flavors? Well, we'll Passover that....What other flavors? Well, we'll Passover that. And hey thanks for the clip. I haven't seen this bit in years & it just flat-out made my afternoon.<br /><br />Hearty congrats too on the Myth Centennial.Who Am Us Anyway?https://www.blogger.com/profile/08260586634760800759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-2054607918729619972009-07-25T19:00:23.505-04:002009-07-25T19:00:23.505-04:00I no like mint -- what other flavors you got?I no like mint -- what other flavors you got?Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-59742377276341961002009-07-25T18:17:40.273-04:002009-07-25T18:17:40.273-04:00Sure, sure ... you came to Washington and accepted...Sure, sure ... you came to Washington and accepted Groucho's offer of a job at the mint!Bellotoothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13867368335490719967noreply@blogger.com