Review of A Day at the Races (1937) by Dylan C — 15 Jul 2011

Terrific Marx Brothers film features some truly hilarious comedy sequences that will have your sides splitting with laughter. Scenes such as when Chico cons Groucho, when Chico and Harpo try to get a deceitful woman out of Groucho's room, and when the Marx Brothers try to fake their way through a medical examination of Margaret Dumont are some of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in film.

That said, this is a more conventional film than other classics like "Duck Soup" in the way it adheres to a straight-forward formula and plot, which features several musical numbers that, while beautiful to listen to, feel out of place after we've just been laughing our heads off at the previous scene.

A dance number set in the stables also features some negative stereotypes of African Americans, while was sadly acceptable when the film was released in 1937. This film is also one of the longer Marx Brothers films and the almost two hour running time leads to some noticeable gaps between the funnier scenes in the film.

I wouldn't call A Day at the Races my favorite Marx Brothers film but it certainly does have a great lot of hilarious material that more than make up for the unnecessary dance numbers and brief racism.