Topic: Love Happy (1949) - The Marx Brothers

[metaldams]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041604/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1



      Well folks, we're at the end of the line with The Marx Brothers, as this will turn out to be their final film together.  LOVE HAPPY gets a bad reputation that I feel is underserved.  The main problem is the expectations people have coming into this film.  These days, the main way this film is advertised is a Marx Brothers film featuring Marilyn Monroe.  Of course, that would be the best way to sell this film these days, but in reality, it's only a partial truth.  Yes, this is a Marx Brothers film in the sense that Groucho, Chico, and Harpo are all in it.  The reality is this is a Harpo vehicle that features fine support from Chico and has Groucho thrown into a last minute role just so this can be advertised as a Marx Brothers films.  Hey, it's better box office.  As far as Marilyn, our favorite candle in the wind was not the pop culture icon in 1949 as she was today, as the credits say "introducing" Marilyn Monroe.  She was a complete unknown, pre feature film career, pre Playboy Playmate, pre Kennedy,  pre Jotin' Joe, pre tragic ending, pre Bernie Taupin lyric, pre picture hanging in the dorm room of every college female, etc, etc etc, you get the point.  She appears in one scene here where she walks into a detectives office and complains of people following her.  Christine McIntyre has done that gag, as have a million other people.

      OK, now that we know what LOVE HAPPY is not, let's state that it's a Harpo Marx vehicle.  Your love of this movie most likely depends on how much you love Harpo.  I'm a big fan of the guy, so it's alright by me.  Harpo had a hand in creating this story himself, and it's created much more in line with the helping young people like at MGM as opposed to the misfit at Paramount, but I'm OK with this.  No sappy love songs here, Harpo is even attracted to the female lead even though there's no way she could possibly fall for a man with his tramp like social standing, a theme previously explored in great detail by Charlie Chaplin's tramp character.  Harpo's doomed to be the friend, though they don't overplay this angle too much, the comedy takes over more times than not.  I also love the way they show the little shack in which Harpo lives, again very Chaplinesque. 

      As for the comedy, we get the tried and true Harpo routines like having the overcoat filled with every item but the kitchen sink, perhaps done to greatest effect here.  They even manage to take a dog out at one point!  Harpo and Chico get to do another one of their delightful charades routines, and we get a great harp solo from Harpo, playing "Happy Birthday" to Vera-Ellen and then busting out "Swanee River."  Nothing really new or revolutionary out of Harpo here, instead it plays like a greatest hits album.

      I love Chico anytime he's hopelessly trying to make love to Ilona Massey, offering to cover her in sardines and asking if she wants pickled herring or anchovies instead.  The piano solo may display Chico at his most virtuosic, very entertaining and I love the way he competes with the violin player.

      As for Groucho, his role was just thrown in.  He's completely entertaining whenever he's on, but he's not on much and is nothing more than a narrator for the first hour of the film.  Interestingly enough, Groucho never appears in the same frame as Chico for the entire film.

       I also think the chase scene on top of the roof deserves some praise.  Much better than the haphazard mess at the end of THE BIG STORE.  The scene is logical with everyone going after the necklace, has little fakery of MGM chases, and never wears out its welcomes.  My two favorite things about the chase would be Chico's reaction when the backlight shines on Ilona Massey, exposing her shapely figure inside her dress.  The devilish look on his face and his hat rising up symbolizing, well, you know (another device Chaplin used, by the way), always gets a laugh out of me.  I also love the gratuitous advertising displayed for gas and cigarette companies.  Hey, gotta make that money, but at least they use it to good comic effect.

      Like ROOM SERVICE, LOVE HAPPY ranks low as a Marx Brothers film because in this case, there simply is not enough Groucho.  However, like ROOM SERVICE, I'm able to appreciate LOVE HAPPY for what it is rather than what it isn't - a nice Harpo vehicle with the assistance of his brothers.

      This concludes my Marx Brothers reviews.  The fact that I have not ranked a single Marx film below a 7 obviously means I really enjoy their entire body of work.  They only made 13 films, so it's not like they had much room to screw up, but I even find joy in their lesser works.  Thanks to all of you who have participated so far and those of you who will participate in the future.  It's obviously never too late to comment on films reviewed a while back.  In fact, it's encouraged.

8/10

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Chico's violin-playing partner was Leon Belasco who was actually a violinist for real, as well as a character actor.  He was also a pianist for real.  He's Gloria Jean's piano accompanist in W C Fields's Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.  I'm sure both guys are dubbed here, mainly because I don't think Chico ever played that much piano.  Between the two  ( or three, or four  ) of them, that's a lotta music.
     In general, Chico's good in this, but the movie itself is pretty bad.

[Larrys#1]

Just like ROOM SERVICE, I will have to disagree with Metaldams' review. This movie is not so great. First, this feels like a Harpo solo. Don't get me wrong. I think the guy is great and one of the funniest comedians out there. But I always like the Marx Bros' roles to be evenly split.... with the exception of Zeppo, of course. Chico barely does anything funny here and Groucho's role is next to nothing. Groucho happens to be my favorite of the three and it's so sad seeing his role being so small. Some sources say that his role was a last minute addition while other sources say that his role was planned from the very beginning. I'm more inclined to believe the former because it looks that way. He has a very small role as a useless narrator and then appears in the story at the very end. That really does look like his role was added in last minute.

Musical numbers aren't too bad here, but I really think Chico's piano scene could've been better without the violin accompaniment. Harpo is great here, but he steals the movie away from his two brothers and sadly, it hurts the movie a lot.

4/10

[metaldams]

I really think I must be the only guy in the world to like this film.  Funny how I rate this higher than THE COCOANUTS, talk about Marx blasphemy!  Oh well, I'll put it down strictly to the early talkie factor.

OK, for pure fun, here's my ranking of the 13.  Don't ask me to do this with the Stooge shorts, my brain will explode!

1. DUCK SOUP
2. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
3. MONKEY BUSINESS
4. HORSE FEATHERS
5. ANIMAL CRACKERS
6. GO WEST
7. A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA
8. A DAY AT THE RACES
9. LOVE HAPPY
10. ROOM SERVICE
11. THE COCOANUTS
12. AT THE CIRCUS
13. THE BIG STORE

[Seamus]

This might be a good time for me to finally watch this movie.  I always avoided it because of its reputation and its "not really a Marx Brothers movie" status, but I'm sort of in a receptive frame of mind for more "solo" Harpo after watching his TV Collection stuff recently. 

Can't really argue with that ranking for the most part, Metal.  Not sure where I'd put LOVE HAPPY till I've seen it, and I wouldn't put COCOANUTS so close to the bottom (sure it's a little slow and creaky, but its historical significance as an early talkie and the boys' earliest filmed performance makes it inherently more interesting to me than DAY AT THE RACES), but I'm in almost perfect agreement with you on everything else.

[Larrys#1]

My ranking....

Duck Soup 10/10
Monkey Business 10/10
Horse Feathers 9.5/10
A Night at the Opera 9.5/10
Animal Crackers 9/10
A Day at the Races 9/10
A Night In Casablanca 8.5/10
Go West 8.5/10
The Cocoanuts 8/10
At The Circus 8/10
Room Service 6.5/10
The Big Store 5.5/10
Love Happy 4/10

[Larrys#1]

Don't ask me to do this with the Stooge shorts, my brain will explode!

If we put our ratings on an Excel spreadsheet, ranking the stooge episodes should be a cinch.

[Dr. Mabuse]

"Love Happy" should be viewed as a showcase for the talents of Harpo Marx. On that level, it's an enjoyable but uneven film. Harpo's attempt at Chaplinesque pathos is fascinating — if not entirely successful. However, the rooftop chase is quite inventive and Groucho (who appears solely for box-office purposes) has a memorable encounter with Marilyn Monroe. No classic, but less painful to watch than "At the Circus" and "The Big Store."

In 2004, Republic/Artisan released an uncut 35mm print on DVD that is six minutes longer than the 85-minute version from 1950. Groucho's narration now makes more sense and includes some Robert Benchley-inspired commentary. Along the way, there are occasional gags with Harpo and Chico that the Hays Office deemed inappropriate for the official release. Despite a few continuity errors, the uncut 1949 print of "Love Happy" is superior to the widely seen 1950 theatrical version.

7/10

[Dr. Mabuse]

The uncut 1949 version.

The 1950 theatrical version.

[Dr. Mabuse]

A fascinating 1949 article in Harrison's Reports about the use of advertising in "Love Happy."

https://ia800309.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?id=harrisonsreports31harr&itemPath=%2F23%2Fitems%2Fharrisonsreports31harr&server=ia800309.us.archive.org&page=leaf0189

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Lester Cowan was renowned, in a city full of sleazy thieves, as one of the sleaziest thieves in Hollywood.  By the end of shooting, Harpo, a man famous for the sweetness of his disposition ( and in his younger years, it must be admitted, his lechery ), was screaming vitriol and hatred at Cowan's dishonesty.  That being understood, how times have changed.  Was anyone reading this today sentient during the big joke ( now ancient history ) why ET liked Reese's Pieces?  Same deal.

[metaldams]

Lester Cowan was renowned, in a city full of sleazy thieves, as one of the sleaziest thieves in Hollywood.  By the end of shooting, Harpo, a man famous for the sweetness of his disposition ( and in his younger years, it must be admitted, his lechery ), was screaming vitriol and hatred at Cowan's dishonesty.  That being understood, how times have changed.  Was anyone reading this today sentient during the big joke ( now ancient history ) why ET liked Reese's Pieces?  Same deal.

Funny you should mention E.T. and being sentient.  It was the first movie I ever saw in the theater at age 3 in 1982.  Of course I was too young to consciously understand I was being advertised too, but I‘m sure the brainwashing was effecting my young mind for Reese’s.

Yes, cool article Dr. Mabuse and yes, the advertising of LOVE HAPPY really stands out, especially for the time.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Metal, your reply hints to me that you may not know the backstory:  IIRC, ET was supposed to be lured by M&Ms, but Mars candy company turned down the deal.  Spielberg went to Reese's, and the rest is history.  The story was well known at the time.

[Dr. Mabuse]

I just finished reading Susan Fleming Marx's excellent posthumous memoir Speaking of Harpo and she offered new insights into the troubled production of "Love Happy." For understandable reasons, Harpo never acknowledged the film in his 1961 autobiography, Harpo Speaks!

Susan blamed Gummo (who was Harpo's manager) for bringing producer Lester Cowan on board. In order to secure financing and distribution from United Artists, Gummo and Cowan conspired to have Chico and Groucho involved — thus killing Harpo's plans for a solo film (though his contract guaranteed top billing). "Harpo seemed to be the last person to know that the Marx Brothers were reuniting," Susan wrote. "Harpo, in a rare display of anger, made it clear to Lester Cowan that he knew he had lied to him."

As mentioned in an earlier post, Harpo detested Cowan and his sleazy machinations to complete "Love Happy." (Cowan also lied about producing future Marx projects, such as Chico in a serious western.) According to Susan, the finished film "bore no resemblance" to what Harpo envisioned and the lackluster box-office response put an end to his "interest in making movies." Except for his Technicolor appearance as Sir Isaac Newton in "The Story of Mankind" (1957), Harpo never made another film.

[metaldams]

Nice input, Mabuse.  I never really researched the production history and never knew this was completely supposed to be a Harpo film but the money men had other ideas.  I knew Groucho was obviously a last minute thought, but thought Chico was in from the beginning.

[Dr. Mabuse]

I knew Groucho was obviously a last-minute thought, but thought Chico was in from the beginning.

In Groucho's 1947 letter to his daughter Miriam, he described "Love Happy" as a story Ben Hecht "wrote for Harpo, and finally Chico got in it, and then I suddenly found myself in it for a brief bit." However, Groucho's appearance turned out to be more than "a brief bit" and Harpo made certain that the role was not further expanded by Cowan. As a result of Harpo's contractual provision, Groucho's screen time did not exceed 10 minutes.

[Umbrella Sam]

Here’s a question I’ve always wondered. What exactly was the extent of Harpo’s “story” credit in the finished film? Did he just come up with the initial idea and asked Hecht to expand upon it, or did he actually collaborate with Hecht in the writing process? Judging from that letter to Miriam, it sounds more like the former.

[Dr. Mabuse]

Here’s a question I’ve always wondered. What exactly was the extent of Harpo’s “story” credit in the finished film? Did he just come up with the initial idea and asked Hecht to expand upon it, or did he actually collaborate with Hecht in the writing process? Judging from that letter to Miriam, it sounds more like the former.

From Susan's memoir: "Harpo had a story idea of his own that Ben [Hecht] liked and agreed to write. . . . It was lovely on paper, but this project would cause Harpo so much aggravation that I encouraged him to drop it entirely on more than one occasion. This had nothing to do with Ben, who actually saved the project by convincing Harpo that the story could still be what they had envisioned as outside forces conspired against the original idea of a Harpo Marx film without his brothers."

[Umbrella Sam]

From Susan's memoir: "Harpo had a story idea of his own that Ben [Hecht] liked and agreed to write. . . . It was lovely on paper, but this project would cause Harpo so much aggravation that I encouraged him to drop it entirely on more than one occasion. This had nothing to do with Ben, who actually saved the project by convincing Harpo that the story could still be what they had envisioned as outside forces conspired against the original idea of a Harpo Marx film without his brothers."

Thanks Dr. Mabuse. I knew I could count on you.