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At the Circus is a 1939
1939 in film

The year 1939 in film involved some significant events....
 Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers

The Marx Brothers were a popular team of sibling comedians who appeared in vaudeville, stage plays, film, and television....
 comedy
Comedy

Comedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western culture origins are found in Ancient Greece....
 film
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
 in which they save a circus from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a debtor in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring....
. It is notable for Groucho Marx's classic rendition of "Lydia the Tattooed Lady
Lydia the Tattooed Lady

"Lydia the Tattooed Lady", which became one of Groucho Marx's signature tunes, was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, and first appeared in the 1939 in film Marx Brothers movie At the Circus....
." and co-stars include Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont

Margaret Dumont was an United States comedic actress.She is remembered mostly for being the double act to Groucho Marx in seven of the Marx Brothers films....
, Eve Arden
Eve Arden

Eve Arden was an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Awards-winning United States actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she is perhaps best remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging high school teacher in the classic Our Miss Brooks , and as the Rydell High School prin...
, and Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker (singer/actor)

Kenneth Laurence "Kenny" Baker was an American singer/actor who first gained notice as the featured singer on Jack Benny's radio shows during the 1930s....
.

circus strong man (Nat Pendleton
Nat Pendleton

Nathaniel Greene Pendleton was an United Statesn Olympic Games amateur wrestling and film actor....
, one of the ringer football
American football

American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
 players in Horse Feathers
Horse Feathers

Horse Feathers was the fourth Marx Brothers film. It stars the four Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, and Zeppo Marx, as well as Thelma Todd as Connie Bailey, and was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S....
), and the diminutive (Jerry Maren
Jerry Maren

'Jerry Maren' is an United States actor and one of the last surviving munchkins from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz ....
ghi, who also appeared in a few Our Gang
Our Gang

Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together....
 shorts), are accomplices of the bad guy Carter (James Burke
James Burke (actor)

James Burke was an American actor born in New York City. He made over 200 film appearances during his career, which ranged from 1932 to 1964. He appeared in The Maltese Falcon, At the Circus, Stagecoach West, Lone Star , and many others....
) who is trying to take over the circus.






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At the Circus is a 1939
1939 in film

The year 1939 in film involved some significant events....
 Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers

The Marx Brothers were a popular team of sibling comedians who appeared in vaudeville, stage plays, film, and television....
 comedy
Comedy

Comedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western culture origins are found in Ancient Greece....
 film
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
 in which they save a circus from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a debtor in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring....
. It is notable for Groucho Marx's classic rendition of "Lydia the Tattooed Lady
Lydia the Tattooed Lady

"Lydia the Tattooed Lady", which became one of Groucho Marx's signature tunes, was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, and first appeared in the 1939 in film Marx Brothers movie At the Circus....
." and co-stars include Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont

Margaret Dumont was an United States comedic actress.She is remembered mostly for being the double act to Groucho Marx in seven of the Marx Brothers films....
, Eve Arden
Eve Arden

Eve Arden was an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Awards-winning United States actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she is perhaps best remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging high school teacher in the classic Our Miss Brooks , and as the Rydell High School prin...
, and Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker (singer/actor)

Kenneth Laurence "Kenny" Baker was an American singer/actor who first gained notice as the featured singer on Jack Benny's radio shows during the 1930s....
.

Plot

The circus strong man (Nat Pendleton
Nat Pendleton

Nathaniel Greene Pendleton was an United Statesn Olympic Games amateur wrestling and film actor....
, one of the ringer football
American football

American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
 players in Horse Feathers
Horse Feathers

Horse Feathers was the fourth Marx Brothers film. It stars the four Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, and Zeppo Marx, as well as Thelma Todd as Connie Bailey, and was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S....
), and the diminutive (Jerry Maren
Jerry Maren

'Jerry Maren' is an United States actor and one of the last surviving munchkins from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz ....
ghi, who also appeared in a few Our Gang
Our Gang

Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together....
 shorts), are accomplices of the bad guy Carter (James Burke
James Burke (actor)

James Burke was an American actor born in New York City. He made over 200 film appearances during his career, which ranged from 1932 to 1964. He appeared in The Maltese Falcon, At the Circus, Stagecoach West, Lone Star , and many others....
) who is trying to take over the circus. In the animal car, they knock Baker out and steal his $10,000. Groucho, as lawyer J. Cheever Loophole, arrives to handle the situation. He caves in when he sees Pendleton and makes an absolute fool of himself with Marenghi. (He knocks the furniture over in Marenghi's tiny room and the midget threatens to sue. Groucho, ever ready to solicit business, offers his card, which Marenghi accepts!) In order to help Baker, he first tries to get the money from Carter's moll
Moll

Moll can refer to:* Moll , a Spanish grape variety* Gun moll, the female companion of an American gangster* Moll Flanders, the novel by Daniel Defoe...
, Peerless Pauline (Eve Arden
Eve Arden

Eve Arden was an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Awards-winning United States actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she is perhaps best remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging high school teacher in the classic Our Miss Brooks , and as the Rydell High School prin...
), but fails miserably. Then he calls on Mrs. Dukesbury (Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont

Margaret Dumont was an United States comedic actress.She is remembered mostly for being the double act to Groucho Marx in seven of the Marx Brothers films....
), and cons her into paying $10,000 for the Wilson Circus to entertain the Newport 400, instead of a performance by an orchestra conducted by a Frenchman named Jardinet (Fritz Feld
Fritz Feld

Fritz Feld was a film character actor actor who appeared in over 140 films, both silent film and synchronized sound....
). The "400 of Newport" are delighted with the circus; when Jardinet arrives, Groucho, who also delayed Jardinet by implicating him in a "dope ring," disposes of the Frenchman and his orchestra by having them play on a floating bandstand down at the water's edge. Chico and Harpo cut the mooring
Mooring

Mooring may refer to:* Mooring , any device used to hold secure an object by means of cables, anchors, or lines* Mooring spoken in Germany* Arthur Mooring, British Resident to the Sultan of Zanzibar...
 rope and the musicians play the Prelude to Act Three of Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)

Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner.The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain....
 by Wagner
Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, Conducting, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas . Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works....
, serenading the waves. Meanwile, Carter and his cronies try to burn down the circus, but are thwarted by the brothers, along with the only witness to the robbery - the gorilla (Charles Gemora), who also retrieves Baker's ten thousand dollars.

Cast

  • Groucho Marx
    Groucho Marx

    Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx , was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers and also had a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio and television game shows You Bet Your Life and Tell it to Groucho....
     as Detective J. Cheever Loophole
  • Harpo Marx
    Harpo Marx

    Arthur Marx , popularly known as Harpo Marx was one of the Marx Brothers, a group of Vaudeville and Broadway theatre entertainers who later achieved fame as comedians in the film industry....
     as Punchy
  • Chico Marx
    Chico Marx

    Leonard Marx, known as Chico, was one of the Marx Brothers.He was originally nicknamed Chicko for his reputation as a ladies' man, or a "chicken chaser" in the popular slang of the day....
     as Antonio 'Tony' Pirelli
  • Kenny Baker
    Kenny Baker (singer/actor)

    Kenneth Laurence "Kenny" Baker was an American singer/actor who first gained notice as the featured singer on Jack Benny's radio shows during the 1930s....
     as Jeff Wilson
  • Florence Rice
    Florence Rice

    Florence Rice was an American film actress.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Grantland Rice, Rice became an actress during the early 1930s and after several Broadway theater roles, eventually made her way to Hollywood....
     as Julie Randall
  • James Burke
    James Burke (actor)

    James Burke was an American actor born in New York City. He made over 200 film appearances during his career, which ranged from 1932 to 1964. He appeared in The Maltese Falcon, At the Circus, Stagecoach West, Lone Star , and many others....
     as John Carter
  • Margaret Dumont
    Margaret Dumont

    Margaret Dumont was an United States comedic actress.She is remembered mostly for being the double act to Groucho Marx in seven of the Marx Brothers films....
     as Mrs. Suzanna Dukesberry
  • Barnett Parker as Whitcomb
  • Eve Arden
    Eve Arden

    Eve Arden was an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Awards-winning United States actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she is perhaps best remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging high school teacher in the classic Our Miss Brooks , and as the Rydell High School prin...
     as Peerless Pauline
  • Nat Pendleton
    Nat Pendleton

    Nathaniel Greene Pendleton was an United Statesn Olympic Games amateur wrestling and film actor....
     as Goliath the Strongman
  • Jerry Maren
    Jerry Maren

    'Jerry Maren' is an United States actor and one of the last surviving munchkins from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz ....
     as Little Professor Atom
  • Fritz Feld
    Fritz Feld

    Fritz Feld was a film character actor actor who appeared in over 140 films, both silent film and synchronized sound....
     as Jardinet
  • Charles Gemora as Gibraltar


Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton

Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an Academy Award-winning United States comic actor and filmmaker. Best known for his silent films, his trademark was physical comedy with a stoicism, deadpan expression on his face, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face" ....
 worked on the film as a gag man. His career was on the downside and he was forced to work for scale. His complex and sometimes belabored gags (recalled in the book Groucho, Harpo, Chico and sometimes Zeppo) did not work well with the Marx Brothers' brand of humor, and was a source of friction between the comedian and the group.

When Groucho called Keaton on the inappropriateness of his gags for the Marx Brothers, Keaton responded, "I'm only doing what Mr. Mayer asked me to do. You guys don't need help."

Gorilla suit

One of Groucho's stories about the film concerned the fake gorilla skin that an actor wore. During production, the skin was switched from a gorilla to an orangutan, which perplexed some viewers who would ask Groucho about if they happened to meet him.

Musical numbers

  • Lydia, the Tattooed Lady
    Lydia the Tattooed Lady

    "Lydia the Tattooed Lady", which became one of Groucho Marx's signature tunes, was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, and first appeared in the 1939 in film Marx Brothers movie At the Circus....
  • Two Blind Loves
  • Swingali
  • Blue Moon
  • Beer Barrel Polka


External links