Four of the Three Musketeers : The Marx Brothers on Stage

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Title:

Author:

Bader, Robert S.

ISBN:

9780810134164

Personal Author:

Bader, Robert S.

Publication Date:

2016

Publication Information:

Evanston : Northwestern University Press : [distributor] Eurospan Group : [distributor] Eurospan Group : [distributor] Turpin Distribution Services Ltd : [distributor] Chicago Distribution Center, 2016.

Physical Description:

584 p. ; 23x15x5 cm.

General Note:

Hardback.

Abstract:

Before film made them international comedy legends, the MarxBrothers developed their comic skills on stage for twenty-fiveyears. In Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers onStage, Robert S. Bader offers the first comprehensive history ofthe foursome's hardscrabble early years honing their act in frontof live audiences. From Groucho's debut in 1905 to their final live performancesof scenes from A Night in Casablanca in 1945, the brothers' stagecareer shows how their characters and routines evolved beforetheir arrival in Hollywood. Four of the Three Musketeers drawson an unmatched array of sources, many not referenced elsewhere.Bader's detailed portrait of the struggling young actorsboth brings to vivid life a typical night on the road for the MarxBrothers and also illuminates the inner workings of the vaudevillebusiness, especially during its peak in the 1920s. As Bader traces the origins of the characters that would latercome to be beloved by filmgoers, he also skillfully scrapes awaythe accretion of rumors and mythology perpetuated not only byfans and writers but by the Marx Brothers themselves. Revealing,vital, and entertaining, Four of the Three Musketeers will take itsplace as an essential reference for this iconic American act.

Subject Term:

Biography.

Copies:

Available:*

Library

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Shelf Number

MEDIA 792.7028

Material Type

Book

Item Barcode

30117033862059

Status

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Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

An updated paperback version of the book heralded as "a new benchmark in Marx scholarship" by the Los Angeles Times

Before film made them international comedy legends, the Marx Brothers developed their comic skills on stage for twenty-five years. In Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage , Robert S. Bader offers the first comprehensive history of the foursome's hardscrabble early years honing their act in front of live audiences.

From Groucho's debut in 1905 to their final live performances of scenes from A Night in Casablanca in 1945, the brothers' stage career shows how their characters and routines evolved before their arrival in Hollywood. Four of the Three Musketeers draws on an unmatched array of sources, many not referenced elsewhere. Bader's detailed portrait of the struggling young actors both brings to vivid life a typical night on the road for the Marx Brothers and illuminates the inner workings of the vaudeville business, especially during its peak in the 1920s.

As Bader traces the origins of the characters that would later come to be beloved by filmgoers, he also skillfully scrapes away the accretion of rumors and mythology perpetuated not only by fans and writers but by the Marx Brothers themselves. Revealing, vital, and entertaining, Four of the Three Musketeers has taken its place as an essential reference for this legendary American act. Now, the updated edition adds newly discovered performances--some submitted by readers--and additional information provided by descendants of long-departed vaudevillians mentioned in the book.

Author Notes

ROBERT S. BADER is a writer, producer, and filmmaker, as well as the editor of Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales and coauthor of Speaking of Harpo with Susan Fleming Marx, wife of Harpo Marx . Bader is the curator of the Bing Crosby Archive. He wrote, produced, and directed Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO, 2020), which was honored with a Critics' Choice Documentary Award, and Groucho & Cavett , part of the American Masters series (PBS, 2022). He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Recognized by their stage names--Gummo (Milton), Groucho (Julius), Harpo (Arthur), Chico (Leonard), and Zeppo (Leonard)--and universally known and loved, the Marx Brothers were icons of popular entertainment and comic invention in the 1920s (heyday of vaudeville) and ultimately of film. Bader takes as his title a largely nonsensical song lyric from the Marx Brothers' hit show Animal Crackers (first a stage musical, later a film). In discussing the brothers' personal and professional accomplishments, Bader gives each man his due individual and group justice. The volume comprises 24 chapters divided into seven chronological parts, starting with "The Marxian Prehistoric" and concluding with "The End of the Road." Bader traces the evolution of the Marxes' stage characters and the routines that ultimately appeared in The Cocoanuts, I'll Say She Is, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, and A Night at the Opera, among other shows. An appendix offers a useful and thorough 71-page Marx Brothers stage chronology (1905-45). Dozens of good books have been written on these brothers--most recently Matthew Coniam's The Annotated Marx Brothers: A Filmgoer's Guide to In-Jokes, Obscure References and Sly Details (CH, Sep'15, 53-0017)--and Bader's rich volume joins those. A fine index serves to make the book's encyclopedic content accessible. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Don Burton Wilmeth, Brown University

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