About

From the stages of vaudeville to the glory of the silver screen, the Marx Brothers are renowned as one of the greatest comedy groups of the twentieth century. Anarchic, absurdist and anti-authoritarian, the films of the Marx Brothers — wisecracking Groucho, crafty Chico, silent clown Harpo and straight-man Zeppo — remain eternally revolutionary and side-splittingly hilarious.

This program brings together their first six films, presenting their five screen appearances together (including such classics as Horse Feathers 1932 and Duck Soup 1933) and their first film as a Zeppo-less trio, the comic masterpiece A Night at the Opera 1935. These works showcase their comedy of chaos at its zenith, with the films combining the electricity of their stage performances with the freedom afforded by the infinite possibilities of cinema.

QAGOMA acknowledges the generous assistance of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Canberra in providing materials for this program. Program curated by Robert Hughes, Australian Cinémathèque.