Just Like Looking in a Mirror
From yesterday's cartoon featuring an array of stars from the classic Hollywood era – including the Marx Brothers – we move forward with those three errant siblings and one of the greatest displays of physical comedy ever committed to celluloid.
Though I'm sure it's hugely unfashionable, Harpo has always been my favorite Marx brother. You can tell me that Groucho is funnier, that Chico is edgier and that Harpo's schtick is childish and silly, but the fact remains that I still have a special soft spot for the cheeky mute kid. More importantly, Harpo does what he does quite brilliantly. I think that my personal affection for Harpo also grew greatly after reading his autobiography, Harpo Speaks, which I continue to maintain is not only one of the best Hollywood autobiographies but probably the most entertaining book I have ever read. Not only does it cover the boys' rise from vaudeville to Hollywood and all the hijinks along the way, but gives a fascinating insight into the Algonquin Round Table (Dorothy Parker, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufman, Alexander Woolcott, etc.), of whom Harpo was also a member.
I've posted not only the original version of "the mirror scene" from Duck Soup, arguably the brothers' finest film, but also a recreation of the very same scene 22 years later by Harpo and Lucille Ball on I Love Lucy. The basic idea of the original scene is that Harpo, while dressed as Groucho, has run into a mirror, shattering it, and has to try and cover this up by mimicking every move Groucho makes. It's like the comedy equivalent of synchronized swimming, and watching it never fails to put a huge smile on my face. For the 1955 version, Harpo (who had been encouraged not to do the show by his doctor, as he had just had heart surgery) apparently kept Ball on her toes by changing the routine constantly to keep it fresh and funny. The mirror gag was not, in fact, devised by the Marx Brothers but was an old comic staple that had previously been used by Charlie Chaplin in The Floorwalker (1916) and Chaplin's great inspiration, Max Linder, in Seven Years Bad Luck (1921).
I Love Lucy (1955)
Duck Soup (1933)
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