There's no such thing as a Sanity Clause

My wife and I watched two Marx Bros. movies over the past week or so: A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races. Both were filmed at MGM under the watchful gaze of producer of Irving Thalberg. According to the documentaries that accompany the new DVD editions, it was Thalberg who masterminded the (arguably) best movies the Marx Bros. ever made. The contract negotiations between Chico (pronounced "Chick-O" by the way) and Groucho in A Night at the Opera are among the best I've seen and should be a model for lawyers everywhere.

One story I will relate concerning the relationship between Thalberg and the Bros.: one day the Bros were scheduled to meet Thalberg at his office one afternoon. Thanlberg was late to the meeting. When he arrived at his office, he discovered that the Bros. were naked and roasting potatoes in his fireplace (one version of the story I've heard includes the fact that Thalberg's secretary was tied up and gagged too). Thalberg was never late to a meeting with them again.

This anarchic spirit is never more evident than in these movies. And the jokes and gags serve a larger plot, a practice more comedies should observe. Thalberg should be given credit for giving the Bros. a focus for their comedy; in fact, he should be made an honorary Marx. Brother.