Search - A Day at the Races on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Movie Release: 1937 DVD Release: 05/04/2004 Format: DVD - Black and White - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 49 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 4 Genres: Comedy, Slapstick, Comedy of Errors

A Day at the Races was the Marx Brothers' follow-up to their incomparable A Night at the Opera. Groucho Marx is cast as Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a veterinarian who passes himself off as a human doctor when summoned by wealthy hypochondriac Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) to take over the financially strapped Standish Sanitarium. Chico Marx plays the sanitarium's general factotum, who works without pay because he has a soft spot for its owner, lovely Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan). Harpo Marx portrays a jockey at the local racetrack, constantly bullied by the evil Morgan (Douglass Dumbrille), who will take over the sanitarium if Judy can't pay its debts. After several side-splitting routines--Chico selling Groucho tips on the races, Chico and Harpo rescuing Groucho from the clutches of femme fatale Esther Muir, all three Marxes conducting a lunatic "examination" of Margaret Dumont--the fate of the sanitarium rests on a Big Race involving Hi-Hat, a horse belonging to the film's nominal hero, Allan Jones. Virtually everything that worked in "Opera" is trotted out again for "Races", including a hectic slapstick finale wherein the Marxes lay waste to a public event. What is missing here is inspiration; perhaps this is due to the fact that MGM producer Irving Thalberg, whose input was so essential to the success of "Opera", died during the filming of "Races". Even so, Day at the Races made more money than any other previous Marx Brothers film--the result being that MGM, in the spirit of "they loved it once", would continue recycling Races' best bits for the studio's next three Marx vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marx Brothers - themselves (Groucho,Chico, Harpo)
Groucho Marx - Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush
Chico Marx - Tony
Harpo Marx - Stuffy
Allan Jones - Gil Stewart
Leonard Ceeley - Whitmore
Maureen O'Sullivan - Judy Standish
Margaret Dumont - Mrs. Emily Upjohn

The classic Marx Brothers comedy A Day at the Races gets a fine DVD release from Warner Bros. on this disc. The film is presented in a standard full-frame transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by Glenn Mitchell, an author who has published a book on the comedy team. Several vintage cartoon shorts, Robert Benchley's short A Night at the Movies, a song that was taken out of the finished film, and radio advertisements help make this disc necessary viewing for any Marx Brothers fan or comedy enthusiast. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide