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Wonderful character development!

That was an excellent one.

Sorry, this movie sucks

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

As we watched the singers/dancers episodes, we wondered who the performers were."Isn't that Dorothy Dandridge" my wife asked.Ms. Dandridge is not credited on the DVD box, I said.In fact, none of the dancers and only one singer get credited.So to settle a bet, I read the IMDb page for "A Day at the Races".And behold your helpful work.All the hitherto uncredited performers are listed -- and listed as "uncredited".Imagine not crediting Dorothy Dandridge!Many thanks, IMDb!

Here's the Thing. If You Like Raw, Unfettered, Unpolished, Marx Brothers Without Sometimes Intrusive Overblown and Dated Musical Numbers, the Paramount Films are It. The MGM's were Ultra-Polished, Audience Tested, Over Thought, Overblown, and Slick.This is the Longest of the Brother's Movies and it Feels Like it. The Musical Numbers Go on and On and the Romantic Subplot with Alan Jones and Maureen O' Sullivan is as Sappy as it Gets, and the Conclusion, the Race Itself is So Overstuffed it Can Feel Like a Marathon.But, the Marx's Comedy Routines are Superb and Despite the Attention to Detail and the Glossy Production of the Ballet, it is the Jitterbugging, African-American Number, "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" Combined with "Who Dat Man" that Highlight.The Zany Medical Examination, and Tutsi Frutsi Ice Cream Skits are Classic Marx Brothers Routines and are the Most Remembered. The Movie May Seem Long, and It Is, the Energy May Dissipate at Times, but Still, This is a Prime Marx Brothers Movie and Most Fans Place it in the Top Half of All Their Output.Paramount or MGM...Take Your Pick...In the End it's Still...The Marx Brothers...and You Can't Get Any Better in Depression Era, or Any Era, Comedy.

With their seventh film, A Day at the Races, the Marx brothers return with yet another entertaining show. The story, this time, is about Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan), the owner of a sanatorium in financial distress. In order to save the sanatorium from the evil creditors, the dubious horse doctor Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) is hired, since one of the rich patients Mrs. Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) is hopelessly in love with him. Certainly, it is not the most original plot ever – it is quite similar to the one in most Marx films I have seen – nor is it the best, but after all, it is merely a vehicle for a number of sketches, and as long as those are good enough, it is fine by me.In fact, for those who have seen a fair share of the Marx brothers' films, a lot of things will be familiar. Margaret Dumont is the naive, hysterical lady who never understands what is going on. Chico is the charming Italian who is trying to save the lady in trouble and gets his moment with the piano. Harpo is the mischievous and silent helper, who, of course, gets to play the harp. Groucho is the quick guy with the killer one-liners, strange posture, and who has a keen eye for most girls, except for Dumont. But the beauty of it is that it works; since the sketches are different, it does not matter much.Speaking of sketches, A Day at the Races definitely has some of the funniest that the brothers have done. There is a hilarious scene in which Groucho is trying to fool the evil Whitmore (Leonard Ceeley) over the telephone regarding his credentials as a doctor. Another highlight is when Groucho is trying to get a tip from Chico at the race track but ends up with a library. And overall, the sharp dialogue is truly excellent (take, for instance, Dr. Steinberg's (Sig Ruman) claim that Mrs. Upjohn "looks as healthy as any woman I ever met," to which Groucho replies that "you don't look as though you've ever met a healthy woman"). Actually, one of the musical numbers, where Groucho is trying to pick up Flo (Esther Muir) while fending off Dumont, is very amusing as well.While the musical numbers are always my least favourite part of the Marx films, A Day at the Races offers some of the best ones. The classical dance segment is at least pretty, and perhaps offers the best visuals I have seen in these films, with stark black and white reflections in the water at which the scene takes place, and the lindy hop number is very energetic. Only Allan Jones' "Tomorrow Is Another Day" is somewhat of a drag. That being said, they still hamper the pace of the film severely, and without them the film would be half an hour shorter without losing much in terms of comedy or plot; they were perhaps needed in the vaudeville show, but might just as well have been lost in the translation to film. Still, music or not, A Day at the Races finds the Marx brothers at their comedic peak and, to me, even surpasses classics such as A Night at the Opera.

The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico and Harpo, Zeppo left after "Duck Soup) "A Day at the Races" (1937) surpasses "A Night at the Opera" because of its sheer amount of good scenes. For instance, in this picture you have: The Tutsi Fruitsy Ice Cream skit, Chico and Harpo trying to interrupt Dr. Hugo V. Hackenbush's (Groucho) romancing femme fatale (Esther Muir), Groucho's telephone conversation with Whitmore (Leonard Ceeley) and of course the medical examination of Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) by Groucho. One of the reasons I like this film so much is the way it ends up getting rid of the plot and boils down to a series of extremely funny sketches. Not to be missed.