Movie Time: "The Big Store" (1941)

As I've mentioned many times, I watch a lot of movies!

And I often have thoughts about said movies that I like to express, so I thought I would share such thoughts from time to time. No spoilers!

So, I was re-watching "The Big Store," which is from MGM in 1941 and stars the Marx Brothers in their last film for the studio, and as I was enjoying it, I was thinking about the bad reputation the movie has among Marx Brothers fans.

My thought is that it's certainly not their best film. Maybe it even is their worst film, but, you know, it's not bad at all!

It basically follows the formula of "A Night at the Opera," the 1935 movie that was the boys' first for MGM and definitely their best for that studio. (The Paramount movies are a whole other thing.)

The formula was to have a romantic subplot in which the brothers get involved, making them more likeable, and have the male romantic lead sing some songs. 

Tony Martin is the singing star here, so let's listen to his studio recording of his ballad "If It's You" on Decca Records:

By the time of "The Big Store," the other non-Marx elements seem to be taking over and I think the modern Marx Brothers fan resents that they take away from the comedy.

But if you look at this as a musical that features the Marx Brothers rather than as a Marx Brothers movie, you can enjoy it on its own terms.

As far as the Marx Brothers in this movie, there are a couple of things that are a little different from their other movies.

One is that Groucho and Harpo are teamed up at the beginning of the movie rather than Chico and Harpo. Groucho and Harpo have a very funny scene with Groucho's perennial foil Margaret Dumont.

And Chico and Harpo play a piano duet for the only time in a movie and it's a lot of fun!

One more thing: Groucho has one of his best character names, Wolf J. Flywheel, whereas Chico's character reuses the name Ravelli from "Animal Crackers," and Harpo is named "Wacky," which just seems like they ran out of ideas!

Here's a fun trailer:

This actually was the Marx Brothers' last movie for a while, as they didn't return to the screen until 1946's "A Night in Casablanca."

Bottom line: "The Big Store" is worth a watch!