At the Circus Reviews

In this Marx Brothers romp, the nutty siblings team up to help a struggling circus owner save his business. Along the way, they battle a midget, a strong man, a trapeze artist, and other assorted villains intent on acquiring the circus. Since the brothers could turn any situation into a circus, they're right at home in the environment and make the most of it. A wild finish has the frantic trio doing impossible gyrations on the flying rings while attempting to avoid an escaped gorilla. The film features several songs, the most memorable of which, rendered by Groucho in his marvelous off-key voice, is "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady." The film marks the decline of the Marx Brothers style into Hollywood production numbers and a relinquishment of their distinctive set pieces as they slipped from original satire to studio burlesque; it is nevertheless a Marx must.