The Big Store (1941)

Simply A Masterpiece

Memorable, crazy movie

Highly Overrated But Still Good

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Well, after all these years of watching the other Marx Brothers movies, I had somehow missed this one until now. I had been familiar with the trailer for this one in which they claimed this would be their last movie though before that, a spokesman for them said that Sarah Bernhardt had done 14 years of "farewell" performances to great profit each time so that may have been the intention for that unique scene in the trailer. This was indeed their last for M-G-M, though. As such, it's perhaps the most uneven of their work with Chico hardly having any funny lines this time. In fact, he begins the movie teaching kids his piano playing (illustrated by an amusing scene of them playing just like him!) and then having a plot-related dialogue with the romantic leading man/crooner Tony Martin. The real funny stuff starts when we encounter Groucho and Harpo preparing breakfast before having to change their scenery when potential client Margaret Dumont arrives. All three are funny in this scene and they maintain that hilarity most of the time. Groucho's number "Sing While You Sell" has him sharing the duties with Six Hits and a Miss as well as the deadpan comedienne Virginia O'Brien doing her version of "Rock-a-Bye Baby" in the middle of it which was a little amusing. A sequence involving mixed family nationalities and various beds being electronically operated was partly amusing. The chase sequence at the end has villain Douglas Dumbrille participating in the fun though it seems obvious stunt doubles were used during much of it, especially the undercranked parts. And about that "Tenement Symphony" number that gets such a bad reputation: Well, Tony Martin singing about various class of people just trying to get along does seem partly embarrassing but the intent was partly genuine. And it got the only time Chico and Harpo played piano and harp, respectively, at the same time. It does make me wonder how Mel Brooks could have pulled off a funny take on the number when he originally thought of including it in his Blazing Saddles with Martin singing a few bars of it before being booed off by the mixed race cast in that one! Speaking of Chico and Harpo, they are quite funny together when they're both playing piano here for the only time on film. And Harpo not only plays his harp solo in a dream sequence but fiddle and bass in the mirror-images of him! (It's possible that someone else is playing those other instruments for those split-screen scenes but it's impressive, nonetheless!) Oh, and this was the last time on film that Ms. Dumont and Groucho teamed together but they'd appear in tandem one more time on TV on "The Hollywood Palace" doing the "Hooray for Captain Spalding" number. It aired on April 17, 1965, though Ms. Dumont died on March 6 of that year. The fact she laughed during that number contradicted Groucho's declaration that she never understood his jokes! In summary, The Big Store may have been the weakest of the Marx movies, but it's still pretty entertaining for what it was. P.S. Since I always like to cite players from my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life-in other films, here it's Charles Lane playing a repo man concerning Groucho's car.

When people are asked which is their least favorite Marx Brothers movie, "The Big Store" is one of the most frequent choices. And it's not hard to understand why: this must be the Marx movie with the least comedy content in it - if not in quality, then certainly in quantity. Apart from the hilarious scene near the start where Margaret Dumont tries to explain the case "in detail" to supposedly busy detective Groucho while Harpo is typing loudly and a toaster goes out of control (a sequence that can make you laugh no matter how many times you see it), it's hard to name another classic piece of comedy here. The scene with the 14-member Italian family and the climactic chase inside the store are more chaotic and frenetic than funny (and there's also way too much fast motion used). On the bright side, this film has a better supporting cast than "Go West", "Sing While You Sell" is a grand and catchy number, Harpo and Chico have a delightful piano duet and Harpo's harp-playing scene is pure magic. While in many Marx Brothers movies I find the piano and harp numbers a dull interruption of the comedy, in "The Big Store" they are a welcome relief from the absence of comedy! **1/2 out of 4.

This is my favorite movie ever.These are the highlights for me.From Groucho's singing "Mr. Grover you are just a quack to me" to the end of the "Sing while you sell" reprise. Virginia O'Brien had me laughing on the floor the first time I heard "Rock-a-bye Baby". I just love the way Groucho takes the big production number, a standard vehicle of the time, and makes it signature Groucho. You got to smile.I think this movie has some of the best Groucho/Margaret Dumont banter.Harpo's harp solo is miles ahead of any of his others. It's just plain fun,Although the Tenement Symphony clearly is lacking musically, you have to love the overriding pun. The Tenement Symphony in four flats.

After Zeppo Marx refused to move on with his brothers to MGM from Paramount, the Marxs usually secured the services of another player, usually a singer to function in Zeppo's nondescript place. Usually that person had a lot more personality than Zeppo did. It was Allan Jones in two films, Kenny Baker in one and in The Big Store it was Tony Martin.The still very much alive, but retired Tony Martin, had one of the great voices of the last century. He never made the screen impact that other singers did, though he was in some very good films. His main media outlets were records, radio, and as one of the premier nightclub attractions, especially when he appeared with his second wife Cyd Charisse. Martin had two songs to sing in The Big Store, the much maligned Tenement Symphony and a really nice ballad, If It's You.Martin is the heir to one half of Phelps Department store. The other half is owned by his aunt Margaret Dumont. The Hastings Brothers, who own a chain of department stores, are looking to buy this one. Manager Douglass Dumbrille has been doing a little embezzling on the side and he's afraid that if Martin sells his half, he's taking a stretch up the river. After Martin becomes the victim of an attempted murder, Dumont hires who else, detective Wolf J. Flywheel who is of course Groucho Marx. By a happy coincidence, Groucho has Harpo as a sidekick and Harpo's brother in the film Chico is a friend of Martin's. So now we have all the Marx Brothers working at the store.The Big Store is usually dismissed as one of the Marx Brothers lesser films, but it's always been a favorite of mine. Another reviewer said there were too many musical numbers. I don't think there were any more or less than in other films of their's. The running time is a bit short so it might seem like there's more.The highlight for me is always the final chase seen through the store, especially since Douglass Dumbrille joins in the fun. Dumbrille on screen usually plays some serious villains, probably his best known part is that of Mr. Cedar the lawyer who is milking the estate that Gary Cooper is inheriting in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Dumbrille is just as successful dealing with the Marx Brothers over embezzlement as he is with Gary Cooper. But here this very serious and obviously classically trained actor joins right in the slapstick fun. Dumbrille looks like he's having a ball. Later on he would really cut loose in a couple of Abbott and Costello films.A question to all movie fans. Who do you think had the most inventive screen character names, W.C. Fields or Groucho Marx?