Episode 47: Bert & Harry Go West (featuring Scott Alexander)
Not a fan of the Marxes' Go West? Wish it had been done by the guys who wrote Duck Soup? Well, it almost was. Acclaimed screenwriter and friend of the Council Scott Alexander joins us to discuss the film’s early scripts, penned by the legendary team of Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby.
Episode 46: Deridin' the Range (Our Go West Deep Dive)
In 1851, Horace Greeley said: "NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR A PODCAST ABOUT GO WEST, YOUNG MAN!" This is a story of three men who made Horace Greeley wish he had said it louder.
Episode 45: That En-cy-clo-pidia! (featuring Glenn Mitchell)
It speaks well of the Marx Brothers and their fans that there are so many outstanding books about the team. Near the top of that list is Glenn Mitchell's ambitious Marx Brothers Encyclopedia. The man himself joins us for a discussion of his work.
Episode 44: Double Disappointment (featuring Anthony Strand)
Isn't it interesting that Groucho made some movies without his brothers? Back in Episode 20, we tackled Copacabana (1947), and concluded that yes, it is interesting. And now, joined by Anthony Strand, we apply the same thinking to Groucho's odd double feature of early-fifties RKO releases, Double Dynamite (1951) and A Girl in Every Port (1952). Are these films interesting? Is this episode interesting? These are interesting questions -- or are they?
Episode 43: I Take it Out Once in a While (featuring Jay Hopkins)
It’s our first episode of 2022, and here we are again with a thousand dollars for one of our couples. Say the secret word and divide an extra hundred dollars. It’s a common word…
Episode 42: The Sanity Clauses
Two Jews and a Brit celebrate Christmas and ring in the new year with our Marx Brothers hot takes!
Episode 41: Waxing Wroth (Our Horse Feathers Deep Dive featuring Adam Gopnik)
Listeners to the podcast, podcast listeners, readers of the blog, and blog readers: The subject is the great masterpiece Horse Feathers, and the guest is the great essayist Adam Gopnik, whose most recent Marx-adjacent project is the Library of America’s S.J. Perelman anthology.
Episode 40: Aboard This Tiny Ship (featuring Nell Minow, the Movie Mom)
Renowned film writer Nell Minow joins us to discuss her longtime love affair with the Marxes, her firsthand encounters with two of the brothers, her famous dad’s round of golf with another, and her grandmother’s friendship with two of their spouses!
Episode 39: Why A Nobile? (Featuring Nick Santa Maria)
This month, we take a deep dive into Richard J. Anobile’s controversial work from 1973, The Marx Bros. Scrapbook.
Episode 38: Help-a Those Kids (featuring Hannah Mira)
School and schoolteachers are a recurring theme in the Marx Brothers' work. On this episode, our special guest is a real live teacher, who has used the Brothers' films as a curriculum for students in extraordinary circumstances.