Episode 47: Bert & Harry Go West (featuring Scott Alexander)
Official description: "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.
"Groucho as a leering divorce lawyer, Chico as a phony fortune teller, Harpo acting like Harpo...who couldn’t love that? Apparently, MGM couldn’t, because they ended up changing everything, including the century the film takes place.
"Scott theorizes on why Kalmar, Ruby and their work were discarded…and portrays Margaret Dumont in a possible career-changing turn. Need we say more?"
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Footnote:
Read Scott's original "term paper" covering his Go West investigations at the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library.
