A Day at the Races (1937)

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Robert Pirosh (story) &
George Seaton (story) ...

Release Date:

11 junio 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Frase comercial:

Three Great Laff Stars ! . . . more gags and gals . . . more songs and dances !

Plot:

A vet posing as a doctor, a race horse owner and his friends struggle to help keep a sanitarium open with the help of a misfit racehorse.

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Horse | Marx Brothers | Racetrack | Horse Racing

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Good Marx Brothers Feature

Cast

Groucho Marx	...	Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush
Chico Marx	...	Tony
Harpo Marx	...	Stuffy
Allan Jones	...	Gil Stewart
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Judy Standish
Margaret Dumont	...	Emily Upjohn
Leonard Ceeley	...	Whitmore
Douglass Dumbrille	...	J.D. Morgan
Esther Muir	...	Flo Marlowe
Sig Ruman	...	Dr. Leopold X. Steinberg (as Sig Rumann)
Robert Middlemass	...	Sheriff
Vivien Fay	...	Solo dancer
Ivie Anderson	...	Singer in roadhouse and barn
The Crinoline Choir

También conocida como:

Día en las carreras, Un (Spain) [es]

Duración:

111 min | Germany:105 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

English

Color:

Black and White | Black and White (Sepiatone) | Black and White (blue tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sonido:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Clasificación:

Portugal:M/6

Filming Locations:

Santa Anita Park - 285 West Huntington Drive, Arcadia, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivialidades:

Groucho Marx's character was initially to have been named Dr. Quackenbush, which he and everyone else thought was too silly a name to offend anyone. However, MGM's legal department discovered at least a dozen legitimate U.S. doctors named Quackenbush, so for legal reasons and to Groucho's dismay, the name was changed to Hackenbush.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Stuffy gets on the horse with the wagon, he is wearing a coat and dark trousers. As jockey he wears white pants and jockey shirt. While he could have lost the coat easy enough, there was no opportunity for him to change pants.

Quotes:

Whitmore: The doctor seems reluctant to discuss his medical experiences.
Dr. Hackenbush: Well, medically, my experiences have been most unexciting. Except during the flu epidemic.
Whitmore: Ah, and what happened?
Dr. Hackenbush: I got the flu.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Village of the Giants (#6.23)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

On the Beach at Bali-Bali

Good Marx Brothers Feature

Overall, this is a good Marx Brothers feature that is sometimes a little uneven, but that looks pretty good as long as you don't compare it with their very best pictures. The basic setup is amusing, and it provides some good material for the cast to work with. Groucho, Chico, and Harpo all get their moments, with Margaret Dumont once again joining in the fun.

The sanitarium setting and Groucho's attempt to run it are used pretty well.

There is a very funny scene when one of the heavies tries to check on Groucho's credentials, and another one when Dr. Hackenbush has to compete with an outside expert (Sig Ruman, who is always fun in this kind of role) for Dumont's confidence.

Not all of it works quite that well, and one or two of the musical numbers could have been skipped with no loss at all. But there are plenty of good moments and creative sequences, and a satisfyingly chaotic finale as good as those in any of their films.