Movie #62- "A Day at the Races" (1937)

The Marx Brothers are the kinetic energy of comedy.  It is a comedy of constant motion.  Jokes and puns bouncing off the walls, with only the occasional musical interlude to give the audience a breath.  That barrage of antics keeps the viewer engaged.  And because of that energy, Marx Brothers movies usually clock in at 90 minutes or less.  That is the main problem for "A Day at the Races", a movie that is nearly 2 hours long.
30 extra minutes wouldn't seem like a issue, unfortunately that frantic pace gets broken up with longer musical numbers and a dull subplot.  This is one of those times where you feel as if a studio had been tinkering.  This isn't to take anything away from the comedy of the Marx Brothers as "A Day at the Races" contains plenty of inspired scenes, including a track betting sequence with Grouch and Chico and a bedroom scene with Groucho's continual use of the simple phrase "Thank you" (for some reason, his reading of the phrase made me laugh). 
But the film is stuffed with too much.  A shorter running time could have given it a better pace.  I don't put the blame on the Marx Brothers though, as their jokes zing in the normal, frantic tone.

Rating: 7/10
Movies I've previously seen: 5
First time viewings: 57