I make skits that are chock-full of puns and one-liners, please take a look and let me know what you think! I'm a huge fan of The Marx Brothers and want to reach out to an audience who likes that sense of humor
the Marx brothers were amazing. They each had a special twist to comedy, hilarious as individuals, but when they worked together, they were an unstoppable laugh riot. Plus, they had real talent! I wish there was a modern equivalent...
@andyrw100 Good news. You may be able to meet Thelma “Hot Toddy” Todd. Her ghost is said to haunt the building that once housed her restaurant. She died in her car. parked at the restaurant, from carbon dioxide poisoning. It was ruled a suicide, but many suspected murder over her refusal to let her mob boyfriends use her place as a gambling spot. She was only 30 at the time. So stop by the building, and if you see Thelma, tell her hi for me!
I love the character chico gets into when he plays the piano. It's so cute and funny how he moves his head back and forth and puts on this big ridiculous grin. He's so obviously in his element.
r32: The girl beside Chico is Thelma Todd, who worked with Laurel and Hardy as well as the Marx Brothers. I play piano, and I swear - if I had somebody like Thelma sitting next to me while I was playing. . .I'd HAVE to concentrate on the keys. Or I'd be playing with someone else!
there is a legend that an italian boy that was a friend of the family that had thick curly black hair was adopted at age 10 after a tragic accident to his parents..............is true??? who knows?
@WickedG5150 um... what's being italian or not got to do with it? he got his nickname because he liked to chase the "chicks". and he's playing an ethnic stereotype character - he's not italian.
In general a lot of fans do agree that the Paramount pictures are superior as far as humor. Though Night at the Opera and Day at the Races have their share of charm as well.
Thelma Todd was incredibly beautiful! Groucho had a crush on her, as his marriage was going down the toilet, and he wanted to revitalize his sex life. Todd's marriage was in a questionable state as well, but she hung in. Her death was cataloged as an accidental suicide, but she was under the thumb of a gangster and wanted out. Sloppy police work in an age of lower technology. We'll never know.
The Marx Brothers childhood home in New York is in danger of demolition.
Please go to the MarxBrothersPlace You Tube channel to see a video where "Harpo" tells you how you can help by signing two petitions and sending an email cut and paste letter to the powers that be.
I love the look on her face when he started playing Mary Had a Little Lamb the first time. Then she gave him another look the second time. The Marx Bros did a lot of ablibbing on the set.
Chico's been dead longer than I've been alive,and I still envy the way he could play the piano and charm the women!!! This is one prime example of him doing both of these things at once.
Gosh, every time I see this part I really wonder where actors like Thelma have gone to... So natural and of incredible beauty. Today it's either boobs or annorexia. No Bond-Girl with a wet T-Shirt can be as attractive as she ever was, may she rest in peace.
According to one girl who was on the road with Chico and his band (long after the Marx Bros. became a success), she accidentally walked in on him when he was rehearsing on the piano. He was playing a classical piece, and was doing it very beautifully. She watched him play for a while. However, when Chico sensed he wasnt alone anymore, he quickly reverted back to his "shoot the keys" style of piano playing. :-)
Today's Film should not even be called film. The actors do nothing! Back then they knew how to dance, sing, play instruments, and on top of that they knew how to keep you focus on their amazing acting skills.
You act as though there weren't atrociously bad movies put out in the past, which is certainly not the case. They have simply sunk into oblivion (or been immortalized like "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and "Robot Monster") just as the crappy films being made today will. Nostalgia and the immediacy of current films has caused an extreme bias towards past decades. I love movies from every era and it pains me to see people disregarding old or new films in such broad strokes.
It's not that all old movies are good. There were definitely bad ones. But the 1930s were called the golden age of Hollywood for a reason. The films that were WERE good were beyond amazing and rightly deserve the lable of "classic."
Today, as far as writing and acting, many people feel the standards have gone down.
actually, most movies back then were absolutely dreadful, the main difference being that a studio could release a hundred pictures in a year whereas now it usually never goes over 20 or 30. there was a lot of room for error and the reason there are so many ''classic'' films is because there was a disproportionate amount of bad ones too yet the amount of pictures produced was just much higher. as for standards dropping, the ever increasing amount of material from other mediums should prove it...
anyone else notice she was stroking his back, n the reason it didn't put him off, coz she tried, was he was off gambling, lol, she sure was a looker, Chico got his takes over in one if he could
Holy cow, didnt notice that untill now! Do you think there was something between them offscreen? Chico was known as quite the ladies man (Harpo and groucho often had to settle for his leftovers!)
Dear Ikrfron: Thanks -- isn't it, though? I think that I was sitting in my grandads' condo,one afternoon,years-ago, watching this very scene, when he came into the room, and after a minute, said to me: "I used to play piano with him in nickelodeons back-in N.Y. when his name was Leo. He was a good pianist when he wasn't acting like a nut!" Swear to God! Word for word! Thanks again! R.J.
The name of the song is "Collegette" , a very-popular song of the 20's. By the way my grandfather started playing piano with Chico in "nickelodeons" probably around 1911. When both were out-here in Hollywood during the 30's, according to my father, they'd bump into each-other. "Hi,Moe", Chic would say. "Hello, Leo" my grandfather would respond. My father said,the first-time he didn't recognize who it was, until my grandfather told him! R.J.
Isn't it funny that Thelma Todd who was well known as a fun-loving girl was not so well endowed? Today, she would have to have implants and so forth. Ahh, She was very pretty and strong-willed and maybe that is why she got so many movies.
The fact is that small-breasted women were considered most attractive in those days. This is only just removed from the '20s, when women were all about trying to look boyish -- short hair, flat chests. That was the ideal woman then.
Who says it isn't the ideal at present? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, in terms of physical beauty, I adore flat-chested women. Alot of guys I know do too!
Count me in on that. But popular culture (and all our junk email!) tells us that the current "ideal" is quite different. Me, I think guys who like big breasts are only interested in the breasts, 'cause when you step back and look at the whole woman, they sure do look horrible!
so what about her boobs? looks perfectly normal to me... I wouldn't care if she didn't have anything at all down her blouse, she was stunningly beautiful - period.
Watch her left hand/arm at :46 It disappears up to Chico's thigh and appears to be stroking. Then watch for Chico's big smile. At 1:04, she's keeping time with the music by tapping Chico's back, which also makes him smile. I'm not pointing this out to be lewd, but anyone who knows Marx Brother history wouldn't be surprised if Chico and Thelma were having some, well, monkey business on the side. Great film, great clip, immortal performers.
In that same scen before he sat on the piano and stuff he was in the couch with Thelam and he was kissing her all the time.. wonder wether that was on the script?? lol
Thelma Todd, known as a "hotsy" during her time was quite talented and beautiful. She is truly enjoying herself in this scene. Too bad she died so you and under such horrible means. May she rest in Peace.
Chico was so cute-so original when he shot the keys!
When they were little, my kids didn't want to watch classical musicians play~but when I put them in front of a scene with Chico~they were amazed, and inspired! ~Same with Harpo.
How could a child not be inspired?! If I'd been exposed to Chico and Harpo when I was a child, and there was a piano or harp in my house or someone's house I knew, a team of wild horses couldn't have kept me away from trying to play them! This is the kind of quality material parents should be showing their kids instead of allowing them to watch this garbage that passes for entertainment nowadays.
The reason is , when chico started to learn music her teacher knew only how to play left handed and when chico's mom found out she was fired, but the stile stuck on him.And he was the real player nothing fake on it.
funnily enough they called chico, chico because he was always chasing the ladys. in a groucho bio written by his grandson entitled "hello i must be going" it was said that chico had such a way w/ the ladys that if he pulled up to a set of traffic lights next to a car w/ a female inside, before the next set of traffic lights he had already booked a room at the closest hotel with her!...i'm sure they didnt mean it literally, but u get the idea
hahaha thats funny! but i dont think thats really what shes doing!! shes just twiddling her fingers to the music, its just because of the angle that it looks like shes actually touching him. but hahahaha all the same!!!!
If you watch both of their faces carefully as well as her hands, it's clear that there is more going on here than just a bit of piano playing.
He was a notorious Lothario and she had a bit of a reputation as well. I'd bet a pound to a penny that this was not the closest they ever got to each other.
i think groucho once said chico had lessons but for some reason his teacher was great left handed, n he taught himself the right, all of them tho had great looking hands, legs too
Actually I read in Harpo's autobiography Chico's professor didn't want to teach him the left. When he was asking her why, she would say "The right hand is the most important, that's all you need to know!".
I have to check, but I'm pretty sure it's what I read. :)
Some people say if they could play the piano they would like to play like Mozart or Beethoven. Me I wanted to play like Chico Marx! Now he was a true genius!
Thank U 4 remembering that this tune is "Collegiate".It was also used in Animal crackers when "the Prof. is introduced."Leonard" was a wonderful pianist! Visually as well.I believe they studied & read music.They were genius' 4 all time!
He was improvising. Chico Marx never rehearsed his works. He was said to soak his hands in warm water before performing to limber them. The orchestra accompaniment was generally mixed in afterwards.
Arguably not Chico's best piano performance, but definitely his most entertaining. And you know he's improvising by watching the looks on Thelma Todd's face. Classic.
He could continue to play the main line but with decoration or variations and still stay with the backing orchestra. He was easily good enough do so and that is improvisation.
For anyone interested, the entire movie is posted on Google video, I have it playing in another window right now.
clintonearlwalker 1 day ago
How I wish I could play piano like Chico!
jediknight38 2 days ago
6 people left for the lobby
wcualumni 6 days ago
ADORO ESTE CARA
jandira7452 1 week ago
I have to learn this :)) LOL
PapagenoJuan2 2 months ago
lots of skill! no humility!
SanderBuruma 5 months ago
I make skits that are chock-full of puns and one-liners, please take a look and let me know what you think! I'm a huge fan of The Marx Brothers and want to reach out to an audience who likes that sense of humor
Seinfeld182 6 months ago
Gorgeous Thelma Todd!
RobinPratt 7 months ago
@RobinPratt She is Most Desireable...too bad all we have (mostly) now-a-days are drugged-up scuzzy sluts for "actresses"...
sammygrewe 5 months ago
Does anyone know the name of this tune?
wwrigle2 9 months ago
@wwrigle2 Collegiate (collegiate, yes, we are collegiate)
BobShair 2 months ago
I like to watch the fingers :D
DJAxxelFreshman 1 year ago
you dont have piano talent like this NOWADAYS.
BOGZASV8MA 1 year ago 2
Theme from an imaginary Warner Brothers Cartoon!
WimGrundy 1 year ago
This song was in The Freshmen (1925)!!!
TheKillersXXCasey3 1 year ago
the Marx brothers were amazing. They each had a special twist to comedy, hilarious as individuals, but when they worked together, they were an unstoppable laugh riot. Plus, they had real talent! I wish there was a modern equivalent...
MichaelTV91 1 year ago 3
@MichaelTV91
Agreed. The only people who have ever come close were the Firesign Theatre and maybe the Pythons.
lovetoeatallthefood 1 year ago
Buy her a nice set of tits and she would be smoking hot :)
bsd300d 1 year ago
@bsd300d Buy you a brain and you'd have a clue.
frankkatus 1 year ago 8
hahaha groucho's line is awesome
SystemFreaKk13 1 year ago 2
This always makes me happy.
Jayee123 1 year ago
@2112murphy
If you watch carefully, you can see that it was working this time too. He wasn't smiling about the piano playing...
Lucky bugger.
lotus49a 1 year ago
I wish I could play like Chico but I wish I could sit next to Thelma Todd even more
andyrw100 1 year ago
@andyrw100 Good news. You may be able to meet Thelma “Hot Toddy” Todd. Her ghost is said to haunt the building that once housed her restaurant. She died in her car. parked at the restaurant, from carbon dioxide poisoning. It was ruled a suicide, but many suspected murder over her refusal to let her mob boyfriends use her place as a gambling spot. She was only 30 at the time. So stop by the building, and if you see Thelma, tell her hi for me!
Todd made two films with the Marx Brothers.
MFPhoto1 1 year ago 2
The song- Collegiate was made popular by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians and co-writen by Moe Jaffe. I'm My Own Grandpa is another of his songs,
mashtones 1 year ago
I love the character chico gets into when he plays the piano. It's so cute and funny how he moves his head back and forth and puts on this big ridiculous grin. He's so obviously in his element.
sofiaandsita 1 year ago
r32: The girl beside Chico is Thelma Todd, who worked with Laurel and Hardy as well as the Marx Brothers. I play piano, and I swear - if I had somebody like Thelma sitting next to me while I was playing. . .I'd HAVE to concentrate on the keys. Or I'd be playing with someone else!
WSenator1 1 year ago 2
to heck with Beethoven, I'd give anything to be able to play like Chico
bastlake 1 year ago
Is it just the quality of this recording or does Chico look younger?
Great vid, btw! =D
Psalm15LifeGoal 1 year ago
Chico was about 45 here.
TomBarristerX 1 year ago
@TomBarristerX Oh! Really? (silly me) =D
Psalm15LifeGoal 1 year ago
Adoro tanto o Chico tocando piano..é suave, é demais!
simetti 1 year ago
there is a legend that an italian boy that was a friend of the family that had thick curly black hair was adopted at age 10 after a tragic accident to his parents..............is true??? who knows?
ROBERT9205 2 years ago
It wouldn't have been Chico. He looks very similar to Harpo and was the natural son of Minnie Marx.
Marx's character was Italian. This was necessary becausse Marx, unlike Groucho and Zeppo, never quite lost the New York accent.
TomBarristerX 1 year ago
the song is "collegiate". and yes, his name is pronounced "chick-o".
zoxofzox 2 years ago
@zoxofzox how do u know?? are u italian? or just claiming to be?
WickedG5150 2 years ago
@WickedG5150 um... what's being italian or not got to do with it? he got his nickname because he liked to chase the "chicks". and he's playing an ethnic stereotype character - he's not italian.
zoxofzox 2 years ago 3
Comment removed
val2gally 2 years ago
What natural, great human beings the Marx brothers are. No, I'm not on PCP...it's just overwhelming sometimes. Okay okay I'm on PCP
chevalier947 2 years ago 4
At 0:47 is there a bit of flirting going on there?! ;)
squishy3000 2 years ago 4
A lot! That's why they called him Chico. (shouldve been Chick-o) He always said he like to chase the chicks-
johnster623 2 years ago 5
I thought it was pronounced Chick-Oh?
lelandb123 2 years ago 2
My favorite Chico clip. Love the music as well as Groucho's classic line to the audience.
LeaveEmLaughingTent 2 years ago 6
Is it just me, or were the Paramount Marx Bros movies better than the MGM ones that followed? (Except for "Night at the Opera" which was awesome)
leafyutube 2 years ago 4
In general a lot of fans do agree that the Paramount pictures are superior as far as humor. Though Night at the Opera and Day at the Races have their share of charm as well.
HeraldMB 2 years ago 2
I loved a Day at the Races!
iLike2Drummm 2 years ago
Oh I like Day at the Races too, it's the first one I ever saw actually. I just do think the Paramount ones was were better as far as humor.
HeraldMB 2 years ago
check her left hand at 0.46... hehe!
What a dude, he's totally unflustered and doesn't miss a note...
AlexPxr8 2 years ago 4
This comment has received too many negative votes show
YEEAH! the bitch is groping him! Brilliant
jp00349 2 years ago
Chcico is (was...sigh) a very amazing piano player !!!
eddievaliant1 2 years ago 3
i remember this scene, i'm 108 years old, and i was back there when they filmed it...
GenyaArikado 2 years ago
humor in a jugular vein
PapaLeonesPizza 2 years ago
lol that would be cool
misterbuckethead 2 years ago
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chico is so hot in this moviee :)
jdpotc123 2 years ago 3
This has been flagged as spam show
Watch and intimate perfromance of "Poor Man" and "Curs in the Weeds" by Horse Feathers. The vid if featured on my profile!
LeaheyHoo 2 years ago
Thelma Todd was incredibly beautiful! Groucho had a crush on her, as his marriage was going down the toilet, and he wanted to revitalize his sex life. Todd's marriage was in a questionable state as well, but she hung in. Her death was cataloged as an accidental suicide, but she was under the thumb of a gangster and wanted out. Sloppy police work in an age of lower technology. We'll never know.
PRR5406 2 years ago
I know she died young: she worked well with these guys, and might have done more than two films with them otherwise.
She had her own comedic ability and timing.
bookkeeper57 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
The Marx Brothers childhood home in New York is in danger of demolition.
Please go to the MarxBrothersPlace You Tube channel to see a video where "Harpo" tells you how you can help by signing two petitions and sending an email cut and paste letter to the powers that be.
MarxBrothersPlace 2 years ago
Timeless brilliance.
BillDFC 2 years ago
Chico at the piano = sheer joy
Neutron1984 2 years ago 3
Thelma was a hot dish.
leafyutube 2 years ago 4
I love the look on her face when he started playing Mary Had a Little Lamb the first time. Then she gave him another look the second time. The Marx Bros did a lot of ablibbing on the set.
novusmundi 3 years ago
Chico's been dead longer than I've been alive,and I still envy the way he could play the piano and charm the women!!! This is one prime example of him doing both of these things at once.
next2lastmohican 3 years ago 7
This was an era when women were most beautiful and actors had real talent. We have lost all that today.
trh55 3 years ago 38
@trh55 gee thanks.
sincerely, women
mikimiki1010 10 months ago
I wish I could play piano like that.
MikeSangregorio 3 years ago 4
dont we all
JRKtheAdobeDude 3 years ago 2
hahaha i know
SniffleMuffin 2 years ago
Gosh, every time I see this part I really wonder where actors like Thelma have gone to... So natural and of incredible beauty. Today it's either boobs or annorexia. No Bond-Girl with a wet T-Shirt can be as attractive as she ever was, may she rest in peace.
dumbshitaward 3 years ago 6
I would give up both of my nuts to be able to play like that. Simply amazing.
DickShammings 3 years ago
I'd give up a lot of things to be able to hook up with thelma ... but certainly not my nuts :-D
dumbshitaward 3 years ago
As a piano player, I can look at what he's doing and say..."Good Lord, it would take a miracle for me to play like that..."
domkoehller0407 3 years ago 3
According to one girl who was on the road with Chico and his band (long after the Marx Bros. became a success), she accidentally walked in on him when he was rehearsing on the piano. He was playing a classical piece, and was doing it very beautifully. She watched him play for a while. However, when Chico sensed he wasnt alone anymore, he quickly reverted back to his "shoot the keys" style of piano playing. :-)
bmovies60 3 years ago 4
No doubt he could play many styles of piano. All those guys were talented in so many ways.
The girl behind his BEAUTIFUL! Such a golden age in film compared to most of the digitized and crap actor filled pieces of today.
r32adt3db 3 years ago 23
That girl is Thelma Todd very good actress They said that she commited suicide but a lot of people think she was murdered.
colby2n 2 years ago
Today's Film should not even be called film. The actors do nothing! Back then they knew how to dance, sing, play instruments, and on top of that they knew how to keep you focus on their amazing acting skills.
DjosueD 2 years ago 2
So true. It's an atrocity what hollywood puts out now. Such mind numbing bullshit.
Chico is so ridiculously good.
r32adt3db 2 years ago 3
You act as though there weren't atrociously bad movies put out in the past, which is certainly not the case. They have simply sunk into oblivion (or been immortalized like "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and "Robot Monster") just as the crappy films being made today will. Nostalgia and the immediacy of current films has caused an extreme bias towards past decades. I love movies from every era and it pains me to see people disregarding old or new films in such broad strokes.
schmdchrs 2 years ago 3
It's not that all old movies are good. There were definitely bad ones. But the 1930s were called the golden age of Hollywood for a reason. The films that were WERE good were beyond amazing and rightly deserve the lable of "classic."
Today, as far as writing and acting, many people feel the standards have gone down.
HeraldMB 2 years ago
actually, most movies back then were absolutely dreadful, the main difference being that a studio could release a hundred pictures in a year whereas now it usually never goes over 20 or 30. there was a lot of room for error and the reason there are so many ''classic'' films is because there was a disproportionate amount of bad ones too yet the amount of pictures produced was just much higher. as for standards dropping, the ever increasing amount of material from other mediums should prove it...
Mauloch 2 years ago 2
@r32adt3db That would be the wonderful Thelma Todd
vaudevilleUK 1 year ago 2
@r32adt3db It's a shame Thelma died so young, only a couple years after this gem
DrRedhawk 1 year ago
anyone else notice she was stroking his back, n the reason it didn't put him off, coz she tried, was he was off gambling, lol, she sure was a looker, Chico got his takes over in one if he could
praskovia13 3 years ago
"anyone else notice she was stroking his back"
Holy cow, didnt notice that untill now! Do you think there was something between them offscreen? Chico was known as quite the ladies man (Harpo and groucho often had to settle for his leftovers!)
bmovies60 3 years ago
yep indeedy she was stroking him, didn't put him off tho, hard as she tried, lol
praskovia13 2 years ago 2
Dear Ikrfron: Thanks -- isn't it, though? I think that I was sitting in my grandads' condo,one afternoon,years-ago, watching this very scene, when he came into the room, and after a minute, said to me: "I used to play piano with him in nickelodeons back-in N.Y. when his name was Leo. He was a good pianist when he wasn't acting like a nut!" Swear to God! Word for word! Thanks again! R.J.
bchfront 3 years ago 4
Chico was a notorious skirt-chaser. And Thelma Todd was looker. That's all I know.
maida1982a 3 years ago 2
..and don't breath until I see you again. LOL.
BootsyJ 3 years ago
Classic Chico Marx. The Marx Brothers are the best. I love to watch Chico play the piano. No one else does it like him. Brilliant!
DaMama4 3 years ago
this is the man right here chicko...
spinskype 3 years ago
The name of the song is "Collegette" , a very-popular song of the 20's. By the way my grandfather started playing piano with Chico in "nickelodeons" probably around 1911. When both were out-here in Hollywood during the 30's, according to my father, they'd bump into each-other. "Hi,Moe", Chic would say. "Hello, Leo" my grandfather would respond. My father said,the first-time he didn't recognize who it was, until my grandfather told him! R.J.
bchfront 3 years ago 3
What a fabulous story to tell!!
lkofron 3 years ago
beautifull
manishbabu 3 years ago
Isn't it funny that Thelma Todd who was well known as a fun-loving girl was not so well endowed? Today, she would have to have implants and so forth. Ahh, She was very pretty and strong-willed and maybe that is why she got so many movies.
rockville34 3 years ago
The fact is that small-breasted women were considered most attractive in those days. This is only just removed from the '20s, when women were all about trying to look boyish -- short hair, flat chests. That was the ideal woman then.
Keeper1st 3 years ago 3
Who says it isn't the ideal at present? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, in terms of physical beauty, I adore flat-chested women. Alot of guys I know do too!
PBSmithy 3 years ago
Count me in on that. But popular culture (and all our junk email!) tells us that the current "ideal" is quite different. Me, I think guys who like big breasts are only interested in the breasts, 'cause when you step back and look at the whole woman, they sure do look horrible!
Keeper1st 3 years ago
so what about her boobs? looks perfectly normal to me... I wouldn't care if she didn't have anything at all down her blouse, she was stunningly beautiful - period.
dumbshitaward 3 years ago
Right on.
Keeper1st 3 years ago
good one! LOL
GetMeThere1 3 years ago 3
chico is the man
robs70986987 3 years ago 7
haha
i love this stuff
robs70986987 3 years ago
Funny; he's a good enough pianist that he's poking fun at piano technique.
That famous sliding he does with the right hand is an extreme exaggeration of the idea of swinging with notes. But he's a great pianist.
Bendmac525 3 years ago 2
Anyone know the name of the song Chico is playing?
njattack 3 years ago
It's called: "Collegiate".
RobinPratt 3 years ago
this is a funny ass movie. he was awesome on the piano
Broncofanjb 4 years ago
see the way she's digging chico?
he's got the charm with that piano
joet88 4 years ago
Watch her left hand/arm at :46 It disappears up to Chico's thigh and appears to be stroking. Then watch for Chico's big smile. At 1:04, she's keeping time with the music by tapping Chico's back, which also makes him smile. I'm not pointing this out to be lewd, but anyone who knows Marx Brother history wouldn't be surprised if Chico and Thelma were having some, well, monkey business on the side. Great film, great clip, immortal performers.
fdextro 3 years ago 5
"And don't breathe until I see you again."
*laugh*
waboozz 4 years ago
Pure musical amazement
Why have so few British young people heard of these ... we all know Laurel and Hardy but Marx brothers are pure genious
shivyrocks 4 years ago
check out the lady touching his back, only lovers do that. he was a reputed ladies man and that ain't in the script.
fcgal55 4 years ago 2
In that same scen before he sat on the piano and stuff he was in the couch with Thelam and he was kissing her all the time.. wonder wether that was on the script?? lol
brendaPMB 4 years ago
Thelma Todd, known as a "hotsy" during her time was quite talented and beautiful. She is truly enjoying herself in this scene. Too bad she died so you and under such horrible means. May she rest in Peace.
rockville34 4 years ago
*gleeful squeak*
Teehee. <3.
sunrisesunset51 4 years ago 2
Chico was so cute-so original when he shot the keys!
When they were little, my kids didn't want to watch classical musicians play~but when I put them in front of a scene with Chico~they were amazed, and inspired! ~Same with Harpo.
skyemcleod1 4 years ago 8
How could a child not be inspired?! If I'd been exposed to Chico and Harpo when I was a child, and there was a piano or harp in my house or someone's house I knew, a team of wild horses couldn't have kept me away from trying to play them! This is the kind of quality material parents should be showing their kids instead of allowing them to watch this garbage that passes for entertainment nowadays.
goldenagenut 4 years ago 7
The reason is , when chico started to learn music her teacher knew only how to play left handed and when chico's mom found out she was fired, but the stile stuck on him.And he was the real player nothing fake on it.
lizbrenneru 4 years ago
funnily enough they called chico, chico because he was always chasing the ladys. in a groucho bio written by his grandson entitled "hello i must be going" it was said that chico had such a way w/ the ladys that if he pulled up to a set of traffic lights next to a car w/ a female inside, before the next set of traffic lights he had already booked a room at the closest hotel with her!...i'm sure they didnt mean it literally, but u get the idea
malign01 4 years ago
lol, her left hand at approx 43 secs in? no?
praskovia13 4 years ago 2
lol
oldmayo 4 years ago
lol, yes u noticed too, he did real well i think to not get distracted, lol, great clip, its only when u watch it a few times u notice
praskovia13 4 years ago
hahaha thats funny! but i dont think thats really what shes doing!! shes just twiddling her fingers to the music, its just because of the angle that it looks like shes actually touching him. but hahahaha all the same!!!!
freefromfolsom 4 years ago
she isn't twiddling her fingers.
If you watch both of their faces carefully as well as her hands, it's clear that there is more going on here than just a bit of piano playing.
He was a notorious Lothario and she had a bit of a reputation as well. I'd bet a pound to a penny that this was not the closest they ever got to each other.
lotus49a 3 years ago 7
noticed her left hand?
praskovia13 4 years ago
Yes, but not all the time!!! Sometimes it's her right hand!
lkofron 4 years ago
Yes, but not all the time!!! Sometimes it's her right hand! And it would only make Chico better.
lkofron 4 years ago 4
shes a naughty girl trying to distract him while he s playing, lol
praskovia13 4 years ago
nothin wrong with the right either, great post, ty
praskovia13 4 years ago
actually u can tell he was a great left handed player
praskovia13 4 years ago
i got my info from harpos biography
praskovia13 4 years ago
actually colbert heard something similar too
praskovia13 4 years ago
Who else would tell the cinema audience to leave the film - but Groucho Marx?! This might not be Chico's best performance but it's my favourite.
lkofron 4 years ago 2
lol they're great arent they
praskovia13 4 years ago
wow... i love the marx bros! they make me laugh so much!!
ouchthathurtman 4 years ago
i think groucho once said chico had lessons but for some reason his teacher was great left handed, n he taught himself the right, all of them tho had great looking hands, legs too
praskovia13 4 years ago
Actually I read in Harpo's autobiography Chico's professor didn't want to teach him the left. When he was asking her why, she would say "The right hand is the most important, that's all you need to know!".
I have to check, but I'm pretty sure it's what I read. :)
colbertgertrude 4 years ago
he used to soak his hands in warm water b4 he played, think it was arthritis
praskovia13 4 years ago
yo quisiera tocar y tener acompañamiento de cuerdas como él :p
luisalvaz 4 years ago
fantastic for improvising!
iketheman 4 years ago
one of the all time greatest piano players. He was simply incredible and makes it look so effortless.
jimdevo 4 years ago 3
hahahaahaha LOL..
ichliebegeige 4 years ago
One of the greatest Piano players of all time.
Guitarman5150 4 years ago 4
ADORO VER E OUVIR O CHICO MARX.
jandamendez 4 years ago
magic, cheers the soul
praskovia13 4 years ago
love him!
Robert1sLadySaggie 4 years ago 3
Some people say if they could play the piano they would like to play like Mozart or Beethoven. Me I wanted to play like Chico Marx! Now he was a true genius!
specterman2000 4 years ago
that makes two of us!
atebawl 4 years ago
Thank U 4 remembering that this tune is "Collegiate".It was also used in Animal crackers when "the Prof. is introduced."Leonard" was a wonderful pianist! Visually as well.I believe they studied & read music.They were genius' 4 all time!
cemmi2 4 years ago
"Collegiate" - Written in 1923 by Moe Jaffe and Nat Bonx.
UP58 4 years ago
Incidentally, Moe Jaffe was my father.
UP58 2 years ago 3
"I'm My Own Grandpa" -- one of my favorite comedy songs of all time!
Extratexture4 2 years ago
He was improvising. Chico Marx never rehearsed his works. He was said to soak his hands in warm water before performing to limber them. The orchestra accompaniment was generally mixed in afterwards.
TomBarrister 4 years ago
yes very entertaining indeedy
praskovia13 4 years ago
Arguably not Chico's best piano performance, but definitely his most entertaining. And you know he's improvising by watching the looks on Thelma Todd's face. Classic.
fdextro 4 years ago
Yeah he's improvising... with an orchestra assisting in the background (guh!).
knobchock 4 years ago
It's clear you're no musician.
He could continue to play the main line but with decoration or variations and still stay with the backing orchestra. He was easily good enough do so and that is improvisation.
lotus49a 3 years ago
Made me smile, and I'm depressed!
timtownie 4 years ago 2
Formidable, THey are wonderfull.
jandamendez 4 years ago
methinks she was trying to put him off, but it didn't work, lol
praskovia13 4 years ago
yup Chico has great hands indeed, anyone else noticed where her hands go?
praskovia13 4 years ago
I just did notice - for the first time ever. Oh to be Chico in that scene!
jsteeber 4 years ago
This clip always makes me wish I could play piano.
VonCouch 4 years ago
Chico was my insperation, when i play i try to play like him, but that'll be awhile before that ever happens
ItalianMan45 4 years ago
There's just something about him, and those magnificent hands.
ruthjohnston 4 years ago
Brilliant! :)
juanieboy12 4 years ago
Damn, he can do that with his fingers AND smile at the girl...Ha!
tereasia 4 years ago 4
Imagine what today's Hollywood execs would do to him: he probably wouldn't even get an audition!
szatmar666 4 years ago 6
Yeah, I suppose you watch the view
ruthjohnston 4 years ago
He got big on Vaudville and Broadway buddy...
batman8675309 4 years ago
his finger work is sick
UrthVT 4 years ago
wow great to find this on here
praskovia13 4 years ago