A Day at the Races (1937)

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

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

Release Date:

11 June 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

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.

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

Also Known As:

Um Dia nas Corridas (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Afoi Marx ston ippodromo, Oi (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Día en las carreras, Un (Spain) [es]
Dag på galopbanen, En (Denmark) [da]
Dag på kapplöpningarna, En (Sweden) [sv]
Dzien na wyscigach (Poland) [pl]
Ena skandalon stis kourses (Greece) [el]
Giorno alle corse, Un (Italy) [it]
Grosse Rennen, Das (Germany) [de]
Marx Brothers - Das Große Rennen (Germany) [de]
Marx Brothers - Ein Tag beim Rennen (Germany) [de]
Mia mera ston ippodromo (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Päivä kilpa-ajoissa (Finland) [fi]
Tag beim Rennen, Ein (Germany) [de]
Un jour aux courses (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Yom B'Merutzim (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]

Runtime:

111 min | Germany:105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Portugal:M/6

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This is the only film of The Marx Brothers to receive an Oscar nomination in a competitive category, being nominated for Dave Gould's dance direction. Groucho Marx would go on to win an honorary Oscar in 1974.

Goofs:

When Groucho is officially hired, he removes his hat twice.

Quotes:

[Stuffy is getting an examination]
Dr. Hackenbush: Say "ah!"
[Stuffy opens his mouth, but says nothing]
Dr. Hackenbush: Louder!
[Stuffy does the same thing]
Dr. Hackenbush: Louder!
[Stuffy does the same thing. Dr. Hackenbush starts to leave]
Tony: What are you doing?
Dr. Hackenbush: I'm going to get my ears checked. I'm deaf.
Tony: You're not deaf. It's just him.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Critic: A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera (#1.11)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

On the Beach at Bali-Bali

Longest Of The Marx Brothers Features

Well, here's one more zany uniquely-Marx Brothers film, one noted for being the longest feature movie they made at 111 minutes.

Even with the longer running time, it's still not the story but all the gags and musical talent of the Marx Brothers that is on parade here and is the selling point of the film. That was normal procedure for them. In this edition, the gag scenes were longer and the amount of music was much greater.

The major skits involve a race track tout (Chico conning Groucho) , a physical exam (Margaret Dumont, who else?), a delay of the big horse race and a bunch of other crazy skits. Some are good, some go on too long.

Maureen O'Sullivan, of Tarzan fame among other films, gives the film some beauty and Dumont is treated with more respect here than in the other Marx Brothers films. Groucho takes it easy on her because her character has the money that will save the day, so to speak.

This MB film has a ton of music, from Chico on piano, to Harpo with harp and flute solos plus a flute number with a group of black folks. Then there is Allan Jones crooning away to O'Sullivan with several ballads. Also, there are several group numbers featuring the aforementioned group of blacks . I liked their rousing gospel numbers best of all the music.

The ending of this movie reminded me of Horse Feathers, in which the most outrageous football game was ever filmed. Here, it was a horse race, unlike any you would ever see. It is so ridiculous, you just laugh out loud....and that's the idea of the movie.