Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A History of the Marx Brothers and a Satire on the Rest of the World (A Touchstone book) [Paperback]

Joe Adamson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Paper) (April 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671470728
• ISBN-13: 978-0671470722
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,501,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Without doubt the best Marx Bros. book I've read., November 18, 1997

By 

W. G. Wetstein "WGaryW" (Suffern, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A History of the Marx Brothers and a Satire on the Rest of the World (Hardcover)

It's rare for a book on a specific subject to be so extremely well-written that it's worth recommending to people on that basis alone. This is a book which would be entertaining and even hilarious to people who aren't Marx Brothers fanatics. Even the classic anecdotes that Marxophiles have read a thousand times are told with such wit and energy that they feel new. Adamson's work has served to greatly enhance my already fanatical interest. And yes, even the footnotes are funny.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice try, but not that funny, May 6, 2005

By 

mike duffy (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A History of the Marx Brothers and a Satire on the Rest of the World (A Touchstone book) (Paperback)

There are two ways to write about comedians. The way which sometimes works is to play straight man and let the funny people be funny. The way which always fails is to try to be funnier than the material. Adamson has the annoying habit of doing this, and it ruins an otherwise well-researched and otherwise decently written book. Tons of pictures, lots of great Marxist dialogues, a great (if slightly obsolete) bibliography.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well intentioned disappointment, February 11, 2002

By 

jeremy haft (nyc, ny USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Groucho, Harpo, Chico and sometimes Zeppo a celebration of the Marx Brothers (Paperback)

Adamson is best when delving into the pandemonium that went on behind the screen -- the troupes of writers and endless script incarnations it took to make the movies we love today.

But his analysis of the films themselves leaves much to be desired. In his endless scene-by-scene expositions, he assaults the reader with too much of the wrong detail -- surprisingly missing crucial moments and nuances while hitting us over the head with his own facile bias for page after page after page. (Adamson's editor must have been spending a day at the races when this manuscript came up for review.)

We also don't get much of anything about the Brothers' famous sidekicks. Only a couple paragraphs are spared for the great Margaret Dumont, and NONE for Louis Calhern, arguably the best straight-man performance in 1930's comedy.