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Monkey Business (1952)

Cary Grant , Ginger Rogers , Howard Hawks  |  NR |  DVD
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)

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Product Details

  • Actors: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, Marilyn Monroe, Harry Carter
  • Directors: Howard Hawks
  • Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Full Screen, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: Unknown
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: 20th Century Fox
  • DVD Release Date: May 14, 2002
  • Run Time: 97 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000062XG5
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,930 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Monkey Business" on IMDb

Special Features

  • Restoration comparison
  • Stills gallery

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Cary Grant plays an absent-minded scientist working on a youth serum with little success. One afternoon, one of his test monkeys gets loose and works up a formula of its own, which then gets dropped into their water cooler. Shortly, Grant is tooling around in a sports car with his boss's voluptuous secretary (Marilyn Monroe). When his wife (Ginger Rogers) investigates, she too gets a dose and drags Grant off for a second honeymoon of all-night dancing. Meanwhile, Grant's elderly boss (Charles Coburn) is eager to get his hands on the formula--only Grant's formula isn't having the proper effect. Monkey Business is probably most familiar to Marilyn Monroe cultists, but it's Grant and Rogers who have the central roles and make the most of them. Rogers's adolescent emotional meltdown at a hotel and Grant leading a gaggle of boys on a scalping raid are only two of the movie's many richly funny set pieces, all directed by the nimble hand of Howard Hawks (His Girl Friday, Bringing Up Baby, Ball of Fire, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes). One of the last of the classic screwball comedies. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers star in this classic comedy about a chemist who discovers the secret of eternal youth. For years, Dr. Barnaby Fulton (Grant) has been working on a youth-restoring serum with little success - until the day a chimpanzee gets loose in the lab and accidentally concocts the exact formula Fulton has been searching for. The hilarity begins when, unbeknownst to anyone, the chimpanzee pours it into the office water cooler. For with each successive drink, everyone gets younger and younger. When Fulton's stunning secretary (Marilyn Monroe) and lovely wife get a taste of the potion, the chemical reaction is explosive and hilarious fun!

Customer Reviews

This is a fun movie to watch. BelleCheri  |  9 reviewers made a similar statement
Funny and well made movie. stamplicker  |  15 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Blame It On "Esther"...... January 2, 2004
Format:DVD
This review refers to the Diamond Collection DVD edition(20th Cent Fox) of "Monkey Business".....

So what do we have here? A laugh out loud screwball comedy from 1952, starring Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Ginger Rogers, and Charles Coburn. It was directed by the legendary Howard Hawks,and has a screenplay by greats Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer and I.A.L. Diamond...And there's more...20th Century Fox has restored this black and white comedy and has made a wonderful transfer to DVD, so we may enjoy all these immense talents more than 50 years later.

The film is a lot of fun, and the stars look like they had fun making it. And, you can blame all this fun on "Esther". Esther is a six month old chimp who mixes up a batch of youth serum and dumps it in the water cooler at the lab of the absent minded researcher Dr. Barnaby Fulton(Grant). When Fulton and wife Edwina(Rogers), get a powerful dose of this formula, it's anything goes, as they become youthfully exuberant and a bit on the mischievious side(okay, okay, more than a bit). The more they drink...the younger they act. Fulton's boss(Coburn)is trying desperatley to market this miracle and secretary Laurel(Monroe), adds to all this fun as only Marilyn can do with her mere presence.And yes...Ginger does a little hoofing as well!

A fabulous restoration makes it all the more enjoyable. The full screen picture(1.33:1/academy ratio) and black and white images are sharp and clear. There are a few instances when that rainbow thing is happening, you may notice it on Cary's suit or tie, but not often and it no way interferes with the enjoyment of this film. The audio gives you the choice of Stereo or Mono, and there are subtitles in English and Spanish.
You can also view a restoration comparasion and there's a still gallery with wonderful photos.

What we have here is a 5 star package deal for anyone who loves old Hollywood, for anyone who loves to laugh, and for anyone who is young...at heart!...enjoy....Laurie

more romantic comedy recommendations:
A Couch in New York
Some Like It Hot
His Private Secretary
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars "Anyone can type." August 11, 2005
Format:DVD
Please don't think that MONKEY BUSINESS is a true Marilyn Monroe vehicle, no matter what the box suggests. Her total time in this feature-length movie is on the order of 15-20 minutes, but MM lights up the screen as a dim secretary who is careful to get to work by nine because her boss has asked her to improve her punctuation. (!) Classic line: after boss (played by Charles Coburn) sends Marilyn off in search of someone to type a letter, he steals a look at her "caboose" and remarks, "Anyone can type."

This is not to imply that the rest of the production lacked brilliance. MONKEY BUSINESS is a true screwball comedy of the pre-WWII type that accelerates and spins out of control in ways that the audience cannot anticipate, but will surely enjoy. Released in 1952 just before Monroe became a full-blown star and TV hijacked the mass audience, the film brims with talent and zesty roles. MONKEY BUSINESS reunites Howard Hawks as director and Cary Grant as male lead for the first time since 1938's delightful BRINGING UP BABY.

Cary plays a very middle-aged absent-minded professor who is really a bit of a stick--until he's accidentally dosed with a new Ponce de Leon rejuvenation serum and all youth breaks out. Pretty soon he's got his hair in a buzz cut and driving a new roadster so recklessly he scares even the pretty (and pretty daring) secretary, the aforementioned by Marilyn Monroe. Things get even wackier when wife Edwina (Ginger Rogers) accidentally ingests some of the serum, too.

Now, this excellent film has plenty of performances alongside Marilyn's: manic Cary, flabbergasted Ginger Rogers, the everlovin' monotone of Hugh Marlowe (he of a jillion WWII air-ace movies and the playwright in ALL ABOUT EVE) and as a special treat, George ("Foghorn") Winslow, the seven-year-old Baby Boomer who blatts out "What'sa matter? Don'cha like children?" just before he ties Marlowe to a tree!

Part of the joy of this movie is watching Grant and Rogers give some of their most uninhibited performances ever as the middle-aged couple who revert to youth--and even before. The timing, direction, and dialog are all impeccable, and of course we have MM into the bargain.

Worth keeping a weather eye out for as well are numerous other Fox black-and-white comedies from the late forties/early fifties, not least among them EVERYBODY DOES IT (1947), in which Celeste Holm plays a mediocre talent who's convinced she could have hit the big time with the right support; and A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1948), with an all-star cast, including Ann Sothern, Jeanne Crain and Linda Darnell as three of postwar suburbia's most "desperate housewives."
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Paul
Format:VHS Tape
This hilarious slapstick comedy stars Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, and Marilyn Monroe, 3 of the Silvers Screen's greatest stars. Cary Grant, a doctor, develops a syrum that makes him younger. He tests it out and goes for a spin with his young, beautiful secretary, Marilyn Monroe! Later, his wife, Ginger Rogers tries it out, and finally, Grant and Rogers are like 5 year olds. Ginger is great when she goes into her "childlike temper tantrums" and in one scene, after the syrum has worn off on her, she finds a baby, and thinks it's her husband! This stuff is timeless--it was on the American Film Institute's 500 List of the greates comedies, and it is timeless, making it one of my favorite movies.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Monkey Business
Great fun to watch. Loved how a serious researcher went completely bonkers after drinking the formula accidentally mixed by monkey.. Virginia McGlasson, Louisiana
Published 3 days ago by Virginia
4.0 out of 5 stars Good flick with Grant, Rogers and Monroe!
This is a nice light-hearted film with a star-studded cast. Seeing Cary Grant, GInger Rogers, and Marilyn Monroe together is worth the price of admission.
Published 9 days ago by Schuby
2.0 out of 5 stars OK Movie
Could not get into the movie..so never finished it. Was not my style of movie I suppose. OK for old people though.
Published 9 days ago by Michael Tussy
2.0 out of 5 stars so so
so so. Not Grant's best. Disappointed considering Howard Hawks directed it. Ginger Rogers was quite good. Tried too hard to be funny.
Published 11 days ago by MRGillette
5.0 out of 5 stars unexpectedly funny and heartwarming
Not just a vehicle for Marilyn Monroe, this stars seasoned pros (Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, etc.) who demonstrate that they've still got it, even in middle age. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Ben Mattlin
1.0 out of 5 stars Old stuff
I imagine at one time or another this might have been seen as funny. I enjoy old movies, particularly old Cary Grant films. Read more
Published 27 days ago by James Cummings Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars The film is a great romp, one of my favorites.
Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant, with Ginger Rogers together make this a great comedy. It's a classic, and a must-see film.
Published 1 month ago by Bridget Wilder
5.0 out of 5 stars All-time Favorite
Classic Cary Grant....how can you go wrong! And a young Marilyn....perfect movie. Ginger Rogers does such a superb job in this classic as well. Read more
Published 2 months ago by kritney
4.0 out of 5 stars Good movie
I thought the movie moved along well and was pretty funny although I am not a big fan of old black and white films but my husband loved it and it is worth the watch.
Published 2 months ago by ruthann richter
1.0 out of 5 stars doesn't play
my connection is fine and yet the film will not play, and there's no way to return the order. refund please?
Published 2 months ago by Will
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