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The Groucho Letters: Letters from and to Groucho Marx
 
 
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The Groucho Letters: Letters from and to Groucho Marx (Paperback)

~ (Author) "My Favorite Picture Producer was at our house for dinner the other night and each year he eats progressively louder..." (more)
Key Phrases: Beverly Hills, Marx Brothers, Uncle Julius (more...)
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Letters are often a window to a person's true self, or, in this case, selves. This "book of letters in the old tradition of correspondence" (LJ 2/15/67) displays not only the great wit of the one, the only, Groucho but also the private, serious side of Julius Marx. Recipients include fellow show business figures and family members as well as T.S. Eliot, President Harry Truman, and Edward R. Murrow.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Review

"It is hard to keep from reading bits of this aloud to friends and relations. Groucho in letters is just as devastatingly witty as he was in the movies, to say nothing of other media."

-- Publishers Weekly

"...these letters are good reading, for out of the book Groucho emerges, eyebrows bounding, eyes rolling, cigar jauntily clamped between his teeth, the wisecracks coming a mile a minute. Even Calvin Coolidge might have smiled."

-- Book Week

"Written...with the impudence, irreverence and general lunacy that made Groucho the immortal wise guy of the American screen."

-- Newsweek

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 14, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416536035
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416536031
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #317,771 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Groucho Marx
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
My Favorite Picture Producer was at our house for dinner the other night and each year he eats progressively louder. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Beverly Hills, Marx Brothers, Uncle Julius, Kansas City, Max Gordon, Warner Brothers, Animal Crackers, Big Show, Palm Springs, United States, Harry Ruby, Las Vegas, Booth Tarkington, Congressional Medal of Honor, Finnegans Wake, Groucho June, Irving Berlin, King Lear, Tom Gibbons, Arthur Marx, Can You Spare, Columbia Records, Groucho November, Irwin Shaw, Jane Russell
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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
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4.5 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Absolute Best Book on Groucho, December 7, 2002
This review is from: The Groucho Letters: Letters from and to Groucho Marx (Paperback)
This classic collection of Groucho Marx's correspondence, which was donated to the Library of Congress, at their request, gives the best glimpse into who Groucho Marx was. Not only do we see his letters to his family and friends, who included some of the century's most famous people, but we get to see what people wrote in return. Groucho's personality and wit shine through, and these letters are a rare treasure.

With little formal education, Groucho could construct a letter better than most people with college degrees. He shows himself as witty, acerbic, sometimes sentimental and, yes, often grouchy. The book starts off with his infamous exchange with the legal department at Warner Brothers, who claim they own the rights to the movie title "Casablanca." Groucho responds that, perhaps, since the Marx Brothers were famous before the Warner Brothers, that perhaps they owned the rights to use "Brothers"?

We see Groucho's exchanges with many of his friends, but not much between the brothers themselves, since they were almost always together and there was no need of correspondence. We see Groucho's complaints and his praise. The most memorable part of the book is Groucho's legendary correspondence with the poet, T.S. Elliot. Groucho is clearly in awe of the poet, who seems equally in awe of the comic. It takes several years for this predecessor of the modern "Email friendship" to become a "real life friendship" when Groucho and his wife fly to London to meet "Tom" and his wife. We find out about the evening via a letter Groucho sent to another person. We also see a letter where Groucho mourns T.S. Elliot's passing.

This collection of letters is never out-dated, and never becomes boring. There is always something to read, somewhere in the book. It is not a book that you will read, then forget about. It's an amazing, historical collection of wit, sarcasm and genuine tenderness that is essential to any humor library.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars It loses one star because I want more!, July 12, 2001
By Algernon D'Ammassa (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Groucho Letters: Letters from and to Groucho Marx (Paperback)
For some, a criterion of great art is: it makes you feel creative. Reading Groucho's letters makes one look around for pen and paper.

It is a pity Groucho Marx's prose isn't better known, because it was quite good. He found a voice all his own, with due influence or inspiration from Robert Benchley and, most certainly, S.J. Perelman.

This collection of letters ranges from warm and teasing, to wry and satirical, to scathing (a section entitled "Short Shrift" showcases letters designed to sting and fly away, like a wasp). Yet throughout, Marx's wit is belied by a language that is literate and witty but uses an ordinary vocabulary. They reflect the man himself, who had a third-grade education and hit the books in later years. His willingness to address himself to unknown corporate officers, well-known politicians, or to put on a major film studio work the way much of Groucho's humor worked: he comes from the level of the ordinary person, caring not a whit for ceremony or status; and he is willing to talk circles around just about anybody, to their vexation and our delight.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This book will cure what ails you!, December 17, 2002
By Diana S. Walsh "Diana" (Palm Springs, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Groucho Letters: Letters from and to Groucho Marx (Paperback)
I received this book after major surgery some years back and Groucho's wit really helped pick up my spirits and take my mind off of my body. This was one of the best gifts that I've ever received and I'm pleased to see that it's back in print. If you could have a dinner party and invite any historical figures that you wanted, wouldn't Groucho be on the list? This collection of his intimate correspondence is the next best thing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars "You Bet Your Life"
I wonder how many young people today--that is, anyone younger than 50--know or enjoy Groucho Marx. A product of the Vaudevillian Age, Groucho with his brothers Harpo, Chico, and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Thomas J. Burns

3.0 out of 5 stars Poison Pens
I bought this book because I am a big fan of Groucho Marx (and his brothers). I found that I enjoyed the book but I wondered if there weren't a few too many letters included... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Randy Keehn

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant and fun collection of letters by a truly great comic and writer
If you are a fan of Groucho Marx, this collection of letters to and from him will only deepen your appreciation of him. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Robert Moore

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Smart
Groucho wasn't always a clown off the screen as the books show, but he was definitely funny, and I learned much about how he used the humor for dealing with business problems and... Read more
Published 8 months ago by A. Bryant

4.0 out of 5 stars Groucho Marks Letterw
It was not a favorite. I've Woody Allen stuff and the GL's may be great for a museum but does not create the "meat in comedy" I was looking for.
Published 11 months ago by Roger O. Sanders

5.0 out of 5 stars Superior Service
This was my first "Amazon Experience". Like most potential Amazon users, I was a "nervous Nellie", however, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficient service and the quality of... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. G. Anderson-peters

4.0 out of 5 stars Not The Screwtape Letters
The biggest compliment I can give this collection is that reading it made me wish I wrote more letters and had more celebrities among my circle of potential letter-receivers. Read more
Published on October 3, 2003 by Andrew McCaffrey

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for Groucho fans!
Groucho's letters (to him and from him) are many in number, and the correspondents he had...wow! Famous authors, politicians, his family, and his numerous friends... Read more
Published on August 27, 2003 by meiringen

4.0 out of 5 stars Dear Warner Brothers.....
This book is comprised of letters from (and to) Groucho Marx. The highlight is the famous Warners Brothers volley (Casablanca vs. Read more
Published on November 17, 2001 by Brother Frank

5.0 out of 5 stars Great
This book is one of the greatest epistolic volumes ever published. I've reread it several times over the last couple of decades. Read more
Published on June 19, 2001 by tzefirah

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