Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 22, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 22, 2011 While watching "Duck Soup" it occurred to me that Zeppo Marx rather resembles someone we know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted February 22, 2011 Admin Share Posted February 22, 2011 Hmmm... Yes, there is a striking resemblance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zandoriastudios Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 LOL--great find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I see it! Too funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted February 22, 2011 I don't quite understand Zeppo's role in that group. He was the handsome one but when they'd stick a romantic subplot in the movies they didn't use him for that part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Shelton Posted February 22, 2011 *A:M User* Share Posted February 22, 2011 Robert That is funny! I see it as well Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted February 23, 2011 Admin Share Posted February 23, 2011 I don't quite understand Zeppo's role in that group. He was the handsome one but when they'd stick a romantic subplot in the movies they didn't use him for that part. I'd say Zeppo's playing of the straight man was carefully crafted primarily to heighten and emphasize the exaggerated mannerisms of the other three brothers? A way of quietly screaming, "THIS IS NORMAL!", in a sea of over the top crazy caricatured performances? It seems at first blush it would be easy to imagine the Marx Bros being just as funny without Zeppo but he served in the role of opposition quite well. I recall even at the age of perhaps seven noting the difference and asking that question, "Why is this guy so normal and the others so different?" This is the guy would should end up with the girl. I certainly wouldn't have thought that Groucho (or the other two) would stand a chance. It was odd. I couldn't figure it out. It didn't fit. Yet it worked so well and focused our attention where it needed to be. And while they had me wondering about all of this, I was hooked to the whole performance, rooting even more for those three strange underdog characters. At it's root I suspect a fairly straight transition of the vaudeville formula into movies which called for balancing straightman against clown. You simply had to have both in those days. This is related to the resemblance thing of course. Martin is all the Marx Bros smashed together. (He just looks Zeppo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Martin is all the Marx Bros smashed together. (He just looks Zeppo) That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever hoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted January 12, 2014 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted January 12, 2014 I'm rummaging through old posts.... I've since read more about the Marxes and some commenters note that sans their costumes and make-up they all looked pretty much the same, so much so that during their stage years Zeppo would substitute for Groucho when Groucho was sick. ""He was so good as Captain Spaulding [in Animal Crackers] that I would have let him play the part indefinitely, if they had allowed me to smoke in the audience," Groucho recalled." Here's another substitution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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