Whilst I was reading Scott's clown review of the great W.C. Fields; I, too, was reminded of my father. My father loved that comedian, but the ones that were able to top Mr. Fields were a small group of, for lack of a better word, "gentlemen"; these gents were the Marx Brothers.
The Marx Brothers began in the same way as Fields, in the vaudeville circuits that toured the U.S. at the turn of the century. But where Fields was only one man performing great stand up material and fantastic feats of juggling and stunts; the Marx Brothers were four.
In the beginning you had...
Chico Marx- The wise cracking italian sardonic, usually of a down trodden or lowly sort of character.
Harpo Marx- The silent type, or at least he communicated with horns, bells, unimaginable faces, blow torches, pockets with a Tardis-like sense of mystery and anything else he can get his hands on. But oppositely he can play a harp that turn him from the funniest man in any room to the one that can steal your gaze
Zeppo Marx- The tenor voice and pretty boy that was able to keep up with the others, but as depicted in the films, he was really just a romantic lead to bring some sort of tie-in to the plot of the movie.
and finally
Groucho Marx- The inimitable quick wit and aesthetic that would bring the whole damn house down laughing.
He was undoubtedly the break away star and could easily carry on a film of just his material.
Separately, they were hilarious. Together, they were absolutely riotous.
They had wit and zingers, slapstick comedy galore, musical talent and physical comedy that would confound the audience and be the inspiration for generations of comics and performers. The mirror clip we saw as an example for class, was performed twenty years earlier by Harpo and Groucho in "Duck Soup".
Here's a link to an excerpt of their classic material.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Gwe5gKgjo
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