A Day at the Races

Overview

In this Marx Brothers' comedy, a horse named Hi-Hat is a financially troubled sanitarium's only hope of avoiding foreclosure. Luckily, the sanitarium's new director is a veterinarian impersonating a physician. Groucho and his gang are up to their usual zany tricks, trying to make sure Hi-Hat wins a steeplechase race.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/14/2020
UPC:	0883929716166
Original Release:	1937
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:49:00
Sales rank:	20,308

Special Features

Commentary by The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia Author Glenn Mitchell ; Documentary On Your Marx, Get Set, Go!; 4 vintage shorts Robert Benchley's Oscar nominated; A Night at the Movies and the Cartoons Gallopin' Gals, Mama's New Hat and Old Smokey; Audio-Only Treasures: Musical Outtake" A Message from the Man in the Moon" and Leo Is On the Air Radio Promo; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Groucho Marx	Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush,Tony,Stuffy
Margaret Dumont	Emily Upjohn
Allan Jones	Gil Stewart
Maureen O'Sullivan	Judy Standish
Leonard Ceeley	Whitmore
Douglas Dumbrille	Morgan
Esther Muir	"Flo"
Sig Rumann	Dr. Steinberg
Robert Middlemass	Sheriff
Vivian Fay	Solo Dancer
Charles Trowbridge	Dr. Wilmerding
Frank Dawson	Doctor
Max Lucke	Doctor
Frankie Darro	Morgan's Jockey
Pat Flaherty	Detective
Si Jenks	Messenger
Hooper Atchley	Race Judge
John Hyams	Judge
Wilbur Mack	Judge
Mary MacLaren	Nurse
Edward Le Saint	Doctor
Jack Norton	Drunk
Ivie Anderson	Specialty Singer
Marx Brothers	themselves (Groucho,Chico, Harpo),Actor
Carole Landis	Extra
Gus Kahn	Composer
Franz Waxman	Composer
Walter Jurmann	Composer
Bronislau Kaper	Composer
George Bassman	Composer

Technical Credits

George Oppenheimer

George Seaton

Robert Pirosh

Sam Wood	Director,Producer
George Oppenheimer	Screenwriter
George Seaton	Screenwriter
Robert Pirosh	Screenwriter
Max Siegel	Producer
Irving Thalberg	Producer
Lawrence Weingarten	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The follow-up to A Night at the Opera (arguably the Marx Brothers's best film), A Day at the Races falls a little short of the mark in comparison with Opera, but is still lunatic fun of a high order. The boys are in fine form here, performing difficult routines with such skill that they come across as effortless (and are all the more enjoyable therefore). Several classic routines -- including "tutsi-fruitis," in which Chico keeps conning Groucho into buying racing tip books, a riotous medical exam, and a wallpapering sequence -- make the film memorable, as does the extended race finale, which manages to be both terribly funny and moderately tense. Aside from the routines, the strength of the script lies in its cohesiveness and coherence, qualities often lacking in other Marx efforts. As indicated, the brothers are their usual hilarious selves. What's surprising is how animated Margaret Dumont gets to be in this film. Although the score's big ballad is no great shakes, its two production numbers -- one of which features an outrageous art deco set incorporating lily pad tables and fountains and an impressive Vivian Fay dance routine - are memorable. The other is simpler, but packs an even greater wallop: Ivie Anderson and the Crinoline Choir performing "All God's Children Got Rhythm," a number which occasionally veers close to racial insensitivity, but which is saved by Anderson's radiant vocalizing and the gospel wails of the choir, as well as some snappy jitterbugging. Races would be the last of the Marx Brothers' classic films; while follow-ups like Room Service have some wonderful moments, they lack the sparkle found in the boys' best work.