The Big Store
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| The Big Store | |
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 Theatrical poster for Big Store (1941) |
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| Directed by | Charles Reisner |
| Produced by | Louis K. Sidney |
| Written by | Nat Perrin (story) Sid Kuller Hal Fimberg Ray Golden |
| Starring | Groucho Marx Chico Marx Harpo Marx Tony Martin Virginia Grey Margaret Dumont Virginia O'Brien |
| Music by | Hal Borne Georgie Stoll (musical direction) Earl Brent (adaptation) Arthur Appell (dance direction) |
| Cinematography | Charles Lawton Jr. |
| Editing by | Conrad A. Nervig |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | June 20, 1941 |
| Running time | 83 min. |
| Language | English |
The Big Store (1941) is a Marx Brothers comedy film in which Groucho, Chico and Harpo work to save the Phelps Department Store, owned by Martha Phelps (Margaret Dumont). Groucho plays her detective and bodyguard Wolf J. Flywheel, a character name originating from a Marx-Perrin radio show in the early 1930s.
It was advertised as their last ever film, and it was the last of five films made under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. However, they would return to the screen in A Night in Casablanca (1946) and Love Happy (1949).
The Big Store co-starred long-time Marx Brothers' foil Margaret Dumont as well as the love interests, Tony Martin and Virginia Grey. The Big Store was Dumont's final film with the Marx Brothers. The "heavy" was Mr. Grover, played by Douglass Dumbrille, who had played a similar role in A Day at the Races.
Tagline: "Where everything is a good buy. Goodbye!"
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[edit] Plot
Store manager Grover wants to rub out heir Tommy before he can sell his share of the venerable Phelps Department Store. Against his better judgement he hires Groucho as a floorwalker ("What experience have you had in a department store?", he demands of Groucho. "-- I was a shoplifter for 3 years".) Between Tommy wooing his sweetheart and Groucho romancing Mrs. Phelps, the brothers thwart the plot to place a gun in a photog's camera ("I told you in the first reel [Grover] was a crook").
The film has two extended scenes, one of them in the store's bed department, which has all kinds of novel beds that come out of the walls. An Italian family walks in with 12 children, and Groucho asks the father (Henry Armetta) what other hobbies he has got. Six of the kids promptly disappear in a set of bunk beds. While the father pleads for the return of his children, three more large families - a Swedish one with a dozen blond children, another with Chinese children and finally even Native American children - arrive, and soon all is chaos, similar to the crowded stateroom scene from A Night at the Opera.
The second lengthy scene takes place near the end of the film: Groucho, Chico and Harpo escape their pursuers during a madcap chase through the entire store, using the elevator, a staircase, chandeliers, roller skates, a mail chute and a bicycle. This chase involves an unusual amount of Mack Sennett-type slapstick stunts for a Marx Brothers movie.
There is one gag which breaks the fourth wall, during the "Sing While You Sell" sequence: while Groucho is narrating a fashion show, he asides "This is a bright red dress, but Technicolor is so expensive." Another revealing gown is described by him as being a 'California dress': "On a clear night you can see Catalina".
[edit] Musical numbers
As is typical for MGM films, the movie contains elaborate production numbers, such as the upbeat "Sing While You Sell," led by an all-singing, all-dancing Groucho, and the less successful "Tenement Symphony" sung by Tony Martin and a boys' choir. The screenwriting team of Kuller, Golden and Fimberg also supplied the lyrics to Hal Borne's original music.
- "Tenement Symphony"- Tony Martin, onstage choir and orchestra, featuring Chico and Harpo (considered by many critics to be the worst musical number ever written for a Marx Brothers film)
- "Sing While You Sell"- Groucho, Six Hits and a Miss singing group plus an early example of an integrated chorus line
- "Rock-a-bye Baby"- Virginia O'Brien (here practically inventing rock music - "Rock it baby; oh rock it")
- "If It's You"- Tony Martin (music & lyrics by Ben Oakland, Artie Shaw & Milton Drake)
- "Mama Yo Quiero"- Chico and Harpo (piano duet)
- "Mozart's Sonata in C major" - Harpo (harp)
- "Beethoven's Minuet" - Harpo (harp/cello/violin, although perhaps supplied by noted jazz violinist Georgie Stoll)
[edit] Cast
- Groucho Marx - Private Detective Wolf J. Flywheel
- Harpo Marx - Wacky
- Chico Marx - Ravelli
- Tony Martin - Thomas "Tommy" Rogers
- Margaret Dumont - Mrs. Martha Phelps
- Virginia Grey - Joan Sutton
- Douglas Dumbrille Mr. Grover
- William TannenFred "Chris" Sutton
- Henry Armetta - Guiseppi
- Anna Demetrio - Maria
- Marion Martin - Peggy Arden
- Paul Stanton - Arthur Hastings
- Russell Hicks - George Hastings
- Bradley Page - Duke
- Virginia O'Brien - Kitty
[edit] References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) |
[edit] External links
- The Big Store at the Internet Movie Database
- The Big Store at Allmovie
- The Big Store at the TCM Movie Database
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