It is a performances centric movie

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A Day at the Races is a bit of a strange yet magical bird of a comedy. There's that ten minute musical sequence (or I should say two of them but they end up connecting, sort of), which is equal parts the-bland-Prince-sings-to-Disney's-Snow-White (remember that, nope, me neither) and just 'um, a musical number with black people that's not insulting to them in the 1930's and on its own separate from the movie is exhilarating but has a moment of blackface... this is ODD, and I say this while watching a MARX BROTHERS MOVIE.' It's the one thing in this that brings the movie to a screeching halt, and this includes a rather long and elaborate dance/musical set piece in a nightclub which includes ladies dancing around a fountain, Groucho doing an intricate (and hilarious) dance with Margaret Dumont while he's actually talking to the other lady, and includes Chico and Harpo playing piano and then harp (the latter by some miraculous comic accident) that's part of the suspense of the scene. So that actually works.But aside from that, it's one of their best films despite the fact (or in spite of the fact?) that it has an actual plot, for the most part. Normally the Marx's don't work too well with plots, they operate on creating anarchy in the loosely-knit together scenes and scenarios given to them (not that the writers ever tried to stretch TOO far, they didn't have to, which was fine). Here it's set amid horse races and a horse doctor (Hackenbush, Groucho of course) who is thrust into having to pretend to be a real doctor while also dealing with a race- betting chizzler (Chico with his many, many, many books in an ice cream box), and Harpo as a wayward jockey. Oh and there's a couple who may have to owe some money and some other characters and blah blah blah.It may not sound like a terrific film, and if there's another small mark I can make against it from being a super-mega-all-time-classic instead of just being really-really-really good is that a few times the Groucho lines weren't hitting as *fast* as they usually do, with the pep that they came with the Duck Soup/Animal Crackers days. But this is a nitpick when seeing these guys play off one another - the scene where Groucho checks out Harpo ("Either he's dead or my watch stopped"), or get into elaborate comic set pieces (when Groucho just completely acts a fool as Hackenbush, with the help of Chico and Harpo, when examining Margaret Dumont in front of other doctors). They're pros given good material and elevate it into the world of smart, devilishly-clever delivered lines and Harpo with that finale involving the horse race (where will the horses, and their jockeys, or people looking for parking, end up next!)A Day at the Races is a near classic, though that still makes it a notch above most comedies made in the 1930's. It has its lulls, but somehow, almost despite the usual limitations of an 'okay' roster of supporting actors (no one's outright bad, they're just... there, with the exception of Dumont and the one blonde Groucho gets to play off of in that hotel room scene). The way I might compare it is if you're a fan of Bruce Springsteen and you go to one of his concerts, and there's that section he does the slower folks stuff (some may like it, I don't), and it's a drag... and then there's the rest of the four hours of the concert where he rocks out with his anthems and gems.

"A day at the races" is yet another hilarious Marx comedy from the age by of gold. No modern comedians can hold a candle to Groucho. I always thought he was funny looking, but his looks are only one portion of his funniness. Groucho's jokes, delivery, timing, wit, and style all wrapped into one is what made him the classic comic genius he was.In "races", Groucho is Dr. Hackenbuch of the local sanitarium. The different funny moments around his character are endless, such as the telephone scene where the head of the sanitarium Whitmore (Leonard Ceeley) is calling Groucho's old employment for a reference but is actually talking to Groucho himself, Whitmore asking about Hackenbush (HACKENBUSH!!) and Groucho jerking him around in the most amazingly funny ways. Then the classic tootsie frootsie scene at the tracks between Groucho and Chico. Then comes the outdoor musical scene, I've read how a lot of people don't like all the sentimental passionate musical parts of MGM Golden Age films and how the musical sections of the Marx brothers films while they were with MGM make the films worse. Change in common tastes since those days, when MGM musicals were enormously popular and loved. I'm more like people then than like people today. I like when Allen Jones sings (he sang well in Judy Garland's film " Everybody sing" also), then the beautiful dancing stage girls. I love the beautiful dresses girls generally wore back then, either down to the middle of the lower leg, or floorlength. I always notice how in these old films how the girls in long floor length dresses almost always sing in a soft opererettic way, the two things go together very nicely. We get a moment of several pretty girls in front of the little lake sitting down in their gorgeous big long dresses singing a bar of the song in their beautiful operettic voices. Then the ballerina dancing very well, very pretty. The whole number was great. After the show, Groucho is dancing with Mrs. Upjon (Margarate Dunmont). This is another funny scene where Hackenbush is saying things to Ester Muir, standing behind Margarate, and Margarate thinks Groucho is speaking to her. He makes a date with Muir without Margarate even knowing. Only Groucho can pull off a scene like this so convincingly and still make it funny too. Adding to the hilarity in that scene is Groucho's "change your partner" bit and the hilarious way he said it not letting Margaret know he's the one who said it. After Harpo overhears Muir talking about how her date with Groucho is really Muir trying to get him in trouble, Harpo tries to tell Chico, with Harpo's style of charades he has in each Marx bros film. (since Harpo doesn't talk). The remainder of the film has endless funny things in it. Muir: "hold me closer, closer". Groucho: "if I hold you any closer I'll be behind you". How Groucho keeps saying "thank yup". Chico and Harpo's antics to try to convince Groucho about Muir. Then the scene with Sig Ruman as 'that mountain goat" Dr. Stienburg. Groucho to Sig: "don't point that beard at me, it might go off". The Marx's antics in front of Dr. Stienburg and Whitmore at the clinic while Margaret is the patient is classic. There are still many other funny scenes and funny lines in this film but I don't have enough room to write them all here. Then there's Allen singing to Maureen O'sullivan, Mareen looking beautiful and romantic. This is a great film.

It's hard not to go crazy with the Marx Brothers. Their movies are just hilarious nutty, even with today standards. Their jokes never really get old. The brothers are at the top of their game in terms of their own comic material and timing. The film has some of the trio's funniest and most memorable bits. They even got to fit in Groucho and Chico's famous "Tootsie Frootsie Ice Cream" sketch from their vaudeville days. You might as well, put me in a straitjacket, because I will always be dying with laughter when they're on the screen. This movie was made during the Marx Brother's biggest commercial success, post Zeppo. Directed by Sam Woods, the same director from their previous film, 1935's A Night at the Opera, the movie story pretty much follow closely to that of 'A Night at the Opera'. They're almost the same plot. Instead, of saving the opera; instead the Marx Brothers have to save a sanitarium owned by Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan). Her sanitarium is under threat of being taken over by unscrupulous businessman, J. D Morgan (Douglass Dumbrille), who wants to demolish it and expand his real estate monopoly. The only hope for Judy is if she can keep the wealthy hypochondriac Mrs. Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) as a permanent patient and sign papers to financial the place. The only problem, she only willing to stay if the sanitarium hires her favorite doctor, Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx). Unfortunately for Mrs. Upjohn and the sanitarium, Hackenbush is actually just a veterinarian con-artist who spent most of the film trying to avoid being caught out by either Morgan' cronies, the Florida Medical Board or Mrs. Upjohn. Meanwhile, Judy's boyfriend, Gil (Allan Jones) with his friend, Tony (Chico Marx) hopes to win the money for the sanitarium in a horse-race with a former jockey, Stuffy (Harpo Marx) and his mediocre horse. Who will win first? Morgan and his men or the Marx Brothers? Watch it to find out! Without spoiling too much, the Marx Brothers are pretty much, playing their stereotypical stage act selves in their roles. There's Groucho that has the anarchic wise guy with the drawn-on moustache. He has some of the funniest zingers, insults, and comebacks. Then there is Chico who plays likable Italian stereotype in every role. He has some funny bits, here. Last is Harpo, the mute, childish, slightly annoying one, there for kid appeal. Don't look for anything new from them. They just going what talent, got them to the show. The movie story isn't that great as well. It's often very complex, and doesn't mixed well with others sub-plots. It's hard to tell, where this movie is going for. Is it a horse racing movie or a movie about keeping a sanitarium open? While, the jokes don't feel dated. The concept seem old. Groucho, Chico, and Harpo helping out at a sanatorium seem pretty weird to think of today. It's even odd to note that the sanitarium in the film is right near the race track. How is that even possible? Anyways, the movie seem to get weirder as the movie puts a lot of variety acts between the comedy bits to serve as filler scenes such as a blue-tinted ballet sequence, Harpo playing the Harp, Chico playing the piano, and love songs from crooner Allan Jones. All are quite good, but was it really needed for the plot. No. The musical segment toward the end where Harpo leads a group of poor black folks in a rendition of "Gabriel Blow Your Horn" is questionable. This might be a hard watch for some people, due to the fact that the poor black folks in question played upon the most stereotyped portrayal of black people at the time. The movie portray them as poor, uneducated, jive-talkers with a love of jazz music. It doesn't help that brothers themselves get in on the offensive act by dousing their faces in oil in an attempt to blend in. The Marx Brothers' performing in black face will make some people cringe, due to how dated and offensive, it seems to be. The best thing to come from that part is Ivie Anderson and The Crinoline Choir seeing "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm"! She can indeed sing. Two more songs were filmed, but cut for timing. One was, "Dr. Hackenbush", by Groucho about what a great doctor he is. The other, "A Message from The Man In The Moon", sung by Allan Jones. Like their previous MGM feature A Night at the Opera, this film was a major hit. Despite the Thalberg films' success, MGM terminated the brothers' contract in 1937; Thalberg had died suddenly during filming of A Day at the Races, leaving the Marx Brothers without an advocate at the studio. After Thalberg's death the studio never gave the proper care to the Marx Brothers, and the three movies made at MGM afterward are considered to be far low-grade than the first two as a result. Most copies of the film are pretty good copies. There are hardly any grains or film dirt. The DVD release is in HD and worth checking out. It has tons of special features, worth watching. Overall: While, it's not quite as good as its predecessor, A Night at the Opera, this is still a highlight in the Marxian filmography. It's a must watch.

'A Day At The Races' is another laugh riot from the Marx Brothers. Ranging from slapstick to dialogue oriented humour, the story may be uneven and at times it may feel like a series of sketches connected together into one story, this film remains a fun watch. More than 70 years have passed but this is proof that a great comedy will survive and go on for decades. The inclusion of music, such as the song and dance sequences were also a delight to watch. The three brothers display their comedic gifts but for me it is Chico Marx who stands out. Maureen O'Sullivan gives a charming performance and Margaret Dumont is hilarious, especially in her scenes with Groucho. There are several memorable laugh-out-loud scenes but it is the final race sequence that tops them all. Many seem to have a problem with the way black people were portrayed in this film. However, I found that song sequence a sheer delight and perhaps one of the best parts of the movie. Regarding the painted face, I don't think that part was designed to be derogatory or a joke on black people but to show how the stupid authorities (who were searching for the three brothers) fail to see beyond skin colour.