Waste of time

Absolutely brilliant

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

My least favorite Marx Bros movie. And yes, I'm counting "The Story of Mankind." I didn't laugh once the whole time. This has none of the flavor of the better Marx Bros movies. No memorable dialogue or creative gags. It's a generic cookie cutter B-level comedy of the 1940's that just happens to star the Marx Bros. The only life in the film comes from Douglas Dumbrille and the lovely Virginia Grey. The Marxes, Groucho in particular, seem to just be parodying themselves. Collect that paycheck boys! The great Margaret Dumont, in her last Marx movie, goes through the motions but is clearly having no fun. Tony Martin's insipid songs make me long for Zeppo. Be prepared to fast-forward through all musical numbers as they are just dreadful. There are some very generous reviewers here on IMDb who seem to like this one. To each their own but in my opinion this one really is the pits.

This is my favorite movie ever.These are the highlights for me.From Groucho's singing "Mr. Grover you are just a quack to me" to the end of the "Sing while you sell" reprise. Virginia O'Brien had me laughing on the floor the first time I heard "Rock-a-bye Baby". I just love the way Groucho takes the big production number, a standard vehicle of the time, and makes it signature Groucho. You got to smile.I think this movie has some of the best Groucho/Margaret Dumont banter.Harpo's harp solo is miles ahead of any of his others. It's just plain fun,Although the Tenement Symphony clearly is lacking musically, you have to love the overriding pun. The Tenement Symphony in four flats.

By 1941, Groucho didn't want to make any more movies. The Brothers continued to do so just to keep oldest Brother Chico afloat, due to his gambling habits.Someone commented earlier about Virginia O'Brien, the deadpan singer in the "rockabye" sequence. The deadpan delivery was her "shtick", and predated a similar approach taken by Keely Smith some years later. Legend has it that the first time a spotlight fell on Ms. O'Brien for an on-stage solo, she froze, an delivered her song with a pre-Botox facial paralysis. The audience thought it was part of the act and roared approvingly with laughter. From then on, Ms. O'Brien sang no other way. (She also sings a few bars of the Jerome Kern song, "A Fine Romance" in the semi-bio, "'Til The Clouds Roll By".) The big store is best remembered (and viewed) for the rousing "Sing While You Sell" piece about 38 minutes into the movie.

There are enough song, dance and Harpo routines in "The Big Store" to classify it as a musical, and that's just including the numbers done by the Marx Brothers. Throw in some additional tunes by co-star Tony Martin, and you've probably got more minutes of music than not in this 1941 frolic. The story involves Martin's character Tommy Rogers and his inheritance of half of the Phelps Department Store, and his intention to sell that share so he can pursue his musical career and marry his love interest Joan Sutton (Virginia Grey). Store Manager Grover (Douglas Dumbrille) has other plans though, and they include doing away with anyone who'll get in the way of his taking over the entire enterprise. Pretty serious stuff, but with the Marx Brothers on hand, it'll take more than a couple of inept goons to win the day.Serious fans of the Marx Brothers will find this film to be one of their weaker entries, but this viewer managed to find it entertaining enough. The movie offers the only time when Harpo and Chico perform a piano duet in a movie together, and Harpo's three way mirror routine on his signature instrument is done with a series of effective double takes. However the action that I was more than willing to rewind for was Virginia O'Brien's rendition of "Rock It, Baby", a highly energetic song done in complete deadpan style. I can't recall ever having seen a routine like it before, and it's hilarious.Rounding out the cast is perennial foil Margaret Dumont as Martha Phelps, widow of the deceased department store owner. She tries to balance her affections between the conniving Grover, and Groucho's character Wolf J. Flywheel. It probably doesn't matter much that Groucho's character is a detective, when reducing the store to shambles with the help of Ravelli and cousin Wacky (Chico and Harpo) is just a matter of time. Gags, one liners, music and destruction - what else could you ask for in a Marx Brothers movie? - it's all here!