STUFF YOU GOTTA WATCH

LOVE HAPPY

(1949)
With Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Groucho Marx, Ilona Massey, Vera Ellen, Marion Hutton, Eric Blore, Leon Belasco, Raymond Burr, Marilyn Monroe
Directed by David Miller
Black and White
Reviewed by JB

The Gookie LOVE HAPPY was originally conceived as a solo vehicle for the silent Marx Brother Harpo, but once Chico joined the cast, it was only a matter of time before Groucho was persuaded to make an appearance so the film could be sold as a Marx Brothers movie. But is it? Groucho spends most of his meager screentime with Eric Blore, and there is not a a single shot in the film that manages to catch all three brothers together. Frank Tashlin does create some clever visual gags which Harpo executes with professional aplomb, but there is no Margaret Dumont, no Sig Ruman, no pun-filled chatter between Groucho and Chico, no novelty song for Groucho to warble, and no attack on society's niceties. If that's a Marx Brothers movie, then I'm Brad Pitt. The best scene is Chico's "Gypsy Love Song" piano and violin routine with Leon Belasco, a funny sketch Chico frequently did on stage and radio. But the film's most memorable moment, outside of a a short appearance by a young Marilyn Monroe, is the outlandish sight of Chico's hat achieving a full erection in the presence of Ilona Massey. Love happy indeed! - JB

SOME MEN ARE TRYING TO FOLLOW ME

LOVE HAPPY is most famous now for featuring a young Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest film appearances. According to Groucho, it was he who chose Monroe from a handful of possible actresses to play in one small scene with him.