Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released five classic Marx Brothers films on Blu-ray, including two based on their two final Broadway musicals.
Originally produced by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1933, five films have been recently restored by Universal. All of them star all four Marxes: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo. The three-disc Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection is available for purchase beginning October 18.
The collection includes the Brothers’ debut film, The Cocoanuts (1929), based on the 1925 Broadway musical of the same title with a score by Irving Berlin, book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The show ran 276 performances at the Lyric Theatre.
It also includes its follow-up, Animal Crackers (1930), based on the 1928 musical, which also had a book by Kaufman and Ryskind, with a score by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar. It ran 191 performances at the old 44th Street Theatre.
The rest of the collection contains the Marx Brothers’ other animal-titled Paramount comedies, Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932), and Duck Soup (1933).
The Marx Brothers' first Broadway musical, the recently revived I’ll Say She Is, was never filmed.
