Get Your Tootsie-Frootsie

A day at the races required a morning out of bed.

I'd invited a Marx Brothers enthusiast to join me at Movieland for "A Day at the Races," a movie I'd never seen.

No, not on TV, not on tape or disc. Just never saw it.

But today I was out of bed at an unattractive hour (9:50 on a Sunday?) to walk to the Bowtie and be entertained.

And, I gotta say, for an 11:00 movie, there were more people than I expected.

A surprising number of couples, first of all.

And lots of guys laughing uproariously at every Groucho-ism uttered.

Like, "Emily, I have a confession to make.I really am a horse doctor. But marry me and I'll never look at another horse."

Guffawing abounded with this crowd.

And while a lot of the corny humor got little response from me, I was delighted to be surprised more than once during he film.

An entire ballet scene.

Extended music numbers, one with Chico playing piano and another with Harpo doing the same, at least until bits of the piano began flying off and he resorted to the strings in a harp performance.

Then there was the amazing and mildly politically incorrect scene with the large black contingent of first children dancing followed by a full-on swing number complete with musicians and Lindy Hop dancers.

Never saw that coming.

A full-on black cast dancing, jiving, swinging, making for the highlight of the movie.

And because it was 1937, it ended with the Marx Brothers in blackface.

But the singing and dancing parts were great.

And I loved the portrayal of a nightclub, the Water Carnival.

Guests at tables floating on the water. The band had water surrounding the stage.

It was exotic, it was elaborate. It was pure Hollywood.

And pure Marx Brothers.

You know, corny.

"If I hold you any closer, I'll be in back of you."

I'm laughing already. But I'm not going to stop looking at horses.