"Scotland Yard was baffled; the FBI was baffled. They sent for me and the case was solved immediately: I confessed."

Classic Hollywood is filled with movies that could’ve been. The teaming of Humphrey Bogart and Marlon Brando for Knock on Any Door is one of them. Or Gary Cooper and Alfred Hitchcock on Suspicion. These didn’t work out, but sometimes dream combinations do occur. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton appeared together in Limelight. The two screen legends didn’t quite live up to audience expectations in the scene they both appeared in. This has been the case for several dream combinations though. Like Marilyn Monroe appearing in a Marx Brothers movie.

On the surface this seems like a great combination. One thing the Marx Brothers like is beautiful females. There is no question that Marilyn Monroe fits that definition. So the match seems perfect doesn’t it? Well, the movie they appeared in together, Love Happy (1949), was made over 15 years after the Marx Brothers had their peak in movies and about five years before Marilyn Monroe would become a huge star.

Timing is everything in movies and this one didn’t quite work out. Had the movie been made during the peak of the Marx Brothers’ ability, it would have been great. It also would not have included Marilyn Monroe because at the time she would have been a seven-year-old orphan in Los Angeles who went by the name Norma Jeane Baker.

Love Happy is like a lot of later Marx Brothers movies, it was done because Chico needed money. Actually this movie is all about money, as the production ran out of financing and had to resort to product placement advertising in the movie in order to finish production. The climax of the movie occurs on New York rooftops with Harpo racing around various advertisements.

Speaking of Harpo, if you happen to be a fan of his, then this movie is wonderful. Unlike the other Marx Brothers movies, which tend to focus a majority of the time on Groucho, this movie is basically all Harpo. He came up with the short story in which the movie was based.

As with all the Marx Brothers movies, the plot is always unimportant. The Brothers were on the screen to make people laugh. Harpo has some of his best gags in this movie. Unfortunately, when you are known as one of the Marx Brothers, it hurts the movie when the other family members don’t have any great gags.

The other two Marx Brothers take on Zeppo roles in this movie. They provide the backdrop for Harpo to star. I believe this was alright to Chico, as he was just in it for the money he needed to pay his constant gambling debts. Groucho I’m sure was offended by such a small role, but then again he might not have cared since he was a huge success with his radio quiz show program.

This brings me to Marilyn Monroe. If you look at the DVD cover, you will see Marilyn Monroe and Groucho on the box. It is billed as the teaming of Monroe and the Marx Brothers. Well, if Groucho and Chico can’t get much face time in this movie then you know some unknown blonde will get next to none. And Monroe gets only one quick scene. It might be the best in the movie though -- for those who are not Harpo fans.

Groucho plays a detective who introduces the movie and then stays out of everything for a majority of the picture until the end. He happens to be stuck in a sticky situation, there is a man who has come into his office who says he will kill him in a certain amount of time. It seems like there is no hope for Groucho until a knock at the door comes. Happily, Groucho goes to the door, opens it and sneaks out as someone comes in. That someone is Marilyn Monroe. So, a few seconds later Groucho opens the door and comes back into the office to leer at Monroe.

That was it for Marilyn Monroe in the movie. And that was it for the Marx Brothers together on screen. They would never make a movie together again, although they all appeared separately in The Story of Mankind (1957).

Having wrapped up the Humphrey Bogart movies last week, I will be looking at the movies of Marilyn Monroe from Love Happy till the end of her career.