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Up to the minute notes on the current state of free thinking and free living: Kentucky moonshine - original analysis and reporting from MoreThings, and all round pop culture museum of sight and sound - photo galleries, mp3 and video downloads.
Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
Live free or die!
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October 20, 2002
Can't you see what I'm trying to say? I love you.
Margaret Dumont was born October 20, 1889.
She gave priceless performances as the precisely perfect foil for Groucho Marx. The wife of a millionare, she basically was the haughty, aristocratic society woman that she played in seven Marx brothers movies, and numerous others, including WC Fields' Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. As such, she supposedly never did quite get the jokes, which only contributed to the effect.
Her top moment of immortality came as Mrs. Gloria Teasdale, the foolish rich widow so smitten by Groucho's Rufus T Firefly despite his constant insults that she insists on having him made dictator of Freedonia. Thus she set up the greatest political comedy in movie history [well, maybe second to Dr. Strangelove].
Her reactions carried more weight than her dialogue. You could spend a fair amount of time studying the stew of loving gazes, puzzlement and vain attempts at maintaining her haughty matronly bearing as Groucho poured out long streams of insults mixed with patently phony declarations of love.
Rufus T. Firefly: Not that I care, but where is your husband?
Mrs. Teasdale: Why, he's dead.
Rufus T. Firefly: I bet he's just using that as an excuse.
Mrs. Teasdale: I was with him to the very end.
Rufus T. Firefly: No wonder he passed away.
Mrs. Teasdale: I held him in my arms and kissed him. [Her dramatic reading of this line was particularly hysterical.]
Rufus T. Firefly: Oh, I see, then it was murder. Will you marry me? Did he leave you any money? Answer the second question first.
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PS A reader responds: In Simon Louvish's marvelous book Monkey Business, he writes that Margaret Dumont's performance as a straight lady was better than we suspected. She worked for years in burlesque and vaudeville before marrying the millionaire so the likelihood that she didn't get the jokes was small. She hid her vaudeville origins because when she returned to stage in 1920, she wanted to appear to be a more bookable 31 (she was actually born on October 20, 1882). So she pretended to be born higher class origin rather than just married into it. The fact that Groucho appeared to believe that she didn't get the jokes says that the ultimate joke was on Groucho.
Al again: I'm no expert on Dumont. All I can say is that she was some kind of piece of work. If she was capable of fooling even GROUCHO MARX, then she was really good.
posted by Al at 10/20/2002 09:52:00 PM
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