It’s probably too dark inside of a cat, too but that’s not as funny

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.
  – Groucho Marx

I’m not sure if it’s because of how much I love to read or because of how much I love dogs.  Or if it’s because of how funny this is or because I love Groucho Marx.  Honestly, there is a cornucopia of funny going on here.

When I was in high school there were only really two reasons why I’d ditch school – spring training baseball games and classic movies down at the Temple of Music and Art.

The Temple, back then, was this fantastic old movie theater with a balcony and red velvet seats.  It even smelled old – but in a good way.  Now it’s been remodeled and it’s lovely, but, to me, something has been lost. 

The Temple held regularly scheduled movie festivals and the films were always the classics.  You may not know, but I was a film major in college and high school was the heyday of my love of film.   I loved nothing more than sitting in that old theater, eating Red Vines, and watching an old MGM or RKO black and white.  It was there that I saw the original Mutiny on the Bounty.  And one Clark Gable wasn’t enough, I also saw the brilliant It Happened One Night with Mr. Gable and the lovely Claudette Colbert.  I also fell madly in love with Casablanca at the Temple.  And if you saw one Humphry Bogart film you had to see them all: The Big Sleep, The Caine Mutiny, Key Largo, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and To Have and Have Not where he fell in love the the fabulous Lauren Bacall .  I saw all the fabulous Dashiell Hammett stories – The Maltese Falcon & The Thin Man among them.  (My Honey refused to allow me to name The Bandit Dashiell.  Deep sigh.  A name with flare – too bad.)

The reason for this whole trip down nostalgia road was because I also saw every single Marx Brothers movie at theTemple.  Every one.  I’ve never been a fan of The Three Stooges.  I don’t think I have the correct chromosomes to appreciate Larry, Moe, Curly and Shemp.  But I do appreciate the Marx Brothers.  The verbal gymnastics of Groucho, the blithe sarcasm of Chico and the charming clowning of Harpo guarantee a great time.

The next time you see one on AMC or Turner Classic Movies – do yourself a favor and take a seat on the sofa and enjoy it.  You’ll actually have to pay attention because Groucho is quick and if you blink you’ll miss something fantastic.

My favorite line comes from Chicho actually:

Groucho to Chico about Harpo:  You love your brother, don’t you?

Chico:  No, but I’m used to him.