Humor Risk (lost silent Marx Brothers film; 1921): Difference between revisions

From The Lost Media Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Added needing work tag and other changes)
(Added content and references.)
Line 1: Line 1:
{| style="margin: auto;"
|[[File:Lmwtan cleanup.png|frameless|300px|link=LMW-tan]]
|This article has been tagged as <span style="color:blue">'''Needing work'''</span> due to its lack of content.
|}
----
{{InfoboxLost
{{InfoboxLost
|title=<center>Humor Risk</center>
|title=<center>Humor Risk</center>
Line 13: Line 6:
}}
}}


It is believed by many that the Marx Brothers didn't start making films until "talkies" were created. However, several years before that, they did make a film titled '''''Humor Risk''''' (aka ''Humorisk''). The film was only shown once and received very mixed reviews. Groucho Marx was reportedly so ashamed of the film that he destroyed the only copy, although many have disputed this claim.
'''''Humor Risk''''' (aka '''''Humorisk''''') is a silent short Marx Brothers film from 1921 that is now lost.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209031/ IMDb page] Retrieved 19 Oct '14.</ref> The film is known for being the first on-screen appearance for the legendary comedy group whose talkie films were well received following the breakthrough of their 1929 hit "The Cocoanuts." This film marked the transition of the brothers from successful vaudeville performers to early stars of American film.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humor_Risk Wikipedia article.] Retrieved 24 Nov '16.</ref>
 
Little is known about this film beyond some details of production and a brief plot synopsis. In short, the film sought to parody the highly-popular film of 1920 "Humoresque." There is some ambiguity among the online Marx Brothers community on whether or not the leading lady was Esther Ralston or Helen Kane. There is also ambiguity as to exactly what role each brother plays.<ref>[http://marxology.marx-brothers.org/humorisk.htm Marxology article.] Retrieved 24 Nov '16.</ref>


The film has never been screened outside of its original showing. Very little is known about the plot and Groucho never mentioned it much at all.
It has been long thought that Groucho Marx destroyed the only copy of the film, as he claimed to, which would render the film lost permanently. However, this claim has been contested, and extensive research shows that the film may still exist.<ref>[http://www.brentonfilm.com/articles/the-marx-brothers-lost-film-getting-to-the-bottom-of-a-mystery BrentonFilm article exposing some of the complexities of the search for the film.] Retrieved 24 Nov '16.</ref>


==External Links==
==References==
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209031/ IMDb page]
<references/>


[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Historic]]
[[Category:Historic]]
[[Category:Needing work]]

Revision as of 07:26, 24 November 2016

One of the few surviving production stills from the film.

Status: Lost


Humor Risk (aka Humorisk) is a silent short Marx Brothers film from 1921 that is now lost.[1] The film is known for being the first on-screen appearance for the legendary comedy group whose talkie films were well received following the breakthrough of their 1929 hit "The Cocoanuts." This film marked the transition of the brothers from successful vaudeville performers to early stars of American film.[2]

Little is known about this film beyond some details of production and a brief plot synopsis. In short, the film sought to parody the highly-popular film of 1920 "Humoresque." There is some ambiguity among the online Marx Brothers community on whether or not the leading lady was Esther Ralston or Helen Kane. There is also ambiguity as to exactly what role each brother plays.[3]

It has been long thought that Groucho Marx destroyed the only copy of the film, as he claimed to, which would render the film lost permanently. However, this claim has been contested, and extensive research shows that the film may still exist.[4]

References

  1. IMDb page Retrieved 19 Oct '14.
  2. Wikipedia article. Retrieved 24 Nov '16.
  3. Marxology article. Retrieved 24 Nov '16.
  4. BrentonFilm article exposing some of the complexities of the search for the film. Retrieved 24 Nov '16.