Korine's willingness to explore the borderlands of feature filmmaking has resulted in a beautiful and challenging film whose haunting images remain long after it's over. These techniques harken back to filmmakers such as Werner Herzog and John Cassavetes, both of whom Korine cites as influences. GUMMO's gritty realism is enhanced by director Harmony Korine's use of real locations in and around Nashville, Tennessee, and his use of nonprofessional local actors in many of the film's roles. Xenia and its inhabitants have never quite recovered from the tornado that ripped the town apart 20 years ago the place remains inside out, raw, and shattered. Solomon's mother (Linda Manz, of DAYS OF HEAVEN, a film that GUMMO's dreamlike imagery evokes) tap-dances, local teen siren Dot (Chloë Sevigny) puts tape on her nipples, and Bunny Boy (Jacob Sewell) explores the desolate suburban landscape on his skateboard, wearing pink rabbit ears. 1 He was the second youngest of the five Marx Brothers. The town's other residents find their own amusements. Milton Marx (Octo April 21, 1977), better known by his stage name Gummo Marx, was an American vaudevillian performer, actor, comedian and theatrical agent. In the small impoverished town of Xenia, Ohio, Solomon (Jacob Reynolds) and Tummler (Nick Sutton) spend their teenage boyhood killing cats, sniffing glue, and generally trying to alleviate their boredom. Thalberg's gambit initially worked, but in the long run, it robbed the Marx Brothers of their unpredictable essence.More a poetic collage than a narrative story, GUMMO presents the viewer with a lavish feast of images-some disturbing, some gorgeous, all memorable. According to, Gummo was an industry innovator who held a patent for a laundry rack of his own design. Where their early films portrayed the brothers as a force of anti-authoritarian chaos, A Night at the Opera relegated Groucho, Harpo, and Chico to supporting players - mischievous but kindhearted troublemakers in the service of MGM's stable of stars. Scott Tobias of The Dissolve describes Irving Thalberg's reengineering of the troupe's act as the beginning of the end for the Marx Brothers. However, MGM's smoothing of the Marx Brothers' rough edges robbed the comic trio of the anarchic quality that was their hallmark. MGM was intent on fitting the brothers into a structured plot rather than merely turning them loose in front of the camera.įeaturing some of the Marx Brothers' best comedic bits, A Night at the Opera was a hit for MGM and a financial windfall for the comedy team. Nevertheless, the studio wasn't willing to give them the free reign they'd enjoyed at Paramount. "This was the only matter on which the Irish kids agreed with Miss Flatto, and they saw to it that her prediction came true."Īccording to Brigham Young University film historian James D'Arc, MGM was in need of a comedy hit when it nabbed the Marx Brothers. "The teacher, a lady named Miss Flatto liked to predict, in front of the class, that I would come to no good end, " Marx recalled. February Duck Soup In Duck Soup Groucho Marx played Rufus T. And I was the only Jewish boy in the room."Īlthough Harpo may have suffered minimal physical damage from his bullies, the emotional anguish inflicted by his teacher left more lasting scars. April 21, 1977, Palm Springs, California), and Zeppo (original name Herbert Marx b. "I was the perfect Patsy," Marx explained. One was the big Irish kid in my class and the other was a bigger Irish kid." Over the course of his abbreviated tour of the second grade, physical ejections from the classroom at the hands of his tormentors became commonplace. In his 1961 autobiography, Harpo Speaks!, Marx writes " my formal schooling ended halfway through my second crack at the second grade, at which time I left school the most direct way possible.
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