A Day at the Races

Released Jun 11, 1937

1h 51m

Comedy

List

95%

19 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Hugo Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) is a veterinarian who masquerades as a lead doctor at Standish Sanitarium to aid the wealthy patient Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont). In order to save the financially failing sanitarium and its beautiful owner, Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan), Hackenbush, employee Tony (Chico Marx) and jockey Stuffy (Harpo Marx) must find ingenious ways to help Gil Stewart (Allan Jones) and his inept racehorse, Hi-Hat, win the big race.

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C Riley H

Irving Thalberg, the genius behind the renaissance of the Marx Brothers, knew how to produce. Thalberg knew that two hours of non-stop gags and jokes from the trio was tedious and tiring. But mix in a love interest, two or three musical dance numbers and a "we vs. them" scenario and you have classic cinema at its' finest. Years later, Groucho acknowledged that their movie career was essentially over after Thalberg's passing. Still a toss-up between which of the Marx Brothers was their best but "Day at the Races" certainly figures in there somewhere. "Thank You!" "Thank Yah!"

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/25/24

Full Review

Robert J

Outlandish antics from Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx. A funny take on Sanatariums and Horse Racing. The Marx Brothers bring to the screen some of the best routines. As a companion to A Night at the Opera, this film is one of their crown Jewels. A must see!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/24

Full Review

Audience Member

LOL, the funniest 01 hour: and 51 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Amazing movie ! Seen this movie when I was about 12 and it has stayed with me forever. Must have watched it about 100 times. First class movie with gray acting, great comedy one liners and the best cross dressers in a movie 🍿

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

After this one, the quality fell off...dramatically. This one has everything but Zeppo. Groucho and Chico work together like a well oiled insane asylum. The ice cream bit still makes me laugh and I've seen it upwards of twenty times. The timing is incredible. The examination room bit with Harpo ("Either this man is dead or my watch has stopped") is equally tight. There isn't a slow moment in the film. What is unusual in this film is the big musical number with the African-American race track employees. Instead of people in black face or grotesque caricatures, real black singers and dancers are featured. Imagine seeing the Jitterbug fifteen years before white teens were performing it. It is not the only time the Marx Brothers have featured black musicians in one of their movies (At the Circus comes to mind)... Margaret Dumont as Mrs Upjohn is wonderful. A Marx Brothers fan, like myself, tends to fall in love with the woman after many years. Her beauty and naivety eventually charm even the most cynical Grouchophile...

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

steve d

One of their best and a lot of fun.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Sam Wood

Director

Groucho Marx

Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush

Chico Marx

Tony

Harpo Marx

Stuffy

Allan Jones

Gil Stewart

Maureen O'Sullivan

Judy Standish

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Show People

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Sublime.

Rated: 5/5

Jun 20, 2003

Full Review

Jamie Russell

BBC.com

Rated: 4/5

Jul 9, 2002

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

The Marx Brothers' second MGM movie (1937) has its moments, but the anarchy of the Paramount period was obviously gone forever.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

“I took four years at Vassar." “Vassar? But that’s a girls’ college.” “I found that out the third year. I would have been there yet, but I went out for the swimming team.” And so it goes in one of the Marx Brothers’ best films.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 10, 2024

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

A Day at the Races is one of the better films but it's still missing some of the magic.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 20, 2023

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The antics don't amount to much, nor are any of them particularly memorable.

Rated: 4/10

Jul 26, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Hugo Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) is a veterinarian who masquerades as a lead doctor at Standish Sanitarium to aid the wealthy patient Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont). In order to save the financially failing sanitarium and its beautiful owner, Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan), Hackenbush, employee Tony (Chico Marx) and jockey Stuffy (Harpo Marx) must find ingenious ways to help Gil Stewart (Allan Jones) and his inept racehorse, Hi-Hat, win the big race.

Director: Sam Wood
Screenwriter: Robert Pirosh, George Seaton, George Oppenheimer
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 11, 1937, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 9, 2010
Runtime: 1h 51m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1), 35mm

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