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A Day at the Races

Play trailer Poster for A Day at the Races Released Jun 11, 1937 1h 51m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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95% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
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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A Day at the Races

Critics Reviews

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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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Read all reviews
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A Day at the Races

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Movie Info

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
Producer
Sam Wood, Irving Thalberg, Lawrence Weingarten
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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