The Marx Brothers

The Marx Brothers
Bibliography

Books in which the Marx Brothers appear as characters

Black, Bob: Thesis on Groucho Marxism
available online, see Links-page
- (français) l'Esprit frappeur, France, 1998, ISBN: 2 84405 046 8
titled: Thèses sur le Groucho marxisme et autres textes, translated by: Thierry Marignac
- The Abolition of Work and Other Essays, date unknown

Brasselle, Keefe: The Cannibals
is more or less "based" on Groucho

Celati, Gianni: La Farsa Dei Tre Clandestini
This is an automated (but manually cleaned up) translation of an Italian webpage (http://www.baskerville.it/Blibri/cb/celati.html) about the book: "Who of us has never wished as a child, to re-live an adventure as some great hero of the screen? Well, Gianni Celati has captured this opportunity and she offers it as a scenario for a film of the Marx Brothers. The trace of the text is obtained from the works of the great comedians. The situations in which Groucho, Harpo and Chico get involved are the surrealistic and absurd, while corruption and speculation serve as a background to this farce. Who loves vaudeville and has been enjoying ' Duck Soup ', ' Animal Crackers ', ' A Night at the Opera', will be in a position to pick up the message. A lot authenticity and often as innovative as what the Marx Brothers have left us. Gianni Celati gives back a dream to us."
- (italiano) Baskerville, Bologna, Italia, 1987, ISBN: 88 8000 901 X

Conford, Ellen: The Genie with the Light Blue Hair
a children's book, in which the Genie is described like Groucho
- Bantam Starfire Books, New York, NY, 1989, ISBN: 0 553 05806 1 / has a picture of Groucho on the dustjacket
- Starfire / Bantam, New York, NY, 1990, ISBN: 0 553 28484 3 / (paperback) / Click on flag to order from amazon:

De Vries, Peter: Madder Music
Novel about a man who thinks he is Groucho. Although Joe Swerling has this delusion for a small part of the book, it is also fun to read when no Grouchoism is around. Jo Swerling was the name of the director of "Humorisk" (a coincidence?)
- Little, Brown & Company, Boston, MA / Toronto, 1977, ISBN: 0 316 18190 0

Doyle, James Patrick: Horsephasers
a Star Trek spoof in Marxian style. Available on video.
- 1993, 1996

Evanier, Mark; Spiegle, Dan: Crossfire & Rainbow : A Night in West Hollywood
"The Marx Brothers play a bunch of crooks who have been hired by some master criminal and/or nemesis of Crossfire and Rainbow, to put cyanide in aspirin-substitute capsules. Interestingly, in the middle of the comic is a huge text article by Mark Evanier, about Groucho, and I believe this article is the same article that appears in Fanfare magazine, Winter 1978, under the title "Groucho and Us". In the comic it is untitled other than a big headline saying TEXT PAGE." (Anne)
- Eclipse comics, Jul 1986

Gaines, William M.: The Brothers Mad
This collection from the MAD magazine has the MAD mascot on the cover dressed as the Marx Brothers.
- Ballantine Books, 1976

Goswell, Joan Iversen: Adventures of the Toucan Brothers
Eight volumes. Each volume is an eight-panel accordion booklet with images and text by Joan Goswell printed from handcarved rubber eraser-stamps. Each volume records encounters by the Toucan Brothers (those wacky guys!) with famous people known to all: Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, King Richard III, Karl Marx, The Marx Brothers, Gertrude Stein, Will Rogers, and Neil Armstrong.
- Laughing Duck Press, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993

Goulart, Ron: Groucho Marx, Master Detective
First in a series of three (so far). "It was a fast read but not a very good read. It was not a great mystery and the portrayal of Groucho was a poor mix of his stage and real life characters." (IJD) [I agree, ST]
- St. Martin's Press, New York, NY, 1998, ISBN: 0 312 18106 X / Click on flag to order from amazon:
- Crimetime, 2000, ISBN: 1 902002 27 X / (this is only called "Groucho Marx", but I guess it is the paperback of the first volume of the series)

Goulart, Ron: Groucho Marx, Private Eye
- St. Martin's Press, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, NY, 1999 - 1, ISBN: 0 312 19895 7 / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Goulart, Ron: Elementary, my dear Groucho
- St. Martin's Press, New York, NY, 1999 - 2, ISBN: 0 312 20892 8 / Click on flag to order from amazon:
- (français) Le Cherche midi, France, 2000, ISBN: 2 86274 776 9
titled: Groucho Marx contre Sherlock Holmes / Click on flag to order from amazon:
- (français) Cherche midi, France, 2000, ISBN: 2 262 74776 8
titled: Elémentaire, mon cher Groucho / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Goulart, Ron: Groucho Marx and the Broadway Murders
- Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, New York, NY, 2001, ISBN: 0 312 26598 0 / Click on flag to order from amazon:
- Thorndike Press, 2002, ISBN: 0 7862 3692 2 / Largeprint edition / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Goulart, Ron: Groucho Marx, Secret Agent
- Minotaur Books, New York, NY, 2002, ISBN: 0 312 28005 X / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Hampton, Christopher: Tales from Hollywood
Amazon description: "... [this] drama depicts the consequences of old literary Europe's attempt to integrate into fast-paced commercial Hollywood in the early years of World War II. With Austro-Hungarian playwright Ödon von Horvath resurrected as our guide, Tales from Hollywood leads us through a bizarre landscape where Schönberg and the Marx Brothers play tennis, Brecht tries to write film treatments the studios will clamor over, and Heinrich Mann endeavors to maintain a dignified despair, overshadowed by his younger brother Thomas, who thrives on his celebrity status. [...]"
- Faber & Faber, 2002, ISBN: 0 571 11883 6 / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Jean-Philippe, Claude; Lesueur, Patrick: Une Nuit chez les Marx
Comic Book which illustrates especially the earlier years of the Marxes. It shows situations like the cigarmaker from which Harpo got the "Gookie" and Groucho in Napoleon's uniform stuck in the traffic with his new car
- (français) Dargaud Editeur, Paris, France, 1986, ISBN: 2 205 02835 9

Kaminsky, Stuart M.: You bet your life
Crime story (Fiction). "It's Chicago. It's February, 1941. And Toby Peters, Private Eye, has a cold. Louis B. Mayer has hired him to help the Marx Brothers out of $120,000 worth of trouble. With the mob." (Cover text)
- Warner Books, ISBN: 0 445 40906 1 / Click on flag to order from amazon:
- St. Martin's Press, New York, NY, 1978, ISBN: 0 312 89662 X
- Charter Communications, New York, NY, 1980, ISBN: 0 441 94980 0
- J. Curley & Associates, South Yarmouth, MA, 1980, ISBN: 0 89340 238 9 / Large print edition
- (espagñol) Ediciones Júcar, Gijón, Spain, 1988, ISBN: 84 334 3673 2
titled: Los Hermanos Marx en apuros, translated by: Santiago Corugedo
- (français) Editions 10/18, France, 1999, ISBN: 2 264 02882 3
titled: Chico, banco, bobo / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Kaufman, George; Hart, Moss: The Man Who Came to Dinner (Play)
This play is a hommage to Alexender Woollcott. The character of Banjo is fashioned after Harpo
- in: "Six Plays by Kaufman and Hart", The Modern Library, New York, NY, 1942
- in: "Plays by Kaufman and Hart", Grove, New York, NY, 1980
- in: "Plays by Kaufman and Hart", Olympic Marketing Corp, 1984, ISBN: 0 933826 66 4 / Click on flag to order from amazon:
- in: "Three Plays by Kaufman and Hart", Grove Press, 1988, ISBN: 0 8021 5064 0 / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Krasna, Norman: Dear Ruth
This play is said to be based on Groucho's family
- Dramatists Play Service, New York, NY, 1944, 1971

Lane, Jerry: A Night at Motel 6
Comic book
- in "Middle Class Fantasies", No. 1, San Francisco, CA, 1973

Milligan, Spike: Robin Hood According to Spike Milligan
"All of Robin's Merry Men are in attendance in Spike's Robin Hood, although not quite as they were in the original. Maid Marion is a champion pole vaulter, Little John has been renamed Big Dick (for reasons we need not go into here) and Will Scarlet and Friar Tuck are joined by a brand-new addition to the renegade band--Groucho Marx." (Amazon promotional text)
- Virgin Publishing, London, UK, ISBN: 0 753 50303 4 / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Milligan, Spike: "Treasure Island": According to Spike Milligan
"All the familiar faces from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate adventure story join in the fun - but this time they are accompanied by Groucho Marx." (amazon.co.uk)
- Virgin, London, UK, 2000, ISBN: 1 85227 895 1
- Virgin, London, UK, 2001, ISBN: 0 753 50503 7 / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Phillips, Louis: The Last Of The Marx Brothers' Writers
contains also: Robert Gordon: And, Michael McClure: Goethe: Ein Fragment, John Robinson: Wolves and an essay by Martin Esslin
- West Coast Plays Vol. 2 (Robert Valine, ed.), Berkeley, CA, 1978, ISSN: 0147-4502

Sclavi, Tiziano: Dylan Dog
Comic book. Dylan Dog is a detective and his assistant is Groucho. I don't know enough Italian, but I think the character is not supposed to be Groucho, but somebody who dresses and behaves like him.
Click here for publisher's website / Dylan Dog site in English
- (italiano) Sergio Bonelli Editore, Italy, 1988-present / some special editions titled "Groucho" with him as the main character

Sheldon, Sidney: A Stranger in the Mirror
This novel about a stand-up comedian is dedicated to Groucho (who was the godfather of Sheldon's daughter). In the final chapters it seems to be (more or less) based on Groucho's relation to Erin Fleming
- in "Three complete Novels", ISBN: 0 517 07773 6 / (hardcover) / Click on flag to order from amazon:
- ISBN: 0 446 35657 3 / (paperback) / Click on flag to order from amazon:
- William Morrow and Company, New York, NY, ISBN: 0 688 03002 5 / (hardcover) / Click on flag to order from amazon:
- Pan Books, London, UK, 1977, ISBN: 0 330 25076 0

Sim, David: Cerebus the Aardvark
(Comic) Lord Julius (Groucho) shows up quite frequently. Lord Julius was introduced early on as the head of state of a country called Palnu, and who virtually controls the economy of most of the known world single-handedly. One can guess at the results. He also has a painted-on mustache instead of a real one. In at least one issue, Sim also introduced a Duke Leonardi from New Serpa, who spoke with an outrageous Italian accent.
- (Vol 2.:"High Society") Aardvark Vanaheim, 1986, ISBN: 0 919359 07 8 / Click on flag to order from amazon:

Thomsen, Winfried; Mali, Werner: Die Unschuld von Bonn: ein Schmieren-Comic mit drei Marx-Brothers und einem idealen Staatsbürger
Political comic and text with the Marx Brothers and German politicians as acting persons
- (deutsch) Rotbuch Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 1976, ISBN: 3 88022 160 X

Vosburgh, Dick: A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine
Premiere in 1979. The first half of the show - A Day in Hollywood - examines Hollywood in the Thirties. The second half - A Night in the Ukraine -, is loosely based on Checkov's "The Bear", as if it was made as a Marx Brothers movie.
- Samuel French Inc., #6658, New York, NY, 1984
- Samuel French Inc., London, UK, 2000, ISBN: 0 573 08111 5

Waldrop, Howard: Save a Place in the Lifeboat for Me
"Waldrop is a master of humorous, innovative, sometimes disturbing short fiction that plays on 'alternate history' tropes and a stunning amount of research. One of his earlier stories, '...Lifeboat' depicts Harpo and Chico, Laurel and Hardy, and Abbot and Costello going back (yes, back) in time in an attempt to save Buddy Holly. They are _apparently_ returned from an ambiguous afterlife and appear in the story as we know them on screen ('_Honk honk_ went Arthur...'). The god who appears to be running the operation is a mysterious figure named Quackenbush who make a 'burning bush' appearance in a TV show called 'You Bet Your Duck.' "
- in "Strange Things in Close Up"
- in: Nickelodeon, #2, 1976
- in: "Howard Who?", Doubleday, Garden City, NY, 1986, ISBN: 0 385 19708 X

Wheatcroft, John: Death of a Clown
Poems. The poem "Death of a Clown" is dedicated to Chico
- Yoseloff, A.S. Barnes, New York, NY, 1964, Library of Congress: 64-16187

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