Marx Bros.

For some reason I thought this paperback would have a larger format, but for $9.99 that was probably unreasonable. (I overlooked Product Details which gives its dimensions as 7.7 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches, though the large photo of Groucho on the cover gives the impression of a coffee-table-sized book.) The brief opening essay ("The Marx Brothers: Insanely Funny) as well as every caption is in three languages - English, French and German - but the publisher, Taschen, handles this creatively. The bulk of the book is the Visual Filmography (pages 22-177), and the photo selections from The Kobal Collection are of the highest quality. There are a few color features including reproductions of movie posters and ads, though the vast majority is in black and white. It concludes with a very short chronology (one page dates of significance: births, deaths, movie release dates); a two page filmography (with the names of all the characters played by the brothers) along with the directors; and a bibliography, which is a half page. The book was printed in Italy and, as paperbacks go, it's a good quality primer on the Marx Brothers and would make a fine, inexpensive gift to any Marx Brothers fanatic, especially paired with their early movie collection The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection. While it's a beautiful little book, one can imagine an even more attractive hardcover large format edition.