It was always said about MD, especially by Graucho himself, that she never understood any of the jokes.
Well, I was watching the opening scene with her and Graucho the other night, and it's hard to believe, because her reaction shots to his barrage of insults were perfectly timed. Could someone off camera have been cuing her reactions?
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Read the chapter on Dumont in Simon Louvish's biography of the Brothers. She knew EXACTLY what was going on. She DID understand the jokes. For publicity purposes, she created an image of the befuddled straight woman, much as W.C. Fields created an image of being a misanthropic, stingy, animal hater. With both performers, the image they created helped with their careers, and the joke was on us.
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She was great. She could really do her character to perfection, and she was a perfect target for Groucho. One thing I loved about here was the way she would overinflect and do little trills with her vocal cords when making her big, effusive Groucho introductions and speeches. She also nailed down the befuddled look in her face when Groucho was hurling insults.
shareI agree on her delivery; I found it priceless.
What do you think this is, a signature? It's a way of life!
For a long time I believed the stories that she didn't get the jokes.
But I began to wonder when I saw her in W.C. Fields's "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break." She plays a different kind of matriarch who knows exactly what is going on when Fields and Leon Errol show up.
I suspect she was just a really good comic actor! She gives a vibe of naivete and confusion and you believe she has no idea. And she's funnier than Hell!
Janet! Donkeys!
I can picture Margaret Dumont with W. C. Fields when she suddenly appears with a fierce-looking dog. I find it difficult to believe she didn't get the jokes in the Marx Bros films. She knew how to play her part amongst the antics of the clowns around her. And that was to regally stand there impervious to all as though she was really blind to what was going on.
shareOf course SHE understood the jokes, but they depend on her CHARACTERS not getting the point of the joke, that is what makes them funny.
Anyone who thought that Dumont the actress didn't understand the jokes was an idiot.
Or in Groucho's case, IF the quotes are correct, he's simply promoting and perpetuating Dumont's characters and acting in order to reinforce the jokes' appeal, he never meant it for real
Groucho said this during his honorary Oscar acceptance speech.
shareI think we need to take almost anything Groucho says with a few grains of salt - and I think he intended that we bring along a lot salt when we "visit" him.
I also believe that not only did the great Margaret Dumont understand the jokes but that she often enjoyed them - take a look at Chico's piano scene from "Animal Crackers" and watch her reactions to Groucho's shots at Chico - she's having a hard time keeping a straight face:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuoP0SXSHow
Also, I think she was lovely listener who knew how to react - I love her expressions and gestures during the monologue here in "Duck Soup" just before Trentino walks in and the great "War" number starts. Her build up from hope to desperation is perfectly timed to what Groucho's saying:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Wh66FXZJQ
Just lovely.
Groucho said it one time, referring to ONE joke in Animal Crackers ("MD: The storm has put the lights out, and you can't see your hand before your face. GM: You wouldn't get much enjoyment out of that.").
She did not get that one right away. That's it.
I did not get 100% of Marx Bros' jokes on the first try either.