The House That Shadows Built - Marx Brothers Segment

Marx Brothers Segment

The film is most notable for a six-minute segment starring the Marx Brothers—with Ben Taggart playing Mr. Lee, Theatrical Producer—intended to promote their forthcoming film Monkey Business. The segment, containing material which was never included in any other Marx Brothers film, is a re-working of the first scene of their first successful Broadway revue I'll Say She Is (1924) — which Groucho considered to have been the funniest work in the Brothers' career. Except for a few name changes and additional gags, the scene is almost completely the same as the script used for the stage production. Some of the gags from I'll Say She Is were worked into the lobby scene in The Cocoanuts (1929), and a bit involving a series of Maurice Chevalier imitations was incorporated into the script of Monkey Business (1931).

The Marx Brothers' segment is currently available as a special feature on the direct-to-DVD documentary film Inside the Marx Brothers, albeit in poor condition. Recently, Marx Brothers fans have begun referring to their segment simply as I'll Say She Is, in light of its source material.