Brooks on Books: Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx

As a big Marx Brothers fan, I kept asking myself two questions while reading this autobiography:

*How in the heck did it take me so long to get and read this book?

*Where in the heck are the Marx Brothers?

This classic memoir, originally published in1961, is a delight for any Marx Brothers fan, and I'd dare say a much broader audience as well. It's warm, funny, and full of self-deprecating charm. However, the Marx Brothers, especially as film performers, barely appear in this 480-page-plus work. Harpo discusses the early days and shares some amusing anecdotes about their life as stage performers, but once the boys go to Hollywood, not only do we not get a lot about the films and their productions, but we don't get a lot about the Marx Brothers, period.

In fact, eventually, the films kind of just fade from the narrative, and we get Harpo's story of himself, Harpo Marx, the man. So we get tales of his performances in Russia (and his stint as an espionage agent of sorts), but not of his routines in some of the most beloved comedy films of all time. I'm OK with that because what we DO get is so entertaining, but buyer beware.

If you can accept not getting 500 pages of "What's Chico like?" and can accept lots and lots about his good friend Alexander Woolcott, then you'll enjoy "Harpo Speaks." There is more croquet (Harpo loved the game) and golf than "Duck Soup," and Oscar Levant is a bigger player in this text than Groucho. Marx and Rowland Barber create a great sense of the man's life, building around some great stories along the way. The account of growing up in New York City in the early 20th century is often fascinating, providing a rich account of life in that particular setting. To me, this kind of material more than compensates for any disappointment over the lack of Marx Brothers coverage.

Towards the end of the book, things threaten to get depressing as Harpo seemingly has more heart issues than Bill Swerkski at a butcher's convention, but the overwhelming impression you get is of the love Harpo feels for his wife Susan and his kids. Harpo was never my favorite Marx--I always tilted more towards the more verbally inclined brothers--but "Harpo Speaks" gives me a renewed appreciation for the man and makes me want to rewatch his work. That the book can bring me back to the work without really being about it is testament to how compelling the autobiography is and how likable the subject.