Production notes At the Circus

groucho marx , eve arden in scene @ circus

buster keaton worked on film gag man. career on downside , forced work scale. complex , belabored gags did not work marx brothers brand of humor, , source of friction between comedian , group. when groucho called keaton on inappropriateness of gags marx brothers, keaton responded, m doing mr. mayer asked me do. guys don t need help.

hundreds of girls applied film, eighteen chosen after rigid tests . had expert ballet dancers, have singing voices, , had able prove doing toe-dance on cantering bareback horse, while singing in key. 4 of girls former circus riders. several of other girls had ridden in rodeos, either professionally or amateurs, , rest had been riding of lives.

the name of groucho s character in film, j. cheever loophole, recalls of real-life financier j. cheever cowdin, had ties film industry. in 1936, cowdin led group of investors had loaned $750,000 carl laemmle , son carl laemmle, jr., finance film show boat. before release of film, investors demanded repayment, laemmles did not have funds pay back. because of this, cowdin able take control of laemmle s universal pictures studio , served company s president until 1946. show boat proved financial success and, had loan not been called repayment until after film s release, laemmles have been able repay loan , retain ownership of film production company.

groucho aged 48 during filming of @ circus, , hairline had begun receding. such, took wearing toupee throughout , same following film, go west.

one of groucho s oft-repeated stories film concerned gorilla skin actor wore. on dick cavett show in 1969, said actor hot inside skin under bright lights, , summer, , during lunch went cafeteria , poked several holes in icepick. manager of gorilla skin became angry , took skin away. mgm scoured southern california replacement , located orangutan skin in san diego. orangutan half size of gorilla, , had hire midget fit inside it. groucho said got hundreds of letters this, , viewers happened meet asked him how come gorilla got smaller in second half.