I've loved the Marx Brothers movies for 43 years. I knew some about their stage life, but not much. Apparently, quite a LOT not much. "Extensively researched" is probably the most understated understatement I could start with. Add an order of magnitude of superlatives to "extensive". Clearly a labor of love. Unfortunately, the read was as exhausting, and the detail excruciating. Why is it that some memoirs can be so personal, and some biographies so ... academic? Bader brings the family to life, and then ... Well, this was tedious. That is not to say I didn't like it. I learned much, most of which I'll likely forget, because while I love the Marxes, they aren't my passion. If they are yours, then you might well enjoy this this tome.

I got this through NetGalley from a University Press Week promotion. ( )

This is a must-have book for Marx Bros fans. The previous reviewers have said it all and said it so eloquently that there is nothing left for me to add. Except that the person who chose the title should be scolded for not knowing that there were 4 musketeers in Dumas' books. So this title grates on me as a fan of Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan as well as Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, and Zeppo. ( )

Four of the Three Musketeers is two books in one: a lovingly researched history of the Marx Brothers (The FOUR Marx brother(and sometimes five)) before they made movies, and a detailed and fascinating description of the heyday of Vaudeville which was what America did for entertainment before there was TV (or even radio).

Bader has written on our boys before and he knows his onions. The three brothers never let the truth get in the way of a good story, and it's entertaining all over this to see Bader call them out on stories they told in their books that they got just wrong.

(and in this book - just to mess with your head - it's Julius, Adolph and Leonard. And Milton Pay attention!)

But the day to day of vaudeville is the fun of this book. No TV, No Radio. No Movies. Every small town had a vaudeville theater where shows came in on tour. Ten acts of Vaudeville! A singer, a comic, a juggler, who knows what else.

Ten guys called the "Speed Maniacs" who raced on stage (to music!) put together a car on stage and drove off in it. That was the act. Three shows a day.

The dreaded "split week" meant you maybe played three nights in Toledo, packed your trunk and played the next three nights in Scranton. It was a killing pace. You had to know your cues and you had to know the train schedule.

On the other hand you could have a good piece of material build an act, and ride it for a year or two or more.

(Did you know that the Marx Brothers started out as a singing act? Groucho was the lead tenor - he was thought to be pretty good.)

In the story of vaudeville the classic reference work is Much Ado About Me Fred Allen's book about his early career in vaudeville. Allen was a giant in vaudeville and early radio but never made the jump the Marxes did to TV and film - he's as unknown today as Groucho is famous. His book was out of print forever but somehow recently popped up on Kindle. Worth a look.

But the secret word is Groucho here. And Harpo, and Chico. And Zeppo and Gummo. And don't forget Minnie ( )

The family. The men. The era. Vaudeville! Moving pictures!
This is more than a biograph of four famous brothers, it is also a history of an era. There are old photos, handbills, and other documentation of the phenomenal amount of time and effort put into this labor of love. We all love Duck Soup and A Day At the Races, some of us watched Groucho on TV when we were kids, these guys were the rock stars of the time. But we knew little about them. This marvelous book changes that while showing us that so much has changed since then.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy that my kids can't abscond with! ( )