The Marx Brothersare one of the foundational families of film and early Hollywood. Five of their fourteen feature films were selected amongst the top 100 comedy films of all time by the American Film Institute, withDuck SoupandA Night at the Operain the top fifteen.Monkey Business,their 1931 film, and their first original screenplay that wasn’t based on their earlier vaudeville shows, is onthe AFI’s listas well. It tells the story of transatlantic stowaways who hide in wooden barrels and their various hijinks both on board and when they arrive in the United States. It’s one of theirfunniest and most successful comedies, loved the world over.
Except for in Ireland. That isn’t because the humor didn’t go down well with Irish viewers, though. Irish audiences weren’t allowed to see the film because the Irish Film Censor’s Office banned the film, fearing it would"provoke the Irish to anarchy.“Films being banned in Ireland is not a rarity in cinema history;the 1967 adaptationofJames Joyce’sUlyssesbyJoseph Strickwas banned in Ireland until 2000, the same year the ban onMonkey Businesswas lifted. The new millennium clearly dawned a new beginning for Irish censors, who thankfully revisited and reviewed many past errors such as the one made when banning the Marx Brothers' film.
What Is ‘Monkey Business’ About?
The Marx Brothers play unnamed stowaways on a transatlantic ocean liner, hiding in wooden barrels in the cargo hold. They are found when they are heard singing a song and proceed to run amok while the crew of the ship tries to catch them.They pose as captains, barbers, entertainers, and a whole host of other roles to evade the crew.Once they arrive in the United States, they try to find passports so they can disembark and enter the country. Horseplay and other various larks occur, naturally, until the film ends.Monkey Business,produced byHerman J. MankiewiczofCitizen Kanefame, is short but sweet and oh so funny. The gags are a mile a minute, with both visual comedy and narrative jokes featuring prominently throughout. It is some of the best work by the brothers, without a shadow of a doubt.
Ireland Didn’t Like All This ‘Monkey Business’
There is little inMonkey Businessthat could be considered outrageous by modern standards, let alone by thepre-Code days of early Hollywood. However, the censorial authorities in Ireland would have disagreed with that. When Ireland split from Britain in the 1920s (though independence was only formalized in 1949), it was an overwhelmingly Catholic country with an almost theocratic view on life. And so, such a medium as film and such comedy as that of the Marx Brothers was bound to shock and scandalize the powers-that-be.The film was banned onthe recommendation of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid,who was least amused by jokes involving flirtation and ladies.
The True Story Behind the Marx Brothers' Downfall
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Films being banned in Ireland was nothing new.Monty Python’sThe Life of Brianwas banned forits send-up of religious zealotry, though that ban might have been influenced byPope John Paul II’s visit to Ireland in 1979. It was finally given a rating and released in 1987. That’s the most famous example of Irish film censorship, and it isn’t anywhere near as prevalent nowadays, thoughPaul Verhoeven’sShowgirlsfrom 1995was only released in 2017 on the Emerald Isle. The Marx Brothers shouldn’t feel too beat up by their film initially getting the chop, then. Thankfully,modern Irish audiences can enjoy this film just as much as any other international audience can.
Monkey Businessis available to purchase on Amazon in the U.S.
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Monkey Business
Four stowaways get mixed up with gangsters while running riot on an ocean liner.
