← ← Back
Movie poster: Humor Risk (1921)
🎬 Movie

Humor Risk

1921 · 24 min Comedy
9.0 / 10 · TMDB

Harpo played the hero, a detective named Watson who "made his entrance in a high hat, sliding down a coal chute into the basement". Groucho played an "old movie" villain, who "sported a long moustache and was clad in black", while Chico was probably his "chuckling [Italian] henchman". Zeppo portrayed a playboy who was the owner of a nightclub in which most of the action took place, including "a cabaret, [which allowed] the inclusion of a dance number". The final shot showed Groucho "in ball and chain, trudging slowly off into the gloaming". Harpo, in a rare moment of romantic glory, gets the girl in the end. This film is lost.

Watch online

Click to play

📋 Film Details

Year 1921
Country United States of America
Genre Comedy
Director Richard Smith
Runtime 24 min.
Rating TMDB: 9.0/10 (1 votes)

📺 Where to Watch

Checking availability...

🎬 MovieFinder's Take

This lost Marx Brothers short serves as an early laboratory for their signature chaos, with Harpo's physical comedy and Groucho's verbal barbs already taking shape in a cabaret setting.

What lingers after reading the synopsis is the ghost of a performance, a blueprint for anarchy that would soon redefine screen comedy. — MovieFinder Editorial

Director: Richard Smith

🕯️

Best Watched

A cabaret's twilight, a top hat in the coal dust, a chain dragging behind a departing villain.

🎭 Cast

🎬 Similar Movies

💬 Audience Reviews

Write a Review

Quick rating — tap to vote:

Or write a full review:

0/2000