When Leo McCarey directed the Marx Brothers in their definitive spoof on war and politics back in 1933, he could not have foreseen both its ironic appropriateness in the coming decade and its appeal for successive generations. The absurd and only technically fictional picture of foreign policy-making includes Groucho dictating state affairs, Chico serving as Secretary of War, Harpo jumping in a vat of lemonade, and Zeppo…well, doing whatever the straightman does. In this much more entertaining brand of Marxism, nothing is safe from the brothers’ ridiculous touch: history, politics, warfare, marriage—even the bathtub is invaded. Young people will appreciate the anarchic pace and the honest silliness of the sketches; older friends, however, may have to tone down some of their sophisticated narrative expectations. That is to say, don’t look too hard for a story. The humor depends on incontinuity—senseless dialogue, contradictory characters, distracting and illogical lines of action, unexpected song and dance numbers—and contained within its own ridiculous world the film is a delightfully unconventional experience.