author: Ron Goulart
1998
I’m a bit of a Marxophile. So when I found a mystery novel series that starred Groucho as the “Master Dective” I knew I’d have to take a look.
It’s one thing to write a book starring Sherlock Holmes, who, even as a fictional character, died decades ago. You can resurrect Holmes, but you can’t bring him into modern times. Besides, much of the allure of a Holmes mystery is that it takes place in the Victorian era. People behaved differently then, which becomes interesting.
It’s another thing to write a book with a protagonist who is not fictional. In fact, one can see hours and hours of his movies and television shows if one wishes. There are people alive who knew Groucho. Apparently the author got permission from something called Groucho Marx Productions in order to write this series of books. It’s strange to see someone fictionalize a real person. Distortion of a movie star happens in biographies, in newspapers and magazines all the time. But to take an entirely real character and try to move him through a plot in a book is a dangerous undertaking, to say the least.
The setting is 1937 Hollywood, and while that might seem like the distant past to some of you, the fact is that cars, telephones and other modern devices make it far less foreign that Victorian England.
Goulart writes with a light hand and a good sense of humor. His Groucho is entertaining most of the time and there are some truly hilarious conversations and wisecracks. Groucho’s Watson is a script writer named Frank Denby, who meets Groucho when he’s hired to write a radio script for him. Denby has just met and fallen in love with a woman and Groucho responds with “Ah splendid. I’ll do my best to screw that up for you.”
Remembering that Goulart has written many books about comic strips helps put this book into perspective. It’s just a little bit deeper than a comic strip. It’s amusing, moves quickly, and entertains. I found myself having to translate what was written into a black and white movie in my head, and that helped. I have no doubt that Goulart had a similar movie in his head when he wrote the book.
The plot is adequate, but nearly gets lost in all the patter. A good book for an afternoon or two of escape. I haven’t read the next book in the series, but I probably will.
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