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Given the nickname "The Ice Cream Blonde" by the press for the golden curls crowning her vivacious smile and gorgeous figure, Thelma Todd was known more affectionately by her friends and co-workers as "Toddy." Like most female stars in Hollywood, Thelma wanted to succeed as a dramatic actress but comedy producer Hal Roach exploited her for what she really was--a natural comedienne. At the height of her popularity, she was getting fan-mail of almost 500 letters and a salary of $3,500 weekly. This was in the middle of the Great Depression. Sadly, the world lost her in 1935 at the age of 30... ...under mysterious circumstances. Rather than dwell on that, we would like to remember and celebrate this talented lady and her film career by enjoying some of the comedic performances she left behind. |
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MONKEY BUSINESS |
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In pursuit of blonde Thelma Todd, Groucho and siblings stow away on a luxury liner in MONKEY BUSINESS, the first Marx Brothers film to be written directly for the screen. While they manage to elude capture by the ship's captain and crew by staging impromptu puppet shows and hiding in herring barrels, getting off the boat is another matter. MONKEY BUSINESS contains some of the Marx Brothers’ wackiest routines, including the famous disembarkation sequence where they all try to pass themselves off as Maurice Chevalier.
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