Honks, Whistles, and Harp: The Transnational Sound of Harpo Marx

Abstract

This article investigates the role music and sound played in Harpo Marx’s singular ability to traverse complex, controversial social and political boundaries—an ability that influenced Harpo’s selection as the first American to perform in the USSR after its formal recognition by the USA. The Marx Brothers burst into cinema during Hollywood’s transition from silent films to talkies—a transition essential to the effective translation of Harpo’s character from stage to screen. Although Harpo never spoke in his movies, he was anything but silent. His character was a creature of sound, dependent on an emotive level of communication accessible to all with little need for translation—emotions he expressed in honks, whistles and, most eloquently, in his music. This allowed Harpo to transcend class and wartime politics; a freedom not afforded his brothers, or any character explicitly tied to verbal language and, by extension, a specific cultural outlook.