This guy is trying to hypnotize me!

August 15, 2011 11:49 AM

The Face That Intimidated Groucho Marx (SLYT)
posted by pmugowsky (33 comments total)

That's hilarious. Marx is professional enough to let his own facial expression make most of the jokes, but he still can't seem to get a handle on it.

Also, they sure made 21 a lot older in those days.
posted by DU at 11:58 AM on August 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

I saw this several years ago... still pretty funny.

(and I think they are making 21 a lot younger nowadays, people are kids longer.. which may or may not be good)
posted by edgeways at 12:01 PM on August 15, 2011

So funny. A lot of the contestant interviews on YBYL were staged, though, so it's hard to know if this guy was for real or not. Given that Groucho seems to need a minute or two to figure out how to respond, I'd lean toward real. Anytime you see/hear Groucho with an instant comeback, though, it was written for him.
posted by briank at 12:02 PM on August 15, 2011

Double?
posted by villanelles at dawn at 12:15 PM on August 15, 2011

.... wow.

hhhhmmmmm.

Every idea and image that I think of that would describe this guy is just falling miles short of the right description.

Reality just doesn't make people like that anymore.

Try to put that guy down on paper. Draw it, and it seems like just a funny cartoon. Write it, and it seems too exaggerated to believe. It just comes off as either too whimsical or disturbingly creepy. It's almost impossible to capture the uncanny-valley like experience of actually seeing it, and at the same time watching your own brain try and make sense of all the facial cues. The words he speaks are in English, but everything else, the expression, the body language, his inflection, are all from some other, unknown place.

A conversation with that guy would be almost like having static interference in your brain. Fascinating. Who needs drugs when you could just go into a room and have a five minute conversation with this guy, and a part of your reality just gets...wobbly trying to figure it out.
posted by chambers at 12:18 PM on August 15, 2011 [4 favorites]

He kind of reminds me of the living embodiment of this guy. Which is funny because I'm pretty sure some producer put him on the show with the intention of trolling Groucho for the inevitable lullz.
posted by bleep at 12:34 PM on August 15, 2011

Somebody had to model for that, bleep. BTW, you aren't a Colonel, are you?
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:47 PM on August 15, 2011

He totally reminds me of Michelle Bachman.
posted by Chuffy at 12:48 PM on August 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

Married at 15? Is that even legal?
posted by crunchland at 12:53 PM on August 15, 2011

Married at 15? Is that even legal?
Not so long ago, I think a few states still set the age of consent at 14. I think 16 is the youngest AoC in teh US today.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:01 PM on August 15, 2011

The man never blinks. It's creepy. Does he blink at all through that clip?
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 1:26 PM on August 15, 2011

Grouchowned.


(Say, it's a joke there!)
posted by TheRedArmy at 1:27 PM on August 15, 2011

Marriageable age is different than age of consent. As you can see, it's possible to get married quite young in the USA, even today, depending on the State.
posted by 2N2222 at 1:29 PM on August 15, 2011

Reality just doesn't make people like that anymore.

Oh, no, they still make 'em like that.
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:36 PM on August 15, 2011 [5 favorites]

Anybody know what year this was? I'd just like to know so I can narrow down my list of possible drugs this guy might've be on.
posted by I-baLL at 1:38 PM on August 15, 2011

Reality just doesn't make people like that anymore.

You mustn't work retail. It's not that these people are rare, it's just rare that they're ever put on television.
posted by dobbs at 2:13 PM on August 15, 2011 [3 favorites]

After the discovery of LSD 25, but before it was made illegal, I'm guessing.....
posted by Redhush at 2:15 PM on August 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

You mustn't work retail. It's not that these people are rare, it's just rare that they're ever put on television.

Now i'm not saying I've been everywhere and done everything, but I've met a ton of unusual people from all over, from the eccentric rich folk, wild-eyed carnies, drug-addled weirdos, and crazys on the street, to some very interesting old timers who live up in their own world in Appalachia who never had, nor needed "no damn 'lectricity, typer-writers or your air-e-o-planes", but this guy is different than any of them.

The facial movements, the reaction times, the body language, the way he measures his words as if there is some mechanical clock inside of him, they all add up to an irrational number in my head. I would love to see his family and neighbors when he was little, and see what combination of innate and learned behaviors added up to how this guy acts.

It's not that he's just an unusual person, there is something else, some combination of something I can't put my finger on, going on with that guy that you rarely see in the world.
posted by chambers at 2:42 PM on August 15, 2011

something I can't put my finger on

Quite. The closest I can label him is a slow-motion Little Richard. Which is not really good at all. (Still, it's got me listening to Lucille again, and that's always good.)
posted by robself at 3:13 PM on August 15, 2011

Not so long ago, I think a few states still set the age of consent at 14.

Going back to 1919, this book says:

In 17 states no marriageable ages have been fixed by law and presumably the common law ages are in force—14 for males and 12 for females.

posted by XMLicious at 3:20 PM on August 15, 2011

Oh, I love me some Groucho, and this has me nearly wetting myself with laughter.

What a great thing to find after a hard day at work. Thanks so much for posting!
posted by hippybear at 4:13 PM on August 15, 2011

She sure was pretty quick on her feet - I doubt many 21 year old women are so charming, quick and completely inoffensive. We've all turned to sarcasm - the lowest form of wit.
posted by YukonQuirm at 4:49 PM on August 15, 2011

add up to an irrational number

A (finite) sum can only be an irrational number if at least one of the addends is irrational.
posted by DU at 4:57 PM on August 15, 2011

A (finite) sum can only be an irrational number if at least one of the addends is irrational.

Exactly. Therein lies the mystery. Where is the irrational value in my equation? It's hiding, out in the open, like some subversive agent whose believes wholeheartedly its own cover story.

That man; he has secrets.

/ Aaagh! Therein lies madness. He's like some Grant Morrison/David Lynch/William Burroughs character that had just a walk-on role in some other story, and had some spare time on his hands and decided to be a game show contestant.
posted by chambers at 5:19 PM on August 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

He's like some Grant Morrison/David Lynch/William Burroughs character that had just a walk-on role in some other story, and had some spare time on his hands and decided to be a game show contestant.

Yes, and he actually isn't all that interesting a person overall, but you just KNOW that the people overseeing the audition for the show saw that face and his manner of interaction and immediately knew that Groucho would be able to work with that material.

And work with it he did!
posted by hippybear at 5:44 PM on August 15, 2011

He honestly reminds me of Cornel West. Totally serious, and I love Cornel West. Some very similar mannerisms there.
posted by scamper at 7:18 PM on August 15, 2011

Groucho started performing on stage when he was 15 years old. He performed five shows a day before small crowds in roach-infested vaudeville theaters, became the toast of Broadway at 35, and then a film, radio, and television star. I doubt he had ever seen anything like this wild-eyed fellow. This is hilarious.
posted by jleisek at 8:36 PM on August 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

It's not that he's just an unusual person, there is something else, some combination of something I can't put my finger on, going on with that guy that you rarely see in the world.

He just realized he's on television and he'll be going out on the air to The Whole Country. And he is absolutely thrilled.
posted by Spatch at 10:34 PM on August 15, 2011

Groucho was so unique; would have loved to have been his son in law or something where he constantly bashes me and comes at me every way imaginable. I would just sit and laugh my days away with glee.
posted by Senator at 11:08 PM on August 15, 2011

Great find, thanks for posting.
posted by Outlawyr at 12:02 PM on August 16, 2011

This guy reminds me of a character from some cartoon. My problem is, I'm not sure which came first, this guy, or the cartoon. LOL!

It's been decades since I saw this version of Groucho. I am amazed at how much of Groucho I now see in Alan Alda.
posted by Goofyy at 3:50 AM on August 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

He really does seem on something. I've seen those expressions on people on certain substances. A tendency to grin and grimace.
posted by I-baLL at 4:57 PM on August 17, 2011

Oh, and the way he talks reminds me of William Burroughs.
posted by I-baLL at 4:58 PM on August 17, 2011