HOLLYWOOD - Movie fans anxiously awaiting the release of the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull are outraged over reports that the film will come to a dead stop 35 minutes into it while Harpo Marx performs one of his signature harp solos.
Director Steven Spielberg explained that he has known Mr. Marx for many years and asked him "on a lark" to do the three minute and twenty second solo. "I ask Harpo to play [the harp] in every film I direct, going all the way back to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and he finally said 'yes.'"
It is believed to be the first harp solo in a Spielberg film.
Director Steven Spielberg explained that he has known Mr. Marx for many years and asked him "on a lark" to do the three minute and twenty second solo. "I ask Harpo to play [the harp] in every film I direct, going all the way back to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and he finally said 'yes.'"
It is believed to be the first harp solo in a Spielberg film.
It is not the first time Spielberg has dealt with the legendary Marx Brothers. Harpo's brother Groucho was slated to play the role of Quint in Jaws, but bailed out at the last minute because the sea water on location shooting wreaked havoc with his trademark greasepaint mustache. Less well known is that Chico Marx was prepared to play the title role in "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," until Spielberg fired him because he insisted on saying his lines with his usual faux Italian accent.
Spielberg insists the harp solo will be an integral part of the plot. Spoiler alert! "Harpo plays the wacky, mute sidekick -- mischievous, but with a heart of gold," explains Spielberg. "About a half hour into the film, John Hurt and his goons are chasing Harrison Ford and Harpo into a cave, where Harpo, of course, stumbles upon the harp. The rest is cinematic gold."
