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Animal Crackers (U*) + Panel discussion of Giraffes on Horseback Salad

Illustration from graphic novel

Giraffes on Horseback Salad is a new graphic novel adaptation of a lost Marx Brothers-Dalí screenplay. The team behind the project will be in discussion, following a screening of Animal Crackers.

Giraffes on Horseback Salad is a Marx Brothers screenplay written by Salvador Dalí in 1937 but never made. The script was thought lost until Josh Frank discovered it and adapted the story into a graphic novel, with comedian Tim Heidecker and illustrator Manuela Pertega. It’s the tale of Jimmy (played by Harpo), a businessman drawn to the mysterious Surrealist Woman, whose very presence changes humdrum reality into fantasy.

A screening of classic Marx Brothers comedy Animal Crackers is followed by a panel discussion with Josh, Manuela and Marx Brothers expert Daniel Metz, moderated by Julia Wagner.

Giraffes on Horseback Salad will be available to buy in the Barbican foyer.

An evening of pure Marx Brothers and Surrealist celebration.

US 1930 Dir Victor Heerman 99 min

* = locally classified by The City of London Corporation

About the speakers

Josh Frank is author of Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies, In Heaven Everything Is Fine, and, with Black Francis and Steven Appleby, the illustrated novel The Good Inn. In his spare time, he owns and operates the Blue Starlite Mini-Urban Drive-In Movie Theatre in Austin, Texas.

Manuela Pertega is a comics artist and illustrator based in Barcelona, Spain. She graduated from the University of Barcelona with a specialisation in drawing and restoration/conservation. She teaches art at Badalona VII, a public art institute, and at La Taca, an art school.

Daniel Metz is an American scriptwriter based in London – his work includes Hide and Seek and Slacker 2011. He was a curator for numerous American cinemas, and he holds a Master’s in film history from the University of Texas where he specialised in Classical Hollywood. His favourite Marx is Groucho.

Dr Julia Wagner is a film critic and lecturer. She holds a PhD in Film Studies and writes about film for the Jewish Quarterly journal. One of her earliest cinematic memories is attending a Marx Brothers double-bill, and she’s been laughing ever since.

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Barbican Cinema 2