Monkey Business (1931)

Their first movie written for the screen rather than carried over from Broadway, and you can feel the freedom. All four brothers play stowaways on a luxury liner, chased by the crew for the entire voyage, and the picture moves from one hiding place to the next with almost no plot to slow it down. The set piece newcomers remember is the docking, where each brother tries to pass himself off as Maurice Chevalier using one stolen passport. A gangster subplot gives it a little shape, and Thelma Todd is sharp company. It is a rough sketch next to Duck Soup, but a fast, funny one, and a good fifth step.