‘Giraffes on Horseback Salad,’ Salvador Dalí’s Would-Be Marx Brothers Movie, Is Now a Graphic Novel

The Marx Brothers made 13 feature films throughout their one-of-a-kind career, but one they didn’t make continues to capture the interest of devoted fans. “Giraffes on Horseback Salad,” a would-be movie for the cinematic siblings written by none other than Salvador Dalí, was considered lost after being rejected by MGM. Josh Frank, artist Manuela Pertega, and Tim Heidecker have taken it upon themselves to adapt the story into a graphic novel.

The trio will unveil the project after a “Duck Soup” screening at the Quad later this month, and IndieWire has an exclusive excerpt to whet your appetite in the meantime.

Here’s the synopsis: “A businessman named Jimmy (played by Harpo) is drawn to the mysterious Surrealist Woman, whose very presence changes humdrum reality into Dalí-esque fantasy. With the help of Groucho and Chico, Jimmy seeks to join her fantastical world — but forces of normalcy threaten to end their romance.”

“Giraffes” bills itself as “the strangest movie never made,” which may well be true — though best known for his surrealist paintings, Dalí collaborated with Luis Buñuel on both “Un chien andalou” and “L’age d’Or” in addition to designing the dream sequence in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Spellbound.”

The four pages shared with IndieWire display the graphic novel’s unique aesthetic, in which single drawings take up an entire page and everything from human hair to heartstrings is used to separate the action into panels. The screening/discussion takes place at the Quad on Wednesday, March 27.