A Night at the Opera (1935)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

James Kevin McGuinness (story)
George S. Kaufman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 November 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Musical

Tagline:

Don't miss it! The funniest picture ever made!

Plot:

A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Marx Brothers | Stowaway | Singer | Opera Singer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Groucho Marx	...	Otis B. Driftwood
Chico Marx	...	Fiorello
Harpo Marx	...	Tomasso
Kitty Carlisle	...	Rosa Castaldi
Allan Jones	...	Ricardo Baroni
Walter Woolf King	...	Rodolfo Lassparri (as Walter King)
Sig Ruman	...	Herman Gottlieb (as Siegfried Rumann)
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Claypool
Edward Keane	...	Captain
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Henderson (as Robert Emmet O'Connor)

Runtime:

96 min | USA:91 min (1948 re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #1613) | South Korea:12 (2004) | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

A persistent rumor involves the presence of the Marx Brothers' father, 'Sam Marx (II)' (aka "Frenchie"), in the film as the ship leaves dock. He is not in this film - he died in 1933. The rumor came about because he had a cameo in a similar scene in Monkey Business (1931).

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the overture to "Il Trovatore" when the orchestra members turn their pages and immediately launch into "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" you can see that their score consists of two pages of sheet music side by side. If they were really following it they should have continued playing the correct music from the opera on the left-hand page before they came upon the baseball anthem, which sits atop the right-hand page where Harpo placed it earlier.

Quotes:

Lassparri: Never in my life have I received such treatment. They threw an apple at me.
Otis B. Driftwood: Well, watermelons are out of season.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Love and Death (1975)

Soundtrack:

Anvil Chorus

Along with "Duck Soup" this is the Marx Brothers best movie

Classic comedy involving Otis P. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) trying to get Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont) into high society--and romancing her to get her money. He figures opera is the best way and gets involved with Chico, Harpo and rising opera singers Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle) and Ricardo Baroni (Allan Jones).

The plot doesn't really matter too much--it's just a jumping off point for the Marx Brothers to stage one hysterical scene after another. The jokes fly fast and furious and there are quite a few standout scenes: Chico and Groucho negotiating a contract; the infamous stateroom scene; Harpo, Chico and Jones impersonating three airmen; the brothers fooling a policeman by switching furniture from room to room and the total destruction of the opera "Il Travatore" at the end.

This is also one of the few Marx Brothers movies that's not destroyed by an unnecessary romance or lousy sings. Carlisle and Jones make an engaging couple and the two big songs--"Cosi Cosa" and "Alone"--are actually pretty good. "Alone" actually became a big hit back when this movie was released. The only bad points here are Chico and Harpos obligatory piano and harp solos--but those are small points in the whole movie.

I'm really surprised this isn't in IMDb's top 100 movies--this is a true comedy classic. A 10 all the way.