A Night at the Opera (1935)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Sam Wood
(more)

Writers:

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

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 | Stowaway | Marx Brothers | 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	...	Ship Captain
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Henderson (as Robert Emmet O'Connor)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enrique Acosta	...	Nightclub Guest (uncredited)
Harry Allen	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Sam Appel	...	Dungeon Guard (uncredited)
King Baggot	...	Dignitary (uncredited)
Marion Bell	...	Singer (uncredited)
Edna Bennett	...	Maid (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Ship's Officer (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Immigration Inspector (uncredited)
Loie Bridge	...	Ship Passenger (uncredited)
Lorraine Bridges	...	Louisa (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Ruth Cherrington	...	Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Alex Chivra	...	Shipboard Cook (uncredited)
Martin Cichy	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	First Porter (uncredited)
Gennaro Curci	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Olga Dane	...	Azucena in "Il Trovatore" (uncredited)
Bill Days	...	Singer in chorus (uncredited)
Mario Dominici	...	Ship Passenger (uncredited)
Mike Donovan	...	Cop (uncredited)
Jay Eaton	...	Aviator (uncredited)
Adolph Faylauer	...	Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Harry Fleischmann	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Ship Passenger (uncredited)
Otto Fries	...	Otto, Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Bud Geary	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Billy Gilbert	...	Passenger asking Fiorello not to play piano (uncredited)
William Gould	...	Police Captain (uncredited)
Julia Griffith	...	Opera Spectator (uncredited)
George Guhl	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Jonathan Hale	...	Stage Manager in Opera box who announces Gottlieb's disappearance (uncredited)
Ben Hall	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Eddie Hart	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Lew Hicks	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Luther Hoobyar	...	Ruiz (uncredited)
Art Howard	...	Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Rodolfo Hoyos	...	Count di Luna (uncredited)
George Irving	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Gwen Lee	...	Driftwood's Dining Companion (uncredited)
Jack 'Tiny' Lipson	...	Engineer's Assistant (uncredited)
Wilbur Mack	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Tom Mahoney	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Fred Malatesta	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Jerry Mandy	...	Second Porter (uncredited)
Francisco Marán	...	Opera Doorman (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	Ship Officer / Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Charles McAvoy	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Frank McClure	...	Manager's Assistant (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Dignitary (uncredited)
James C. Morton	...	Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Field Norton	...	Manager's Assistant (uncredited)
Alex Novinsky	...	Ship Passenger (uncredited)
Wedgwood Nowell	...	Ship Passenger (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
William J. O'Brien	...	Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Inez Palange	...	Maid (uncredited)
Claude Payton	...	Police Captain (uncredited)
Alexander Pollard	...	Committee Man (uncredited)
Russ Powell	...	Carriage Driver (uncredited)
Purnell Pratt	...	Mayor (uncredited)
Hal Price	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Rita	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Ronald R. Rondell	...	Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Milton Royce	...	Ship Passenger / Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Rubin	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Alexander Schoenberg	...	Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan	...	Aviator (uncredited)
Evelyn Selbie	...	Fortune Teller (uncredited)
Bruce Sidney	...	Ship Passenger / Opera Spectator (uncredited)
Phillips Smalley	...	Committeeman (uncredited)
Stephen Soldi	...	Ship's Steward (uncredited)
Leo Sulky	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Harry Tyler	...	Sign Painter (uncredited)
Ellinor Vanderveer	...	Shipboard Dinner Party Guest (uncredited)
Zuke Welch	...	Steward (uncredited)
Leo White	...	Aviator (uncredited)
James J. Wolf	...	Ferrando (uncredited)
Frank Yaconelli	...	Engineer (uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Wood
Edmund Goulding		(uncredited)

Writing credits
James Kevin McGuinness		(story)
George S. Kaufman		(screenplay) and
Morrie Ryskind		(screenplay)
Al Boasberg		(dialogue) uncredited
Buster Keaton		uncredited
Robert Pirosh		draft (uncredited)
George Seaton		draft (uncredited)

Produced by
Irving Thalberg	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Herbert Stothart

Cinematography by
Merritt B. Gerstad		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
William LeVanway

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Makeup Department
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lesley Selander	....	first assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ben Carré	....	associate art director (as Ben Carre)
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director
Harry Albiez	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
James Brock	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
William Steinkamp	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)
Michael Steinore	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Allen	....	electrician (uncredited)
Pop Arnold	....	key grip (uncredited)
Al Lane	....	second camera operator (uncredited)
Floyd Porter	....	gaffer (uncredited)
William Riley	....	second camera operator (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Frank Tanner	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Arnold Webster	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dolly Tree	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Wayne Allen	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
M.J. McLaughlin	....	music recordist (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Jack Virgil	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Harold Zweifel	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Chester Hale	....	dances by
Howard Dietz	....	publicist (uncredited)
George S. Kaufman	....	dialogue director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1936) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

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:

The opera performed as the movie's climax is Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the antics on stage during the opera, a battleship backdrop falls into the scene. But just seconds later, the battleship backdrop has vanished.

Quotes:

[the ship is sailing away from the dock]
Otis B. Driftwood: Hey, have I got time to go back and pay my hotel bill?
Ship Captain: Sorry, too late.
Otis B. Driftwood: That suits me fine.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Unknown Marx Brothers (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Great Marx Brothers Entertainment

"A Night at the Opera" is great Marx Brothers entertainment. It has comedy, music, and a good cast - everything except Zeppo, who by this time had left the act. It fully deserves its reputation as one of the two best Marx Brothers films, along with "Duck Soup".

"A Night at the Opera" is probably slightly less funny than "Duck Soup" (it is no criticism to say that of any film), but it has more of a story to connect the great comic bits. There is a good supporting cast in both films - here Sig Ruman is especially funny, in addition to the perennial Margaret Dumont. It also has several fairly long musical interludes - some are operatic, but the most entertaining is Chico and Harpo's impromptu shipboard entertainment.

Of course, the real attraction in any of these films is the comedy, and there are some memorable bits in this one. The contract negotiations between Chico and Groucho, and the scene in Groucho's stateroom, are especially hilarious, and you have to see the stateroom scene more than once to catch everything. And for sustained zany humor, the climactic sequence at the opera might be the funniest part of all.

This is certainly a must for Marx Brothers fans.