A Night at the Opera (1935) | |
| Director(s) | Sam Wood, Edmund Goulding (uncredited) |
| Producer(s) | Irving Thalberg (executive uncredited) |
| Top Genres | Comedy, Musical |
| Top Topics | Fame, Mistaken Identity, Romance (Comic), Romance (Musical), Slapstick |
Featured Cast:
A Night at the Opera Overview:
A Night at the Opera (1935) was a Comedy - Musical Film directed by Sam Wood and Edmund Goulding and produced by Irving Thalberg.
SYNOPSIS
Probably the finest hour in the Marx Brothers' stellar career, this was their first film for MGM and their first without Zeppo. It was assembled after Irving Thalberg's dictate that the show go on the road before it went in front of the cameras. The result was a polished, blissful union of critical and commercial smash. It features the seminal Marx Brothers juxtapositions of high society and absurdly crooked con men, in this case Groucho trying to waylay the fortune of perennial nemesis Dumont by persuading her to invest in an opera company. The stowaways in the jammed stateroom scene is one of the greatest bits of comedy ever put on film.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.A Night at the Opera was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1993.
BlogHub Articles:
A Night at the Opera (1935) – Updated
By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 29, 2015 From 4 Star FilmsThat’s in every contract, that’s what you call a sanity clause.” – Groucho You can’t a fool a me there ain’t no sanity clause” – Chico The Marx Brothers had a set formula, where everyone else played the drama straight and they do what ever they want. S... Read full article
Review: A Night at the Opera (1935)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 29, 2015 From 4 Star Films“That’s in every contract, that’s what you call a sanity clause.” – Groucho “You can’t a fool a me there ain’t no sanity clause” – Chico The Marx Brothers had a set formula, where everyone else played the drama straight and they did whateve... Read full article
Review: A Night at the Opera (1935)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 29, 2015 From 4 Star Films“That’s in every contract, that’s what you call a sanity clause.” – Groucho “You can’t a fool a me there ain’t no sanity clause” – Chico The Marx Brothers had a set formula, where everyone else played the drama straight and they did whateve... Read full article
A Night at the Opera (1935, Sam Wood)
By Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 2, 2015 From The Stop ButtonAs good as the Marx Brothers are in A Night at the Opera–and George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind’s strong script is important too–director Wood really brings the whole thing together. The film has its obligatory musical subplot and romantic leads. Wood knows how to balance those e... Read full article
A Night at the Opera (1935)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Aug 14, 2013 From 4 Star FilmsStarring the Marx Brothers, this vehicle for their comedy has Groucho, Harpo, and Chico trying to help two lovers earn ?positions?at the opera. Along the way Groucho tries to marry a rich patron and Chico and Harpo run from the law as stowaways. This film which could be seen as having a dramatic sto... Read full article
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Quotes from
Otis B. Driftwood: Now which question do you want me to answer first Henderson?
Otis B. Driftwood: Signor Lassparri comes from a very famous family. His mother was a well-known bass singer. His father was the first man to stuff spaghetti with bicarbonate of soda, thus causing and curing indigestion at the same time.
Otis B. Driftwood: You didn't happen to see my suit in there, did you?
Fiorello: Yeah, it was taking up too much room, so we sold it.
Otis B. Driftwood: Did you get anything for it?
Fiorello: Uh... dollar forty.
Otis B. Driftwood: That's my suit all right.
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Facts about
Groucho does a very brief Jack Benny impression in the film. After "Otis P. Driftwood" makes the speech to the audience, Groucho gestures to the orchestra pit and says, "Play, Don!" This is a Benny line from the radio series; Jack Benny's orchestra leader, Don Bestor, was always cued this way (by the way, Bestor originated the J-e-l-l-O jingle for the Benny show).
The famous "stateroom scene" was originally conceived as a way of getting a cheap laugh by having Groucho Marx, crowded out of his room, changing his pants in the corridor. After this was not liked by test audiences, the current scene was improvised on the spot. A total of 15 people were in the scene:
- Driftwood (1)
- the stowaways Fiorello, Tomasso and Riccardo who were in the trunk (2-4)
- two chambermaids (5-6)
- an engineer who comes to turn off the heat (7)
- a manicurist (8)
- the engineer's burly assistant (9)
- a young woman looking for her Aunt Minnie and asking to use the phone (10)
- a cleaning woman (11)
- and four staff stewards bearing trays of food (12-15).
- They all tumble out when Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont) opens the door.
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