A Night at the Opera (1935)

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

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

George S. Kaufman (screenplay), Morrie Ryskind (screenplay),

Stars:

Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx

1 win.

Cast

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

Storyline

The Marx Brothers take on high society. Two lovers who are both in opera are prevented from being together by the man's lack of acceptance as an operatic tenor. Pulling several typical Marx Brothers' stunts, they arrange for the normal tenor to be absent so that the young lover can get his chance.

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Plot Keywords:

opera | stage | marx brothers | stowaway | opera singer | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

15 November 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uma Noite na Ópera

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 91 min (1948 re-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film screened alongside 'On Ice (1935)' and 'Honolulu: The Paradise of the Pacific (1935)' in some theaters during its initial theatrical run.

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Goofs

When Harpo Marx, Allan Jones, and Chico Marx are about to give their speech, the mayor's tie is crooked. After Chico's speech, his tie is straight.

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Quotes

Mrs. Claypool: If you had any real feeling for me you'd stop associating with the kind of riffraff I've seen you going around with.
Otis B. Driftwood: You mean Gottlieb?
Mrs. Claypool: I mean those two uncouth men I saw you around the opera house with. I'm very grateful they're not on board the boat.
Otis B. Driftwood: [gets up from his chair, concerned] Why, have they slipped off?
Mrs. Claypool: [pulls him back into his chair] Sit down!

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Connections

Referenced in Remarks on Marx: A Night at the Opera (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Alone"
(1935)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Arthur Freed
Sung by Kitty Carlisle (uncredited) and Allan Jones (uncredited)
Also played on the harp and whistled by Harpo Marx (uncredited) (whistling dubbed by Enrico Ricardi (uncredited))

User Reviews

The best Marx Brothers film, the best comedy, the best everything

"A Night at the Opera" is one of those films you can see dozens of times and laugh just as hard as you did the first time. The brothers get mixed up with an opera company and a divo and diva in love - Allan Jones and Kitty Carlisle, and trying to get the two to perform together.

The one-liners come so fast - you keep thinking you'll remember them, but one is funnier than the next. I do remember what Groucho says when he sees the gypsy Azucena in the opera, however. "How would you like to feel how she looks?" The stateroom scene is, of course, a classic, and my favorite part is when Groucho tells the housekeeper, "I want two pillows on that bed" and Harpo sound asleep and being moved everywhere, including onto a tray of food.

But nothing beats the last half hour - the performance of "Il Trovatore" with Harpo using the stage ropes like Tarzan, and Chico playing baseball in the orchestra while Groucho sells peanuts. They have replaced part of the overture with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

Allan Jones plays the tenor Ricardo Baroni who is hoping for his break. Why they cast the blond Jones as a tenor named Baroni - well, there you go. He sings very well and is quite handsome. Kitty Carlisle is the diva waiting, petite and pretty and singing music out of her vocal type, with the exception of "Alone." "Stridono lassu" and Leonora in Trovatore were both much too heavy for her. She does sing well and what a woman - she's still alive and recently performed at a New York supper club recently at the age of 95.

The only problem with any Marx Brothers film is that when they aren't in front of the camera, suddenly their films become very slow. Because I was trained in opera and have some interest in it, this was less the case than with some of their other films. They were too magical, too energetic, and too darn funny to ever share a spotlight with anyone else. Thank goodness they did, though, as they left us with many treasures. This is one.