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

In Leonard Maltin's commentary on the current DVD release, he states that there was a longer opening sequence. Starting with a title card that places the movie in Milan, Italy, there was then a musical number in which people on the street were "passing along" the melody line of a song, as in the Maurice Chevalier vehicle Love Me Tonight. The song was followed into the restaurant where Mrs. Claypool was waiting for Otis B. Driftwood. Maltin says the scene was cut during World War II to remove references to Italy, and unfortunately, the main negative was cut as well, so the scene is now lost. This was why the stated running time of the movie was three minutes longer than it is now.

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Goofs

Lasspari's hat is off his head on the ship. But in the next shot when people are asking him to sing, his hat is back on.

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Quotes

Otis B. Driftwood: Hello toots.
Mrs. Claypool: Well. What are you doing here? This is Mr. Gottlieb's box.
Otis B. Driftwood: He couldn't come, so he gave me his ticket. He couldn't get dressed, so he gave me his clothes.

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Connections

Referenced in El crimen del cine Oriente (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Cosi-Cosa"
(1935)
Music by Bronislau Kaper (as Kaper) and Walter Jurmann (as Jurman)
Lyrics by Ned Washington
Sung by Allan Jones (uncredited)
Danced by chorus

User Reviews

awfully good but too much singing

This film is the first and probably the best Marx Brothers film made by MGM. Unlike later MGM/Marx collaborations, this film has energy and creativity. However, it also has LOTS of singing--hence, the title of the movie. That means in addition to the usual Chico and Harpo songs, there is a lot of operatic-type stuff from the duo of Jones and Carlisle. For me, these songs were frankly the low-point of the picture, but for some dumb reason, Hollywood's conventional wisdom was that comedies MUST have musical numbers to be appreciated by wider audiences. This same formula was foisted upon WC Fields, Abbott and Costello and even Laurel and Hardy. However, this movie is th rare exception that is STILL good in spite of the pointless songs.