Room Service (1938) 6.6
A penniless theatrical producer must outwit the hotel efficiency expert trying to evict him from his room, while securing a backer for his new play. Director:William A. Seiter |
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Room Service (1938) 6.6
A penniless theatrical producer must outwit the hotel efficiency expert trying to evict him from his room, while securing a backer for his new play. Director:William A. Seiter |
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| The Marx Brothers |
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| Groucho Marx | ... | ||
| Chico Marx | ... | ||
| Harpo Marx | ... |
Faker
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| Lucille Ball | ... |
Christine
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| Ann Miller | ... |
Hilda
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| Frank Albertson | ... |
Leo Davis
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Cliff Dunstan | ... |
Joseph Gribble
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Donald MacBride | ... |
Gregory Wagner
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Philip Loeb | ... |
Timothy Hogarth
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Philip Wood | ... |
Simon Jenkins
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Alexander Asro | ... |
Sasha
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Charles Halton | ... | |
The Marx Brothers try and put on a play before their landlord finds out that they have run out of money. To confuse the landlord they pretend that the play's author has contracted some terrible disease and can't be moved. Originally a stage play, the setting shows it's origins, but this is vintage Marx Brothers. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
30 years ago today, Groucho Marx died at 86, three days after Elvis Presley. For the occasion, I'd thought I'd view some of his movies of which Room Service is one of them. Unlike the others he made with his brothers, this one wasn't especially tailored to their talents since it was originally a Broadway play starring other people. So the action is mostly confined to the hotel and the pace slows down a little bit. Nevertheless, there's still some witty lines and visual humor concerning Harpo that makes this one of the more enjoyable latter day-Marx Brothers films. And there's a wonderful supporting cast with Frank Albertson as the playwright and, especially, Donald MacBride as the hotel manager who keeps exclaiming, "Jumping Butterballs!" Also of note is the fact that a couple of young players named Ann Miller and Lucille Ball appear here long before their established personas. So while not the classic of their five Paramount and first two MGM pictures, this RKO production was nothing the Marx Brothers should be ashamed of.