Room Service (1938)

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

Writers:

Morrie Ryskind (screen play), John Murray (from the play by)

Stars:

Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Groucho Marx	...	Gordon Miller
Chico Marx	...	Harry Binelli
Harpo Marx	...	Faker
Lucille Ball	...	Christine
Ann Miller	...	Hilda
Frank Albertson	...	Leo Davis
Cliff Dunstan	...	Joseph Gribble
Donald MacBride	...	Gregory Wagner
Philip Loeb	...	Timothy Hogarth
Philip Wood	...	Simon Jenkins
Alexander Asro	...	Sasha
Charles Halton	...	Dr. Glass

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | marx brothers | backer | hotel | producer | 

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Taglines:

Better . . . Battier . . . Funnier Than Ever !

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

30 September 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Marx Brothers - Zimmerdienst

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lucille Ball, who has a supporting role, would later buy the studio that made this film, RKO Pictures. She and Desi Arnaz purchased it during the height of their success on I Love Lucy (1951) and renamed it Desilu Studios, now best known as the sponsorship of Star Trek (1966).

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Goofs

When Gordon Miller calls to reception pretending to be Dr. Glass, he is holding the phone receiver with his right hand. Seconds later, when he is about to hang up, he is holding it with his left hand.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gordon Miller: [pulls newspaper down] Well, what do you want? Can't a man have a little privacy around here?
Sasha: The check, Mr. Miller.
Gordon Miller: Oh, the check... Is this check any good?
Sasha: Why, uh... yes, sir.
Gordon Miller: Well, we'll soon find out. There you are.
[signs the check]
Sasha: Thank you.
Gordon Miller: Don't give me any of that 'thank you' stuff.
Sasha: Mr. Miller, many times I have seen your company rehearsing on the 19th floor. Please, I would like to play the part of the Polish miner.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown on doors that flip around for each new screen of names.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a colorized version.

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Connections

Referenced in Rewind This! (2013)

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Soundtracks

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
(circa 1872) (uncredited)
Written by Wallis Willis
Arranged by Henry Thacker Burleigh
Sung by The Marx Brothers, Cliff Dunstan and Donald MacBride with Harpo Marx on harmonica
Reprised by actors in the show

User Reviews

Neglected Gem

Though not one of the Marx Brothers' better known films, "Room Service" is well worth seeing nonetheless. Originally a stage play, it has the distinction of being the only Marx Brothers' film that wasn't originally written by or for the Brothers. However, the film adaptation is seamlessly tailored for the Marxes' stock characters: Groucho, the glib con-man; Chico, the deceptively simple Italian caricature; and Harpo, their anarchic collaborator. The film is very well written, with lots of hilarious gags and pratfalls. Especially memorable is the scene in which the brothers put on multiple layers of clothes as they prepare to decamp their hotel room without paying the bill. Even funnier is the scene in which the brothers, not having eaten for days, frenetically polish off a meal they had arranged to be diverted to their room. Watch Harpo as he madly harpoons peas with his fork and devours them one by one, like a ravenous automaton! In an earlier scene, the boys chase a flying turkey around the hotel room, hoping to make a meal of it. Alas, it flies out the window, whereupon Groucho says, "Never mind, we didn't have any cranberry sauce anyway!"

Unfortunately, the film lacks the usual piano and harp numbers by Chico and Harpo. Regrettable too is the absence of Margaret Dumont, Groucho's legendary "straight woman." Even so, the film is great fun--pure escapism!