Room Service

19381938
ApprovedApproved
1h 18min

Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in 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.

Play trailer1:41

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.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.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)
- Allen Boretz(from the play by)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Videos1

Official Trailer

Official Trailer

"Room Service" Groucho Marx 1938 RKO Radio Pictures

Groucho Marx, Lucille Ball, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in Room Service (1938)

Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in Room Service (1938)

Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in Room Service (1938)

Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in Room Service (1938)

Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in Room Service (1938)

Room Service (1938)

Room Service (1938)

Room Service (1938)

Room Service (1938)

Groucho Marx, Lucille Ball, Frank Albertson, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in Room Service (1938)

Groucho Marx and Sam Levene in Room Service (1938)

Director
- William A. Seiter
Writers
- Morrie Ryskind(screen play)
- John Murray(from the play by)
- Allen Boretz(from the play by)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

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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 its origins, but this is vintage Marx Brothers. —John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

1930s marx brothers backer hotel producer 36 more

Taglines
- Better . . . Battier . . . Funnier Than Ever !
Genre
- Comedy
Certificate
- Approved
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

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).

Goofs
Wires visible on the turkey when it flies around the room.

Quotes
Gordon Miller: Shhh. Money.

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

Alternate versions
Also available in a colorized version.

Connections
Featured in Anatomy of an Illness (1984)

Soundtracks
Merrily We Roll Along
(uncredited)
Traditional
A song loosely based on 'Good Night Ladies' (1847) by Edwin P. Christy
In the score during the opening credits

Top review

7/10

very static and stagy but still worth seeing

I consider this the last Marx Brothers film worth seeing, though it is inferior to all their previous films. While you'll get a few laughs in their efforts following ROOM SERVICE, they are definitely a step below their earlier efforts.

The film was an adaptation of a stage production and it's obvious because most all the action takes place in one hotel room. As a result, there's a definite feeling of claustrophobia in the picture and it also prevents the film from rising to a higher level of entertainment.

About the only real WONDERFUL moment in the film is the very end, where one of the characters appears to come back to life--it's well worth seeing.

helpful•5

4

MartinHafer
Feb 6, 2006

Release date
- September 30, 1938 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Languages
- English
- Russian
Also known as
- Servicio de hotel
Production company
- RKO Radio Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- $884,000 (estimated)

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 1h 18min
Color
- Black and White
Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1

Roxette Singer Marie Fredriksson Dead at 61

Roxette Singer Marie Fredriksson Dead at 61

Dec 10Rollingstone.com

Nov 18Trailers from Hell

Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in Room Service (1938)

Top Gap

By what name was Room Service (1938) officially released in Canada in English?

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