A Night in Casablanca (1946)

The Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure.

Director:

Archie Mayo (as Archie L. Mayo)

Writers:

Joseph Fields (original screenplay), Roland Kibbee (original screenplay)

Stars:

Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Groucho Marx	...	Kornblow
Harpo Marx	...	Rusty
Chico Marx	...	Corbaccio
Charles Drake	...	Pierre
Lois Collier	...	Annette
Sig Ruman	...	Pfferman
Lisette Verea	...	Bea
Lewis L. Russell	...	Governor (as Lewis Russell)
Dan Seymour	...	Prefect of Police
Frederick Giermann	...	Kurt
Harro Meller	...	Emile
David Hoffman	...	Spy
Paul Harvey	...	Mr. Smythe

Storyline

In post-war Casablanca, Ronald Kornblow is hired to run a hotel whose previous managers have all wound up being murdered. French soldier Pierre suspects the involvement of ex-Nazis, specifically Count Pfefferman, in reality the notorious Heinrich Stubel. But Pierre himself is accused of collaborating with the enemy, and attempts to clear his name with the help of his girlfriend Annette and cagey buddy Corbaccio. They enlist the aid of Pfefferman's beleaguered mute valet, Rusty, and discover a hoard of war booty the Nazis have cached in the hotel.

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Plot Keywords:

post world war two | hotel | casablanca | nazi | loot | 

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Taglines:

The Marx Brothers spend...

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

12 October 1946 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Una noche en Casablanca

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Loma Vista Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Near the beginning of the film, the prefect of police gets on his microphone and says, "Round up all likely suspects." If you look closely at his lips, he really said, "Round up the usual suspects" - a famous line from Casablanca (1942) - but the replacement line was dubbed in later to avoid legal problems with Warner Brothers.

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Goofs

When Rusty finds the treasure room, just before he moves toward the harp, the light shadow of a film crew member can be seen briefly.

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Quotes

Corbaccio: I be-a you bodyguard! I watch-a you like a mother watches a baby!
Ronald Kornblow: Is the mother pretty?
Corbaccio: Why?
Ronald Kornblow: Well, if she is, you watch the baby, I'll watch the mother!

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Alternate Versions

The first few seconds - the Approved code - are missing from some prints (including video prints). The code is on a title screen. The prints without the code fade in when the credits begin to run.

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Connections

Referenced in Gift med Klara Klok (1947)

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Soundtracks

Who's Sorry Now?
(1923)
Music by Ted Snyder
Lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby
Sung in French (and later in English) by Lisette Verea (uncredited)

User Reviews

Very Good late Marx Bros. film ***

At last, another highly enjoyable Marx Brothers movie from their later days! In fact, I'd almost consider CASABLANCA as enjoyable as A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, which is the best of the latter movies for my money. This is a very well-written comedy with Groucho in excellent form and given an endless array of funny lines to spout. Harpo is a laugh riot from start to finish and Chico --- well, he's still just Chico, but I loved his piano playing segment this time around, and he's got some nice scenes supporting Harpo. Sig Ruman adds a lot of spice in his role as the perfect recipient of the team's gags.

With my still being fairly new to the Marx Brothers at the time of this viewing, I'd say it appears the writing seemed to be everything when it came to their comedy. When it's bad (ROOM SERVICE) they don't have a leg to stand on. When it's superb (like in OPERA and CASABLANCA) they're comical geniuses.