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	...	Heinrich Stubel / Max 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

post world war two | man wears eyeglasses | hotel | casablanca | nazi | 

---

Taglines:

100 GIRLS! 10,000 SCENES! 10,000 LAFFS! (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche - Palace Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - September 20, 1946 - all caps)

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

While Groucho is known for wearing a false (greasepaint) mustache in his films, this is the only Marx Brothers movie in which he also wears a false beard.

---

Goofs

When the police prefect gives the order to "Round up all likely suspects," his lips clearly say, "Round up the usual suspects" (see trivia).

---

Quotes

Ronald Kornblow: It's a funny thing. I've met a lot of pin-up girls, but I've never been able to pin one down.

---

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.

---

Connections

Referenced in Sleeper (1973)

---

Soundtracks

Beer Barrel Polka
(1927) (uncredited)
aka "Roll Out the Barrel"
Music by Jaromir Vejvoda from the song "Skoda lásky"
Performed by Chico Marx on piano with the band

User Reviews

Good farce!

The Marx Brothers came out of retirement to make this film in order to help the financially-strapped Chico, who was forever broke due to his gambling addiction.

The movie begins slowly, and there are some rather unfunny scenes featuring Harpo, but when Chico and Groucho arrive on the scene the film really picks up. There are some truly great scenes in this film. My favorite is Harpo desperately trying to convey important information to Chico via whistles and inspired charade.

The plot is rather silly, but who cares? While not on a par with their classics "Duck Soup" and "A Night at the Opera", this movie is very much worth seeing.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

12 October 1946 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

A Night in 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