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

Introduced the song "Who's Sorry Now?" to the movies, which became a bigger hit than the movie ever would.

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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

Beatrice Rheiner: I shall be in the Supper Club.
Ronald Kornblow: The Supper Club?
Beatrice Rheiner: Yes. Will you join me?
Ronald Kornblow: Why? Are you coming apart?

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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

Spoofs Casablanca (1942)

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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

Fitting final flourish to the Marx Brothers act

That the Marxes could make this as their final film together (Groucho was tacked onto "Love Happy" as an afterthought and had no scenes with Chico and Harpo) means they could go out with a flourish. Groucho's jokes were back in form, not-so-sly innuendo and all, and the dross of the MGM years was cut away: the romantic leads had minimal screen time and did NOT sing, and the special effects laden last reel chase scene was cut mercifully short. Although it's unfortunate that the script had the quick-witted Marxes resort to poor stage fighting to overcome the Nazis. I believe it was while hanging from the ladder in that chase scene (in what's too clearly the California desert) that Groucho decided there must be a better way to make a living, and went to what became "You Bet Your Life."

PS: It suddenly struck me that Sig Ruman's voice, without the accent, could have been a perfect double for Marvin the Martian. Anyone know if he could have inspired Mel Blanc?

I got some hearty laughs out of it, so that's what counts in the end.