A Night at the Opera

Rating:
Summary: The Last Marxian Classic
Review: "A Night at the Opera" remains one of the Marx Brothers'
finest efforts and a comic masterpiece. However, the seeds of
the Marxes' creative demise were planted in this particular film: the
strong focus on music and romance; the gradual softening of the
brothers' comedic personas; and the MGM studio gloss at odds with
Marxian anarchy. Thanks to the guiding hand of producer Irving
Thalberg, everything clicks in "A Night at the Opera."
Groucho, in particular, is brilliant and razor-sharp. Regrettably, the
freewheeling spirit of Harpo has been toned down, yet he has some
truly inspired moments. Overall, "A Night at the Opera" is a
lot of fun and the last genuine Marx classic.


Rating:
Summary: This film is even funnier when you like opera!
Review: To me this is the very best Marx Brother's comedy, hands down. I love their antics as usual, but what they do to the opera "Il Trovatore" makes me laugh just as hard now as it did the very first time I saw this film. Being an opera fan makes this movie even funnier, although you don't need to like opera to love "A Night at the Opera". There are so many high points of this film that space would not permit. One of my other favorite moments occurs when the Marx Brothers are hiding in a small cabin aboard an oceanliner, I won't spoil it for you- it's precious! A masterpiece of comedy from my favorite trio. I hope this film gets the DVD treatment soon, before I wear out my VHS tape!

Rating:
Summary: "Was that a high C, or Vitamin D?"
Review: Otis B. Driftwood: You didn't happen to see my suit in there, did you?
Fiorello: Yeah, it was taking up to much room, so we sold it.
Otis B. Driftwood: Didja get anything for it?
Fiorello: A dollar forty.
Otis B. Driftwood: That's my suit alright.

Sam Wood's "A Night at the Opera" is a film filled with the typical Marx Brothers fun. No comedy group has proven so adept at squeezing out laughs from any situation. The chaotic energy produced by the Marx Brothers truly is something to behold as no circumstance can escape unscathed from their manic, yet wildly entertaining, comedic destructiveness.

Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) is a fast-talking manager who tells Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont) that he can get her into high society if she agrees to invest her money in the New York Opera Company. The head of the opera company Herman Gottlieb (Sig Ruman) wants to use her money to hire Italian sensation Rodolfo Lassparri (Walter Woolf King) but Tomasso (Harpo Marx) and Fiorello (Chico Marx) want to steal the spotlight for their friend Ricardo Baroni (Allan Jones), an up-and-coming tenor waiting for his big break. Also figuring into the mix is Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle), the beautiful soprano who is in love with Ricardo but who is also being pursued by Lassparri.

"A Night at the Opera" is actually a sweet love story at its core. The destined pairing of Ricardo and Rosa is the one element of the story that keeps the film moving forward. So engaging is the couple that you're cheering for them from the start. However, Groucho, Harpo, and Chico together make up a comedic force that just will not be ignored. They do their very best to steal your attention away from the young lovers and they succeed as usual. Whether it is Otis crowding everyone from the bellhop to the manicurist into his stateroom or the diabolical plan of the trio to make the opening night audience despise Lassparri, you cannot help but smile at The Marx Brothers' exploits. The supporting actors are also in fine form as Dumont, King, Jones, and Carlisle maintain enough screen presence to keep from being overshadowed - no small feat when you consider who their co-stars are. Take a look at "A Night at the Opera" and brace yourself for the most fun you will ever have at the opera.

Rating:
Summary: The boys at the top of their form
Review: When the Marx Brothers shifted from Paramount Pictures to MGM, they had been in decline at the box-office and they were worried. Their new producer, the boy-wonder and über-mogul, Irving Thalberg, told them that their next film, A Night at the Opera, would have half as many laughs and make twice as much money. He was right.

The fans of the Marx Brothers are split as to whether the carefully crafted Night at the Opera is better than, equal to or inferior to the manic and chaotic Paramount features. I find myself in agreement with the two most knowledgeable Marx Brothers fans of all, Groucho and Harpo. Both say in print that A Night at the Opera is the best film they ever made.

The Marx Brothers spent the first half of their careers in small-time vaudeville. In fact they never made it into the big-time vaudeville circuit with such mega-stars as W.C. Fields, Eddy Cantor and Fanny Brice. Being the Marx Brothers, they made the wildly unlikely jump from vaudeville obscurity to Broadway hit with a show called (for no good reason that Groucho could ever recall) I'll Say She Is. Their next hit show was The Coconuts, which Paramount filmed during the day in New Jersey while they performed at night on New York's Great White Way.

The Brothers never forgot or lost faith in their vaudeville roots. They did not create their comedy, they forged it before live audiences, seeking shades of nuance or timing by direct experience. In the expansive Hollywood of Thalberg's day, MGM not only understood the Brothers' ways, it put them on the road to test out their comic paces. Many years ago, when this film first showed up in televison revivals, my father told me that he had seen the Brothers do the stateroom scene at (I think) the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco. He remarked that the staged scene had been rather different from the filmed version. Alas, I did not think to ask him what the differences were. Ah, well, I was young and foolish then.

So much for the Marx Brothers, now to the opera part of A Night at the Opera. Believe it or not, much of the material in the movie is not all that exaggerated.
• Lassparri, the comic tenor-villain is portrayed as a self-centered womanizer. In our own time, a rather well-known tenor has certainly been accused of treating female choristers as though they were part of his harem.
• Famous soprano A, not so many years ago, famously ejected slightly less famous soprano B from her assigned dressing room at the Metropolitan Opera because B's room was a few steps closer to the stage than A's.
• The wonderful Margaret Dumont portrays Mrs. Claypool as a wealthy woman who turns her money into artistic clout and become the object of pursuit by both charlatan (Groucho) and impresario. The old Metropolitan Opera was originally built because the previous building did not have the requisite number of boxes to seat all the aspiring Mrs. Claypools in sufficient glory.
• The misadventures of Sig Rumin's choleric impresario are not so very different from those of Giulio Gatti-Cazzaza, the boss of the Metropolitan Opera during the glory days of Caruso, McCormack and Ferrar. The latter two, for example, were often teamed profitably by Gatti-Cazzaza as the lovers in Carmen, despite the inconvenient fact that they despised each other. And Gatti-Cazzaza had it easy in comparison with the fabulous and harried Colonel Mapleson, who spent years on the road with troupe after troupe of operatic misfits and oddballs.

Kitty Carlyle, who plays Rosa, was actually a star at the Metropolitan of middling magnitude. As movie actors go, she sings extraordinarily well, although I would not have cast her in the formidable part of Leonora in Il trovatore [note the correct spelling and capitalization, you non-opera fans.] Kitty Carlyle is one of those wonderful creatures whose existence makes the world a better place. When last I caught sight of her, she was as radiant as ever and had become in the real artistic life of New York what Mrs. Claypool had only aspired to.

Allan Jones (father of crooner Jack Jones) was a tenorish baritone or maybe a baritonal tenor whose real strength was in operetta. He gets through what are, in fact, the relatively easy portions of the killer role of Manrico in Il trovatore with some grace.

Some Amazon reviewers have indulged in hand-wringing about all the music introduced into the film at the expense of the Brothers. Except for the operatic material, Kitty Carlyle's only song is a rather pleasant, operetta-ish duet with Jones called "Alone". Jones has just one more, "Così Cosá", a big singing, dancing production number filled with comic bits for the Brothers.

Finally, the opera. Il trovatore is recognized by most opera buffs as simultaneously one of the most thrilling masterpieces ever composed and one of the silliest things ever put on stage--all this before the Marx Brothers ever took a hand. Without the Marxist interpretation, the Il trovatore production shown on the screen would probably have been rated as pretty good: weakish soprano, excellent production values for the gypsy chorus scene and a crackling good tenor--not Jones but the villain, Lassparri. I've never been able to find out who it was, but whoever dubbed in the singing voice of Lassparri was very good indeed. It is my personal quirk that I am always a little disappointed that he is booed off the stage before he gets out more than the first words of the aria, "Madre infelice".

Thalberg knew his business. The Marxes knew theirs. This is their joint masterpiece and one of the greatest comedies ever made.

HONK!--and two boiled eggs.

Rating:
Summary: At long last, the return of the Marx Brothers to DVD.
Review: "A Night at the Opera" was released on DVD back in the late 90s by Image. Image had licensed the film from WB, and once that licence expired the disc was pulled. Since then that OOP DVD has fetched in the hundreds on Ebay. Finally WB has released it as a special edition.

Extra features are as follows:
Commentary by Leonard Maltin
All-New Documentary "Remarks On Marx"
The Hy Gardner Show (1/1/61) excerpt featuring Groucho Marx
Theatrical Trailer
Three Vintage MGM Shorts:

Fitzpatrick Traveltalk's Los Angeles: Wonder City Of The World
Sunday Night At The Trocadero
Robert Benchley's Academy Award -Winning How To Sleep

WB is releasing 6 other Marx Brother's films all at the same time. Universal also is preparing to release their Marx Brothers films this year, including "Duck Soup."

Rating:
Summary: The Marx Brothers at their very, very, best. Classic Comedy
Review: On the one hand I want to say that I think "A Night at the Opera" is the greatest Marx Brothers comedy because their peculiar brand of lunacy works better when given a real world target such as Opera than in the fantasy land of Freedonia in "Duck Soup." On the other hand I want to say that I think "A Night at the Opera" has more funny stuff in it than "Duck Soup." I do not even want to begin to get into any consideration of what difference the retirement of Zeppo meant in all this. I just want to laugh my head off.

Groucho is Otis P. Driftwood, too busy trying to fleece Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont) to waste time running an Opera Company. Harpo is Tomasso, the much abused valet to the pompous tenor Rudolpho Lassparri (Walter Woolf King), while Chico is Fiorello, self-appointed agent for the unknown but talent young singer Ricardo Baroni (Allan Jones), who is in love with Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle). When Groucho loses his job to stuffed shirt Herman Gottlieb (Sig Ruman), it is up to the Marx Brothers to restore order and sanity to the universe.

In terms of classic comic routines "A Night at the Opera" gives you (1) the Stateroom scene with all those people (and don't forget the hardboiled eggs); (2) Groucho and Chico discussing the clauses in a contract (including the Sanity Clause); (3) Chico and Harpo working "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" into the overture of the opera (get your peanuts); (4) a dinner date between Groucho and Margaret Dumont (looking at him is the price you have to pay); and (5) Chico the Russian aviator explaining how they flew across the Atlantic Ocean in a boat (always remember to take enough gas or else you will have to turn back). There are more-you now Chico plays the piano, Harpo plays the harp, and Groucho deflates a pompous windbag at some point--but I want to talk about other things now.

I think the person who really helps sell this film is Kitty Carlisle. In every Marx brother movie there are the boys, there is Margaret Dumont as the foil, and then there are the young boy and girl who sing their way into your hearts. Carlisle and Jones (the only boy singer to appear in more than one Marx Brothers movie) are clearly the best pair to ever take on these thankless roles. The boys clearly like her and take her seriously, which she does in return, giving "A Night at the Opera" a sense of heart. This does not happen in Marx Brothers movies (compare it to the campy efforts of the young lovers in "Animal Crackers"). On top of all this, Carlisle and Jones can sing and their duet from the end of Il Travatore is much better than all the sappy songs that the lovers usually sing in these films.

"A Night at the Opera" is directed by Sam Wood (who would later spend some time directing scenes on that "Gone With the Wind" film you hear so much about). James Kevin McGuineess receives story credit but the key thing is that George S. Kaufman had a major hand in the script (until it ended up in the hands of the actors of course).

Notes: Look for the father of the Marx brothers on the pier when the ship sets sail and please remember that it Leonard's stage name is pronounced "Chick-o" not "Chico." Put an end to this Marxist reinterpretation nonsense.

Rating:
Summary: Review of Warner's DVD edition
Review: The 1935 comedy A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is a grab bag of a movie that includes physical gags, verbal gags, a romantic subplot, backstage intrigue, an operatic aria, an elaborate dance number, stunts, absurdity, and sentimentality. The main attraction is, of course, the patented zaniness of The Marx Brothers -- the acerbic Groucho, the mute Harpo, and the dim-witted Chico -- whose unique brand of comedy is often edgy, subversive, and even surreal and other-worldly. Count me as one of those who thinks that such style of comedy loses some edge in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, where the comic trio seem out of place in a methodical plot, realistic settings, and among ordinary people. These mundane elements are also, surprisingly, engrossing enough to often upstage the comedians. Groucho's usual anti-establishment stance also seems softened in order to give way to crowd-pleasing sentimentality. The Marx Brothers, like Jacques Tati, are creators of their own comic universes, and that's where they need to inhabit, such as in the whimsical delight DUCK SOUP, the Brothers' previous film, where their presence is more dominant. With that said, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA does have some of most memorable gags in the Brothers' history. A verbal confusion with Santa Claus, a tiny room cramped with 15 people, mixing opera with baseball, and Harpo's stunts with the ropes are some of the highlights.

The new Warner DVD of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is encoded for Region 1 and 4, and has a cleaner video transfer than I expected considering the age of the film. Obviously, a video restoration has been done, as were the cases for many of recent Warner DVDs of old movies. The original mono audio is fine, save for some age-related hisses in the background. There are some jarring momentary losses of frames in a few places, such as in the scene of Groucho riding a carriage early in the movie. However, I noticed these "jumps" in older video versions as well. Both English subtitles and closed captioning are present for the film's dialogs. The lyrics to the songs "Alone" and Cosi-Cosa" are also captioned, but not subtitled. During the Verdi opera sequence, the caption simply says "[Singing in Italian]." French and Spanish subtitles are also provided, but, of course, many of the wordplays are simply lost in translation ("C'est ce qu'on appelle une clause 'sanitaire'.") None of the supplements on the disc are subtitled or captioned, however.

Leonard Maltin provides an engaging and informative audio commentary for the film. He points out that the film was cut for its 1948 re-release (the version used for this DVD) in order to remove all references to Italy, which fought against America in WWII. The original opening was supposed to be a musical number showing people in Milan singing, thereby establishing the setting of the film. Although wishing to avoid analyzing the film, Maltin does try to elucidate some of the ingenious touches in the comical gags. In the famous stateroom scene, he points out the way Groucho talks at just the right moments and all the people seem oblivious to the situation are what make the scene funny. He praises the great pantomimic skills of Harpo, and thoughtfully suggests that although he might have been a great silent film star, his talent really belongs in a sound world. He gives his thoughts on Chico's patently fake Italian accent. He also laments that in the age of political correctness, Marx Brothers' films may seem passé. He says although there seems to be improvisations, the dialogs are often so intricately constructed that improvisations are often not possible. He also recounts a few anecdotes, such as the Brothers' showing up naked in producer Irving Thalberg's office at one time.

The disc includes a typical half-hour making-of featurette "Remarks on Marx, which is interesting, for me, mainly for the few minutes of appearance by Kitty Carlisle, who recalls how she was originally not allowed to sing with her voice. A 20-minute musical short from 1937, "Sunday Night at the Trocadero," is included, and it features performances by Connee Boswell, The Brian Sisters, George Hamilton and his "Music Box Music" Orchestra, and a cameo by Groucho. The audio quality is so poor on this piece that I can only hear every other word. An amusing ten-minute short "How to Sleep" from 1935, starring Robert Benchley, is also present, as well as the theatrical trailer for A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. There is also a 5-minute TV appearance by Groucho in which he also recalls the naked incident in Thalberg's office.

Rating:
Summary: An exceptional comedy with something for everyone...
Review: Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho Marx), an eccentric opportunist, has been hired by an older rich woman to introduce her into the society of England, which seems to be an easy task for him. Driftwood introduces the lady to an Opera manager from New York who invites her to New York as he needs her investments in the Opera. Throughout Driftwood's venture his wit gets him into and out of trouble as frequently as he opens his mouth, and through an "accident" he meets the two brothers Fiorello (Chico Marx) and Tomasso (Harpo Marx). Driftwood is introduced through the two brothers to the promising Ricardo Baroni and together the four begin a comical adventure of astronomical proportion that brings them fame and fortune. Night at the Opera is a hilarious comedy that contains both slap-stick comedy and witty dialogue that will entertain any audience. In addition, there are a several scenes with interesting cinematography and scene set up that are nothing short of spectacular, which lends support to the films exceptional cinematic experience.

Rating:
Summary: "And two hard boiled eggs..."
Review: I know a lot of Marx Brothers purists will disagree with me, but I think this was the best movie they ever made! From the opening scene where Groucho is insulting Margaret Dumont, to the contract negotiation with Chico, to the classic stateroom scene, all the way to "Il Trovato" (or however you spell it), it just keeps you going the whole way through; well, except for the opera singing, but that's not so bad.
I saw this film last the summer of 2002 in New York at the Film Forum with a good friend of mine, who is also a Marx Brothers fan. Keep in mind this movie is nearly seventy years old, and everyone who was watching that film, from eight to eighty left the theater sore because they were laughing so hard. No truer a testament to how much of a classic comedy this film is!

Rating:
Summary: The beginning of the decline
Review: Many think this film the best or one of the best the Brothers Marx ever did. It's probably a matter of taste (well, it's certainly a matter of taste), but I think the first MGM comedy by the Marx Brothers is scattershot. Groucho, Chico and Harpo are in top form, and when they're on -- and allowed to dominate a scene -- the film is terrific. The stateroom scene is still funny after 70 years, and the finale at the opera is Marxist anarchy at its finest.

But when they're off screen (at least a third of the movie), you're left with an embarrassing melodrama I'm sure the movegoing audiences of 1935 found as sappy as I did. Bad enough the young Italian lovers sound like they're from New England section of Italy; worse are the musical interludes, which bring the film to a halt and destroy any comedic momentum the Marxes have created. A scene where Chico, Harpo and Jones show off their musical prowess goes on far too long and completely stops the film. Their earlier comedies had musical interludes, but they were woven into the films better. The opening number in Duck Soup, for example, is a lengthy set-up to the first joke; ditto the "We're Going to War" number. When the young lovers in A Night at the Opera sing "Alone," there's nothing but the youngsters staring moonily at each other. Their voices are fine, but the studios of the time were never short of movies with beautiful youngsters singing to each other. It's unnecessary here, and it reminds you the Marx Brothers aren't on screen.

"A Night at the Opera" was the Marxes' most successful comedy at the box office, and probably the most popular film they ever did. But time has been kinder to their earlier Paramount productions. Those films are stagebound, but they have a madcap energy the MGM films never recovered.

If you're a real fan of the Marx Brothers, you've probably already seen this; the rest of you should start with Duck Soup or Horse Feathers. A Night at the Opera was, unfortunately, the beginning of the end for this legendary team.