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A Night in Casablanca

A Night in Casablanca

List Price: $19.97
Your Price: $17.97
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Marx magic at its best.
Review: Confusion is a must as the zany trio do their best. Even a sort of who's on first. Chico at the piano and Harpo at the harp is always a treat. In fact, I am looking for more of their musial interludes in other pictures. A great Marx Classic.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pretty funny
Review: Except for the numbers with the clothes and the airplane which were comical at first but then endless, I think this movie almost ranks with their first 5 (or 4 not counting Duck Soup, which I don't). It was really funny. The brothers were a little long in the tooth by 1946 and it showed, which made their capers seem more childish and dumb than childlike and elfin, but I thought the flick was pretty funny. It was a serious plot (murders, nazis), and once again Harpo got knocked around instead of doing his usual former fey bit of chasing and scaring the pants off girls. The old Marx trademarks were gone (except once, Harpo put a girl's thigh into the palm of his dangling hand, but alas, it was only to catch her cigarette in his shoe, and she wasn't annoyed), but I laughed a lot, didn't recognize the names of the authors, liked Harpo's and Chico's musical numbers, liked all the sight gags, thought some of the lines (a lot of them, actually) were really witty and generally had a good time. I think these (except the 7 disc set which I haven't seen) are the only DVDs of these movies available, but I'll tell you anyway that there are (at least not in Opera or Casablanca) no papers in the DVD cases with notes or scene indices. They are nicely done sets, but I thought that was a little cheap, especially considering what these flicks cost. One last note. The first 5 Marx Bros movies were crowded, loaded, rife with incidents and pranks and jokes and stuff. This and Opera (I bought but have yet to watch Races) seem pretty thin, sparse and barren, particularly in comparison.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A pleasant surprise
Review: For many years, this was the only Marx Brothers film I had never seen. I'd assumed it would be as weak and disappointing as their other late efforts (The Big Store, Love Happy, etc.). When I finally caught it on European television a few years ago, I was surprised and delighted to discover a true, back-to-basics Marx Brothers comedy with many funny routines and chase scenes and a minimum of distracting subplot. If several sequences "quote" their earlier work, it contributes to the overall reunion atmosphere. My kids and I loved the film, and I recommend it to any fan of the brothers who may have missed it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Well put your hat on your neck and get out!!
Review: How great it is to see the Marx Brothers prove this late in their careers that they still had the great inspiration for zanieness that they started with. This flick is filled with classic Marx-style bits and plenty of laugh out louds. The only thing that REALLY bothered me was that Harpo did not wear his trade-marx top hat the entire movie. Who's decision was that?!?! Very disturbing. But really, don't hesitate buying this one even if you haven't seen it. Just beware of the light blue cover version released by Goodtimes. It is recorded in LP mode and the sound is very distracting. I also recommend Go West as their other late classic. Skip 'At the Circus' altogether.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The sun finally sets on the film career of the Marx Brothers
Review: I remember the first time I caught this movie on late night television after seeing countless previews showing the scene where the cop sees Harpo leaning against a building and makes the mistake of asking "What do you think you are doing, holding up that building?" Of course he is, and when he walks away the building collapses. Once I saw all of "A Night in Casablanca" I had the feeling that the best gag in the film had been ruined by all those previews. But having watched this film again I must admit that while The Marx Brothers look seriously old in this one, it is not that bad. But when you expect greatness on the basis of classics like "Duck Soup" and "Night at the Opera," it is hard to just accept an "average" Marx Brothers movie.

Certainly Groucho comes off fine in this one. After all, he is about to embark on a successful radio/television career as a master of the sarcastic quip on "You Bet Your Life." In this 1946 film he plays Ronald Kornblow, the new manager of a hotel where a "Casablanca" type plot involving Nazi spies is going on beneath his very nose (If you have never read the letter Groucho fired off when Warner Brothers got upset over the use of the name "Casablanca," then you have to track it down. The high point is when Groucho wants to counter sue because of the use of the word "Brothers"). Harpo as Rusty and Chico as Corbaccio both look very old and tired, and both their comedy and music routines do not have the sharp edge and polish we are used to. Being a dirty old man suited Groucho just as much as being a dirty young man, but while we continue to laugh at his brothers it is with a heavy heart because the end is in sight. We keep forgetting that the Marx Brothers were vaudeville stars for years before they ever made a movie so that their prime came earlier in their cinematic careers than it did overall. "A Night in Casablanca" is really the last true Marx Brothers movie and it should be the last one you watch, when the value is because it exists and it is one more opportunity to watch the boys romp around and cause havoc, and not because it is a classic of comedy.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Post WWII Marxism
Review: It seems that the artistic world responded to the austerity of the post-WWII-era with its own brand of seriousness. This movie is no different. There is a darkness, a dismalness to it that nearly overshadows the comedy (for me, anyhow....but I tend to overanalysis at times...). Like an above reviewer wrote, the first-half is good, but then it stalls. This is no Duck Soup, no Animal Crackers, but strangely satisfying all the same--a chance to see the Marx Brothers' comedy change (albeit slightly) with the rest of the world. Timely, yet somehow timeless.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Play it again, Harpo.
Review: Much has been written of this movie's origin. Briefly stated, the Marx Brothers decided to make at least one more movie after their MGM career ended with "The Big Store." It was a fortunate decision, and the result is a fast-paced spoof of the classic "Casablanca." Regardless of advancing age, Groucho, Chico, and Harpo are delightful to watch. The inspired lunacy of their early Paramount films is gone, but Groucho's stinging one-liners and snappy asides still resonate with biting humor. Harpo's impish antics nicely capture this unique comic's "other-worldly" traits. Harpo's "collapsing building" gag is laugh-out-loud funny! Chico plays the usual amiable airhead who is as smart (or dumb) as he wants to be. Chico's attempts to interrupt Groucho's moveable tryst with the delectable Beatrice are hilarious and recall Groucho and Chico's classic exchanges (e.g., the "Sanity Clause" routine). Margaret Dumont is missing, but Lisette Verea plays Beatrice, a femme fatale in the Thelma Todd mode. Sig Ruman does well as a blustering Nazi spy. The climactic chase scene is amusingly frantic, even though chase scenes were done to death in classic comedies. Some of the Marx sparkle started to fade during their final years at MGM. This movie is a sincere effort to recapture the magic of their best work. There is a refreshing absence of overblown musical numbers. Chico plays the piano and Harpo plays the harp. That is part of the Marx legend, and hardly intrusive. Don't expect another "Night at the Opera" or "Horse Feathers," and you will be pleased. ;-)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Play it again, Harpo.
Review: Much has been written of this movie's origin. Briefly stated, the Marx Brothers decided to make at least one more movie after their MGM career ended with "The Big Store." It was a fortunate decision, and the result is a fast-paced spoof of the classic "Casablanca." Regardless of advancing age, Groucho, Chico, and Harpo are delightful to watch. The inspired lunacy of their early Paramount films is gone, but Groucho's stinging one-liners and snappy asides still resonate with biting humor. Harpo's impish antics nicely capture this unique comic's "other-worldly" traits. Harpo's "collapsing building" gag is laugh-out-loud funny! Chico plays the usual amiable airhead who is as smart (or dumb) as he wants to be. Chico's attempts to interrupt Groucho's moveable tryst with the delectable Beatrice are hilarious and recall Groucho and Chico's classic exchanges (e.g., the "Sanity Clause" routine). Margaret Dumont is missing, but Lisette Verea plays Beatrice, a femme fatale in the Thelma Todd mode. Sig Ruman does well as a blustering Nazi spy. The climactic chase scene is amusingly frantic, even though chase scenes were done to death in classic comedies. Some of the Marx sparkle started to fade during their final years at MGM. This movie is a sincere effort to recapture the magic of their best work. There is a refreshing absence of overblown musical numbers. Chico plays the piano and Harpo plays the harp. That is part of the Marx legend, and hardly intrusive. Don't expect another "Night at the Opera" or "Horse Feathers," and you will be pleased. ;-)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Three-fourths a classic movie
Review: This film is probably the highlight of the Marx brothers' later films. Groucho plays a hotel manager living in iminent danger of being murdered by a revengeful Nazi leader. Harpo and Chico act as Groucho's body guards and hotel nuisances. Though the brothers are obviously older and worn-out in this film, they still seemed to surprise me with countlessly new jokes and gags. Harpo and Groucho are at their peaks while, sadly, Chico seems to have taken a backseat. The movie is also non-hampered by weary songs, though Chico and Harpo play some of their best numbers in this show. A Night in Casablanca is a worthy installment to the Marx brothers. I'm just disgruntled that the last fourth of the show dragged on like it did.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best
Review: This is one of the Marx's best films.There are a great many laughs.Marx brothers fans will love this movie. There are so many gags.You will love this classic.


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