A sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.A sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.A sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
33K
YOUR RATING
- Directors
- Sam Wood
- Edmund Goulding(uncredited)
- Writers
- George S. Kaufman(screen play)
- Morrie Ryskind(screen play)
- James Kevin McGuinness(from a story by)
- Stars
Top credits
- Directors
- Sam Wood
- Edmund Goulding(uncredited)
- Writers
- George S. Kaufman(screen play)
- Morrie Ryskind(screen play)
- James Kevin McGuinness(from a story by)
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 win
Videos1
Walter Woolf King
- Rudolfo Lassparrias Rudolfo Lassparri
- (as Walter King)
Sig Ruman
- Herman Gottliebas Herman Gottlieb
- (as Siegfried Rumann)
Robert Emmett O'Connor
- Police Sergeant Hendersonas Police Sergeant Henderson
- (as Robert Emmet O'Connor)
Enrique Acosta
- Nightclub Guestas Nightclub Guest
- (uncredited)
Harry Adams
- Opera Spectatoras Opera Spectator
- (uncredited)
Harry Allen
- Doormanas Doorman
- (uncredited)
Sam Appel
- Dungeon Guardas Dungeon Guard
- (uncredited)
King Baggot
- Dignitaryas Dignitary
- (uncredited)
Edna Bennett
- Maidas Maid
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Sam Wood
- Edmund Goulding(uncredited)
- Writers
- George S. Kaufman(screen play)
- Morrie Ryskind(screen play)
- James Kevin McGuinness(from a story by)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
The Marx Brothers take on high society. Two lovers who are both in opera are prevented from being together by the man's lack of acceptance as an operatic tenor. Pulling several typical Marx Brothers' stunts, they arrange for the normal tenor to be absent so that the young lover can get his chance. —John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
- Taglines
- "The Marx Bros. are three of our foremost comedians...my wife can tell you the name of the fourth." says Eddie Cantor. (Print Ad-Lewiston Daily Sun, ((Lewiston, Me.)) 28 December 1935)
- Genres
- Certificate
- Passed
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaIn exasperation after several attempts to have Groucho Marx read one of his lines in the manner director Sam Wood had requested, Wood exclaimed, "I guess you just can't make an actor out of clay." Groucho Marx instantly responded, "Nor a director out of Wood."
- GoofsWhen Tomasso plays the harp, the sound is briefly out of sync a couple of times. This is due to the fact that Harpo Marx always recorded his harp music in a studio and then synched during the shoot.
- Quotes
Otis B. Driftwood: It's all right, that's in every contract. That's what they call a sanity clause.
[Fiorello laughs loudly]
Fiorello: You can't fool me! There ain't no Sanity Claus!
- Alternate versionsAll references to the first portion of the film taking place in Italy were edited from the original negative sometime after the original release. There is speculation that this was done during WWII when Italy was as Axis power, but it also may have been done in the late 1930's to appease Mussolini, who didn't like the way Italians were being portrayed. Either way, the film's first scene begins rather abruptly and is missing a musical number and references to Milan, Italy.
- ConnectionsEdited into Apaga y vámonos: Episode #1.5 (2013)
- SoundtracksIl Trovatore: Di quella pira
(1853) (uncredited)
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Leone Emanuele Bardare and Salvatore Cammarano
Sung by Walter Woolf King
with The MGM Symphony Orchestra
Top review
The best Marx Brothers film, the best comedy, the best everything
"A Night at the Opera" is one of those films you can see dozens of times and laugh just as hard as you did the first time. The brothers get mixed up with an opera company and a divo and diva in love - Allan Jones and Kitty Carlisle, and trying to get the two to perform together.
The one-liners come so fast - you keep thinking you'll remember them, but one is funnier than the next. I do remember what Groucho says when he sees the gypsy Azucena in the opera, however. "How would you like to feel how she looks?" The stateroom scene is, of course, a classic, and my favorite part is when Groucho tells the housekeeper, "I want two pillows on that bed" and Harpo sound asleep and being moved everywhere, including onto a tray of food.
But nothing beats the last half hour - the performance of "Il Trovatore" with Harpo using the stage ropes like Tarzan, and Chico playing baseball in the orchestra while Groucho sells peanuts. They have replaced part of the overture with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
Allan Jones plays the tenor Ricardo Baroni who is hoping for his break. Why they cast the blond Jones as a tenor named Baroni - well, there you go. He sings very well and is quite handsome. Kitty Carlisle is the diva waiting, petite and pretty and singing music out of her vocal type, with the exception of "Alone." "Stridono lassu" and Leonora in Trovatore were both much too heavy for her. She does sing well and what a woman - she's still alive and recently performed at a New York supper club recently at the age of 95.
The only problem with any Marx Brothers film is that when they aren't in front of the camera, suddenly their films become very slow. Because I was trained in opera and have some interest in it, this was less the case than with some of their other films. They were too magical, too energetic, and too darn funny to ever share a spotlight with anyone else. Thank goodness they did, though, as they left us with many treasures. This is one.
The one-liners come so fast - you keep thinking you'll remember them, but one is funnier than the next. I do remember what Groucho says when he sees the gypsy Azucena in the opera, however. "How would you like to feel how she looks?" The stateroom scene is, of course, a classic, and my favorite part is when Groucho tells the housekeeper, "I want two pillows on that bed" and Harpo sound asleep and being moved everywhere, including onto a tray of food.
But nothing beats the last half hour - the performance of "Il Trovatore" with Harpo using the stage ropes like Tarzan, and Chico playing baseball in the orchestra while Groucho sells peanuts. They have replaced part of the overture with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
Allan Jones plays the tenor Ricardo Baroni who is hoping for his break. Why they cast the blond Jones as a tenor named Baroni - well, there you go. He sings very well and is quite handsome. Kitty Carlisle is the diva waiting, petite and pretty and singing music out of her vocal type, with the exception of "Alone." "Stridono lassu" and Leonora in Trovatore were both much too heavy for her. She does sing well and what a woman - she's still alive and recently performed at a New York supper club recently at the age of 95.
The only problem with any Marx Brothers film is that when they aren't in front of the camera, suddenly their films become very slow. Because I was trained in opera and have some interest in it, this was less the case than with some of their other films. They were too magical, too energetic, and too darn funny to ever share a spotlight with anyone else. Thank goodness they did, though, as they left us with many treasures. This is one.
helpful•345
- blanche-2
- Jan 1, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Skandal in der Oper
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,537,520
- Gross worldwide
- $3,956,700
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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