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A Night at the Opera

  • 19351935
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
33K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Groucho Marx, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in A Night at the Opera (1935)
Watch {VideoTitle}
Play trailer2:18
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Comedy
  • Music
  • Musical

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
    • Groucho Marx
    • Chico Marx
    • Harpo Marx
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
    • Groucho Marx
    • Chico Marx
    • Harpo Marx
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 168User reviews
    • 56Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:18
    Official Trailer

    Photos132

    Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx, Allan Jones, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, and Sig Ruman in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx, Marion Bell, Edna Bennett, Allan Jones, Jack 'Tiny' Lipson, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Inez Palange, Stephen Soldi, Harry 'Zoup' Welsh, and Frank Yaconelli in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx, Margaret Dumont, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx, Walter Woolf King, and Chico Marx in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx, Walter Woolf King, and Harpo Marx in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx, Edna Bennett, Allan Jones, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, and Inez Palange in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx, Allan Jones, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, and The Marx Brothers in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Allan Jones, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx in A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Groucho Marx, Bud Geary, and Hal Price in A Night at the Opera (1935)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Groucho Marx
    Groucho Marx
    • Otis B. Driftwoodas Otis B. Driftwood
    Chico Marx
    Chico Marx
    • Fiorelloas Fiorello
    Harpo Marx
    Harpo Marx
    • Tomassoas Tomasso
    Kitty Carlisle
    Kitty Carlisle
    • Rosa Castaldias Rosa Castaldi
    Allan Jones
    Allan Jones
    • Riccardo Baroneas Riccardo Barone
    Walter Woolf King
    Walter Woolf King
    • Rudolfo Lassparrias Rudolfo Lassparri
    • (as Walter King)
    Sig Ruman
    Sig Ruman
    • Herman Gottliebas Herman Gottlieb
    • (as Siegfried Rumann)
    Margaret Dumont
    Margaret Dumont
    • Mrs. Claypoolas Mrs. Claypool
    Edward Keane
    Edward Keane
    • Ship's Captainas Ship's Captain
    Robert Emmett O'Connor
    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
    Sam Appel
    • Dungeon Guardas Dungeon Guard
    • (uncredited)
    King Baggot
    King Baggot
    • Dignitaryas Dignitary
    • (uncredited)
    Marion Bell
    • Lady looking for 'Aunt Minnie'as Lady looking for 'Aunt Minnie'
    • (uncredited)
    Edna Bennett
    • Maidas Maid
    • (uncredited)
    Dolly Blackburn
    • Little Girl watching Harpo playingas Little Girl watching Harpo playing
    • (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

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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>
    • marx brothers
    • harp
    • ship cabin
    • bare chested male
    • national film registry
    • 190 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • 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
      • Comedy
      • Music
      • Musical
    • Certificate
      • Passed
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In 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."
    • Goofs
      When 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 versions
      All 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.
    • Connections
      Edited into Apaga y vámonos: Episode #1.5 (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      Il 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

    User reviews168

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    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.
    helpful•34
    5
    • blanche-2
    • Jan 1, 2007

    FAQ1

    • How much was $9.40 worth when this film was made?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 15, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Skandal in der Oper
    • Filming locations
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,537,520
    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,956,700
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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