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A Night at the Opera

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01:03

A Night at the Opera

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• Comedy
• Music

• 1935
• Sam Wood
• 87 mins
• U

Summary

Classic comedy starring the Marx brothers. Otis B Driftwood must get multimillionaire Mrs Claypool to invest her money in an opera, so she can break into high society. Meanwhile, unknown tenor Riccardo Baroni battles for recognition with the help of friend and agent Fiorello, as his soprano girlfriend is whisked off to fame and fortune in New York.

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 5 out of 5.

David Parkinson

While at Paramount, the Marx Brothers had specialised in freewheeling comedies that owed much to the zany antics of their vaudeville shows. This first outing for MGM was also honed on stage, but producer Irving G Thalberg used the three-week pre-production tour to chip away at the rough edges that made the siblings' humour so unique. Yet, despite his determination to make them conform to the studio's polished brand of family entertainment, their anarchic spirit triumphs. Consequently, the plotline involving Groucho's bid to introduce wealthy Margaret Dumont into society by getting her to invest in an opera is almost an irrelevance. Certainly the romantic interludes with songbirds Allan Jones and Kitty Carlisle are. But the madcap lunacy is unforgettable - whether it's the shenanigans inside Groucho's cabin on a transatlantic liner; or Groucho's inimitable line in patter (particularly while attempting to schmooze Dumont and negotiate a contract with Chico); or the slapstick ruination of Il Trovatore. This is a true comedy classic.

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7.8/10

How to watch

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Credits

Cast

rolenameOtis B DriftwoodGroucho MarxFiorelloChico MarxTomassoHarpo MarxMrs ClaypoolMargaret DumontRiccardo BaroniAllan JonesRosa CastaldiKitty CarlisleHerman GottliebSig Ruman

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Crew

rolenameDirectorSam Wood

Details

Theatrical distributor

BFI

Released on

2002-07-05

Languages

English | Italian

Available on

video and DVD

Formats

Black and white

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