A Night at the Opera

Director: Sam Wood, Edmund Goulding Sam Wood

Overview

"One of the Marx Brothers' most successful films, A Night at the Opera gets a fitting DVD release from Warner Bros. with this fine disc. The film itself is presented in a standard full-frame transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio. The Dolby Digital English soundtrack is rendered in the original Mono. English, French, and Spanish subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by film historian Leonard Maltin that covers not only the film's production but discusses the history and working habits of the brothers. Robert Benchley's short How to Sleep, a television appearance by Groucho Marx, and the film's theatrical trailer all help make this disc highly recommended."

Product Details

Release Date:	05/04/2004
UPC:	0012569596924
Original Release:	1935
Rating:	NR
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	2,260

Special Features

Closed Caption;Commentary by Leonard Maltin; All-new documentary "Remarks on Marx"; Groucho Marx on the Hy Gardner Show (1961 broadcast); Two vintage shorts: "Sunday Night at the Trocadero" and Robert Benchley's Academy Award-winning "How to Sleep"; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Groucho Marx	Otis B. Driftwood,Fiorello,Tomasso,Extra on Ship and at Dock
Allan Jones	Lassparri
Margaret Dumont	Mrs. Claypool
Walter Woolf King	Lassparri
Robert Emmett O'Connor	Henderson,Detective Henderson
Kitty Carlisle	Rosa
Sig Ruman	Gottlieb
Edward Keane	Captain
Gino Corrado	Steward
Purnell Pratt	Major
Frank Yaconelli	Engineer
Billy Gilbert	Engineer's Assistant/Peasant
Claude Payton	Police Captain
Rita and Rubins	Dancers
Luther Hoobyar	Ruiz
Rodolfo Hoyos	Count di Luna
Olga Dane	Azucena
James J. Wolf	Ferrando
Inez Palange	Maid
Jonathan Hale	Stage Manager
Otto Fries	Elevator Man,Elevator Man
William Gould	Captain of Police
Leo White	Aviator
Jay Eaton	Aviator
Rolfe Sedan	Aviator
Wilbur Mack	Committee
George Irving	Committee
George Guhl	Policeman
Harry Tyler	Sign Painter
Phillips Smalley	Committee
Selmer Jackson	Committee,Committee
Alan Bridge	Immigration Inspector,Immigration Inspector,Ship Passenger
Harry Allen	Doorman
Lorraine Bridges	Louisa
Jack Lipson	Engineer's Assistant
Enrique Acosta	Nightclub Guest
Sam Appel	Dungeon Guard
King Baggot	Dignitary
Edna Bennett	Maid
Stanley Blystone	Ship's Officer
Nina Campana	Bit in 'I Pagliacci'
Jack Chefe	Opera Spectator
Ruth Cherrington	Opera Spectator
Martin Cichy	Policeman
Gennaro Curci	Doorman
Sidney D'Albrook	Stagehand
Mario Dominici	Ship Passenger
Mike Donovan	Cop
Manuel Emanuel	Bit in 'I Pagliacci'
Adolph Faylauer	Opera Spectator
Antonio Filauri	Bit in 'I Pagliacci'
Harry Fleischmann	Policeman
Bess Flowers	Ship Passenger
Rodolfo Hoyos Jr.	Count di Luna
Marx Brothers	Actor,Actor
Herbert Stothart	Composer

Technical Credits

Morrie Ryskind

George S. Kaufman

Al Boasberg

Bert Kalmar

Buster Keaton

George Oppenheimer

Robert Pirosh

Harry Ruby

George Seaton

Morris Ryskind

Sam Wood	Director
Morrie Ryskind	Screenwriter
George S. Kaufman	Screenwriter
Irving Thalberg	Producer
Edmund Goulding	Director
Al Boasberg	Screenwriter
Bert Kalmar	Screenwriter
Buster Keaton	Screenwriter
George Oppenheimer	Screenwriter
Robert Pirosh	Screenwriter
Harry Ruby	Screenwriter
George Seaton	Screenwriter
Douglas Shearer	Sound Effects
James Brock	Sound Effects
William Steinkamp	Sound Effects
Michael Steinore	Sound Effects
Morris Ryskind	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

A Night at the Opera was the first Marx Brothers movie without Zeppo Marx (though his replacement here, Allan Jones, is not a notable improvement) and also the first under the supervision of MGM's legendary producer Irving Thalberg. A relatively sane plot line and conventional romantic subplot place this film in the more conventional camp of Marx Brothers movies. Due to the critical and commercial failure of Duck Soup (1933), the brothers' previous movie, the studio decided to pre-test many of the skits on live audiences; while Duck Soup's anarchic revelry left many in the audience less amused than baffled, A Night at the Opera's script by George S. Kaufman and Morris Ryskind and direction by Sam Wood were more controlled and focused than in previous Marx efforts. But as was often the case in their movies, the brothers' comedy takes aim at the pompous and pious hypocrisy of the upper crust, and this movie features many of their most famous routines, including the stateroom scene, the contract scene, the bed-switching sequence, and the operatic finale. The film's openly subversive and derisive tone was a perfect match for a Depression-era crowd looking for some wealthy authority figures to laugh at.