A Night at The Opera

1935.

Unlisted / #85

Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) helps Ricardo (Allan Jones) realize his dream of becoming an opera star with the assistance of Fiorello (Chico Marx) and Tomasso (Harpo Marx).

Sarah: I'm a big Marx brothers fan, but I'll be objective and say, I am not sure why this was added to the list. The story is not great, and it does not have the political undertones of DUCK SOUP or it's laughs.

Still, I'm a fan, and once you fast-forward through the opera songs, there is a lot of good stuff. I cracked up the whole time while looking at Eddie, making a face that says "Isn't this great!?" He, however, looked a little bewildered, so, Eddie take it away!

Eddie: Bewildered is a kind way of putting it. This is my first foray into the Marx Brother's films, and I feel like I just didn't get it.

Sure, I recognize that Groucho and Chico (my favorite Marx Brother) are funny, and there are a few gags that genuinely made me laugh. But the plot of the movie as a whole seems so antiquely vaudevillian that it's amazing that audiences didn't reject it as outdated, even upon its 1935 release. People excuse the Marx Brothers' juvenile humor as business as usual for that era in comedy, but I entirely disagree. One year after A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, Chaplin released MODERN TIMES, a comedy that still holds up today.

Why You Should See It: The switching the beds gag.