#Room service marx brothers movie

Still, you have to wonder about the managerial skills of a manager who constantly jumps up and down and yells, РІР‚СљJumping butterballs!РІР‚Сњ)Р”В«ut Jackie Gleason once said that there are three stages in a comicРІР‚в„ўs career. (History has noted that screenwriter Morrie Ryskind had to tone down the original playРІР‚в„ўs adult language for the screen. And the role of one-note villain Wagner wouldnРІР‚в„ўt have been at all out of line for Douglas Dumbrille or Sig Rumann to play. The billing and cooing between the playРІР‚в„ўs author, Leo Davis (Frank Albertson), and an ingenue (Ann Miller) plays just like the sappy romantic subplots that stopped the MarxesРІР‚в„ў M-G-M movies dead in their tracks.

#Room service marx brothers movie

For a movie that the Marxes did РІР‚Сљon loanРІР‚Сњ (at RKO), its script looks like it came right out of the M-G-M Formula Book. LetРІР‚в„ўs get the movieРІР‚в„ўs contrivances out of the way first.

GordonРІР‚в„ўs plan is to stall hotel boss Wagner (Donald McBride) until 10:30 of the night of the playРІР‚в„ўs debut, at which time it will be a solid hit and he can pay his debts. Its story is that Gordon Miller (Groucho), producer of a premiering play titled РІР‚СљHail and Farewell,РІР‚Сњ is holing himself and his cast up in a hotel that is none too pleased about his non-payments. But if you can get past those barriers, it turns out to be one of their funnier late-РІР‚в„ў30s movies. Click on the above banner to read bloggersРІР‚в„ў takes on movies that were released in the year 1938!Р”Р„fter ten minutes of watching Room Service, itРІР‚в„ўs perfectly obvious that the movie (a) has been adapted from a stage play and (b) was not originally written for the Marx Brothers. Click to enlarge.The following is my entry in the Made in 1938 Blogathon, being hosted by, respectively, Crystal and Robin at their blogs In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and Pop Culture Reverie from Jan. Even given the fact that the Marxes were forced into a more traditional play format for this movie, it is still highly entertaining. This picture is almost pure Marx Brothers entertainment, attesting to the ability of Morrie Ryskind in adapting the script for the boys.

While Lucille Ball and Ann Miller are listed above Albertson in the cast list, they actually have very minor roles and add little to the movie. When the food finally does arrive, it makes for the funniest scene in the film.

While he's not looking, Banelli, Faker, and Miller steal various possessions from him to hock so they can get some food. The plot thickens as the author of the play, Leo Davis (Frank Albertson), shows up from Oswego to see how the production is going. Banelli's connection to the play is never really brought out, but we know that Faker is in the cast, playing a miner, since he's often seen wearing a miner's hat, torch included. In this picture Groucho plays Gordon Miller, a producer who is trying to con a certain hotel (managed by his brother-in-law) into letting himself and his entire cast stay on credit until he gets backing for his upcoming production, 'Hail and Farewell.' He is aided in this escapade by Banelli (Chico) and Faker (Harpo). This movie was remade as a musical called 'Step Lively' in 1944, starring Frank Sinatra.

As a matter of fact, the movie was taken from a successful play at the suggestion of Zeppo, and tailored by the ever-present Morrie Ryskind (who had to invent a part for Harpo) for the Marxes. It is also the only film that wasn't written specifically for them. It was the only picture the brothers did for RKO, making it while they were under contract to MGM. Room Service is unique for other reasons as well. Room Service is an unusual picture for the Marx Brothers, as it contains no musical numbers (unless you count the occasional warbling of 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' during the various death scenes).