A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935)

Ira says

Opera and the Marx brothers? That seems like an oxymoron but quintessentially them at the same time. The first thing I did when I got the DVD of A Night at the Opera in my hand was to go to my dad and say, “Hey, dad guess what? I’m watching a Marx brothers movie!” A slow smile appeared on his face, and I knew he was thinking of a half forgotten moment almost a dozen years ago when we were playing a game of trivial pursuit and I didn’t know the answer to the question, ‘who said the famous words….’ and the answer was quite obviously, Groucho Marx. I recall that my father was horrified that I didn’t know, and promptly dived into a quick introduction to the famous foursome complete with anecdotes from Duck Soup while I blushed a crimson red. And so began my education with the worlds most renowned, outrageous, intelligent and talented Vaudevillian comediennes.

For those of you, who’ve seen Duck Soup or any Marx brothers’ film for that matter, be prepared to see the indefatigable sibling team, (this time a trio without Zeppo) in a slightly unfamiliar form. Director Wood’s lopsided; cartoon-style opening credits against a triumphant, rousing sound score are a clever and telling indicator of things to come. A mid-shot of a shrill Margaret Dumont (Groucho’s favorite leading lady) calling out with growing indignation for a “Mister Driftwood” while sitting alone on a table at a lavish restaurant opens the film. The missing Driftwood i.e. Groucho, barely in frame at first, is caught in a quick shot on the table behind her, as the waiter announces for him, walking around the same small section of the restaurant in concentric, comedic circles. Then as Groucho stands, swings around in his iconic avatar, cigar dangling from his lips, the almost invisible glasses, exaggerated greasepaint eyebrows and moustache and that unmistakable walk (a parody of the affected, amusing gait of the young men of the late 1800’s!) you know a maestro is making his entry, and his sheer presence is hard to ignore. Initially, Groucho’s slight air of arrogance, delivery and the way his eyes keep moving away from the screen and his fellow actors seem almost a bit off putting and disconnected. (It’s openly rumored that director Wood and Groucho weren’t exactly on the best of terms while shooting. At one point during filming, apparently Wood yelled, ‘I can’t make actors out of clay’, Groucho swiftly retorted, I paraphrase, ‘I can’t make a director out of wood’).

But the initial unevenness, movement between fast, short scenes, flurry of characters and multiple locations seem almost inevitable in a film where the spotlight is not just on the Brothers themselves. And even though A Night at the Opera, the brothers’ first film with MGM after a long standing partnership with Paramount, has often been criticized by fans for not being ‘pure’ Marx Brothers in how it is diluted and how it does away with the their almost constant and unabashed antagonism towards society and direct violence against everything and everyone that crossed their path, I think it really captures maybe because of that, some of their finest work allowing enough room for the rest of the story as well. So while its great to see them at their wise cracking, buffooning, fooling, tricking, teasing, best, where illogical nonsense goes hand in hand with satire and cheeky rebellion, in this one the three floor you with their versatility and talent in unexpected ways. Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones, two big Hollywood names of the 1930’s playing Rosa, a famous, successful opera singer and Ricardo, a struggling opera tenor respectively, temper this tale and add a sweet love story to the affair but things never become sentimental. Even while Groucho hands a love note to Rosa one minute, the next instant he is reclining on the bunker of a wealthy lady he constantly mocks (Dumont as Mrs. Claywood), taunting her. With some unforgettable sequences on a ship and set against the fantastic and grand backdrop of opera, Wood cleverly uses his settings as a platform, letting scenes plays out like they would on the stage and the brothers combine incredible skills at physical humour, acrobatic talent, and vaudeville wit to give George Kauffman’s fantastic screenplay the boisterous lift only they could.

Watching a Marx Brothers film reminds me of a phrase an aunt of mine used to say, ‘looking London, talking Tokyo’. The brilliance of their comedy is always the tangential distance in thought processes, conversations and actions that characters have. Absurdist tricks like repetition and circular dialogues are only some of it and Groucho’s ease and flair with these is evident right from that first scene. Whether he’s word-playing or ordering ‘2 hard boiled eggs’, waiting for a honk behind a door, and then ‘make that 3 hard boiled eggs’, absolutely matter-of- factly and unflinchingly with the same authority about well, 8 or 9 times. Or whether him and his brother (Chico) are trying to agree to agree on the ‘first part of the first part’ or ‘the ninth part of the ninth part’ of a contract, making fun of taxes, and trivializing the very idea of having contractual agreements at all, rendering it all meaningless through delightfully meaningless dialogue, its just downright hilarious and wonderful to watch. Of course, Kauffman, who co wrote the Brothers’ first 2 films and was a long time collaborator to the brothers, and Wood who was directing them for the first time, deserve credit too for allowing them to play and improvise.

And boy do they. The execution, timing, and confusion of the missing beds sequence in Groucho’s apartment after he’s taken in 3 stowaways i.e. Chico, Harpo and Ricardo, ending in a tableau of Groucho and his brother disguised as an old couple to convince a cop he’s in the wrong room, is superb. (This tableau is even more evocative for me that the stateroom scene and that famous image of bodies piled up atop one another!) I loved how Kauffman’s screenplay combines a comedy of errors, wordplays, wit, puns and double entendres with a romantic, lyrical love story and harsh social satire at the same time. The camaraderie between the brothers, the violence of the final scene, and the music in the film bring those very themes alive and Wood uses extravagant set pieces and wonderful music to enhance the experience. I loved the lyrical Alone between Rosa and Ricardo and the deceptively profound Cosi Cosa a song about how love and life are always a debate between yes and no. As adept as Groucho is with his words, Harpo and Chico are with their instruments (no pun intended!). There’s a completely mesmerizing single, long shot of Chico on the piano playing a melodious, narrative style piece with a mischief and effortlessness that is jaw dropping and then a quiet, moody sequence of Harpo on the, you guessed it, HARP. And I couldn’t help feeling an almost poignant sadness in that section, palpable even amongst the drowned out laughter of happy faced children.

SThe genius here is in these quieter moments because comedy and tragedy are after all always two sides of the same coin. Remember Lasperri (the arrogant opera star) beating Tamasso (Harpo), his dresser to the ground and kicking him out of his dressing room early on in the film? Or Chico and Groucho casually stepping on Lasperri lying blacked out on the floor shortly after? As much as their films are chaotic hullabaloos, The Marx Brothers films are also socio-cultural commentaries on inequities and aggression and violence is part and parcel of it all. When Groucho catches Harpo cowering in a corner after knocking Lasperri on the head, the satirical edge and reprimanding gruffness in his voice is unmistakable. “What’s the matter with you. Oh, you’re sorry for what you did eh? That’s a nice spirit.” But, he isn’t sorry; no words are necessary from the eternally silent brother of the lot as he, smiles nervously, and calmly bonks Lasperri vehemently, yet again. And that in a nutshell is Marx Brothers 101!

Neha says

“I’ll make a picture with you fellows” quoted MGM chief Irving Thalberg to the Marxes “with half as many laughs-but I’ll put a legitimate story in it and I’ll bet it will gross twice as much as Duck Soup”

As it happens that’s exactly how things panned out with A Night at the Opera, a sort of a comeback for the Marx brothers, grossing 5 million dollars back in 1935. With Groucho’s clever wordplay, priceless laughs and absurd moments, ( I could have done with more of these though- it’s the effect these brothers- connoisseur comedians have on you !) endearing characters and a rare structured love story that gives the Brothers something to root for plus the nice Marxian touches like the weird names- Groucho’s Mr. Otis. B. Driftwood among others, the physical gags, the good old Marxian comic routines, Groucho’s ever reliable comic foil Margaret Dumont as an investor who Groucho’s trying to hoodwink….it’s all there only flourishes of the Opera and a love story, even if the purists take offence, give it a more universal if not commercial canvas.

GROUCHO’S ONE-LINERS AND SCENE STEALING ROUTINES
Well it’s vintage stuff. Time and again when you least expect it Groucho comes up with a winner, turns the attention to his skillfully and spontaneously placed zippy comic barbs and walks away with the moment or scene. Take the first scene for example when he’s in conversation with Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont). In all the wily banter he comes up with “When I invite a woman to dinner I expect her to look at my face. That’s the price she has to pay” or his follow up “Why did I sit with her? Because she reminds me of you, that’s why I’m here with you, because you remind me of you…your eyes, your throat, your lips, everything about you reminds me of you…except you. How do you account for that?” and here’s my favorite that comes at a later point as he’s talking to Mrs. Claypool’s escort, “And listen Gottleib, nix on the love making. Because I saw Mrs. Claypool first. Of course, her mother really saw her first, but there’s no point in bringing the Civil War into this.” Well clearly Groucho’s gags made my tail wag!!!

THE ICONIC STATE ROOM COMIC FIASCO
As far as plot goes it’s really about Groucho, Chico and Harpo rooting for the romantic duo Rosa and Riccardo played by Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones. When an opera assignment takes Rosa to New York, separating her from her lover, Chico, playing Riccardo’s agent and Harpo, playing a dress man become conspirators- they plot to reunite the two, slyly getting on board the same ship transporting the Opera crew and hustling their way through inane and chaotic situations en route to a fiasco driven, hilarious night at the opera in New York where the three musketeers take on the villains of the story- Sig Ruman who stars as the opera company’s managing director Herman Gottlieb and Walter Woolf King as the mean opera divo Lassparri who has his own eyes on Rosa.

Now, let’s talk specifics!!! You didn’t need to voice the obvious Groucho but yes “It’s not your imagination and it sure is getting crowded in here (stateroom)!!! In what I believe is the comic centerpiece of this Marxian affair, the scene itself can make a case for short comic film of it’s time. It starts out with Groucho squeezing into the two by two and as he opens his trunk out pops Jones, Chico and a sleeping Harpo. A hilarious tête-à-tête with a butler and an insurgency of cabin crew-from an engineer and his assistant to cleaners to a manicurist to the trays of food-absurdity at its sublime best ensues and classically sighs off with Mrs. Claypool opening the door and everyone pouring out in a pile. The scene has such a wonderful graph with a definitive beginning, middle and end and an unrushed, casual rhythm, that you can’t help but savor the confident, non verbal and physical comedy on display.

LOVABLE CHARACTERS
Notice how the film doesn’t believe in creating any ambiguity or grey areas for its characters. You either love them from the first moment they enter screen or you don’t. Rosa’s helpful disposition when she sympathizes with Harpo when he’s beaten out of a room immediately makes her nice and sweet. Riccardo coaxing Rosa for a more loving welcome at the door makes him the kind of straight guy and pacifist who plays a great foil to the Marx Brothers and their more crafty silliness. You immediately detest King’s Lassparri as his introduction brings with it a kind of extreme viciousness- whipping a mute Harpo when no one’s watching and then playing nice when Rosa watches over sure didn’t win my vote. But interestingly these strong strokes made sure the characters weren’t reduced to caricatures or stereotypes.

As far as the Marx Brothers go, it’s true that we miss the unpredictability that defined their earlier works-when would they flip on each other sort of thing but each one is so endearing, with distinct yet complementary comic styles that even their staunch camaraderie holds its appeal. The only time we see that deception is in another comic “wow” moment where Groucho is trying to trick Chico into signing a contract. The banter between the two is hilarious, even if it could have been sharper. Starting off with Groucho’s off hand remark “No need of reading that, it’s a duplicate” to the wicked banter that has them tearing off the contract piece by piece to the scene stealing punch line that has Chico remarking “You can’t fool me. There ain’t no sanity clause.” How pray can you help not feel affection for these brutes who defy insanity?

THE UNEVEN LOVE STORY ANGLE
Well the love story subplot worked in bits and aggravated at other times. Giving the Brothers a genuinely nice purpose of bringing the lovers together gave them more heart, making them comic cupids in a way that will appeal to the female folks more than the staunch Marxist fan. Both Rosa and Riccardo as cited above are also lovable characters only the long drawn out and not so memorable musical pieces be it “Alone” or “Cosi Cosa” tend to slow the pace down (Thank God for the comic routine that follows Cosi Cosa with Harpo and Chico on the piano playing to the gallery- non-verbal comic art at its refined best!) Had the Marx Brothers been more active participants in the private moments between these lovers like they are in every other time in the movie, then that comic energy we love to see at work would not be as segregated as it so happens to get.

Compared to a Duck Soup, it sure doesn’t have the sort of back to back comic gags we expect from the Marx Brothers, but it’s got those big, bold comic brush strokes that keep you hooked. It’s got the comic flair of the Marx Brothers that’s priceless and timeless. It’s the sort of classic you can revisit time and again-You will always laugh at the same jokes and you will always feel great warmth for the cast and characters.