
Bizarre quotes and hilarity ensues - Harpo plays a mute- and their Paper-Thin Disguise doesn't last for long. They are later required to give a speech.
Harpo, Chico and Jones gag three famous airmen and impersonate them. Easily Forgiven: Fiorello, Riccardo and Tomasso get Driftwood fired and thrown from his hotel room but the latter doesn't really mind. The Dog Bites Back: Shortly after being whipped by Lasparri, Tomasso takes the opportunity to knock him out (twice!) with a blow to the head. "The party of the second part shall be know in this contract as the party of the second part." Hilarity Ensues as the characters board an ocean liner to New York once there, the protagonists scheme to ensure that Lassparri is humiliated, allowing Ricardo to become the New York Opera Company's male lead and be united with Rosa. Lassparri and Baroni are also competing for the affections of soprano Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle). Heading backstage at an Italian opera house, he meets Lassparri's ex-dresser Tomasso (Harpo) and fast-talking con artist Fiorello (Chico), mistaking the latter for Lassparri's manager and signing a contract with him the great singer Fiorello claims to represent is actually his friend Ricardo Baroni (Allan Jones), a chorus member. He persuades her to invest in the New York Opera Company, allowing them to engage the services of arrogant Italian tenor Rodolfo Lassparri (Walter Woolf King). Driftwood, corrupt business manager to wealthy dowager Mrs. The plot, as so often in Marx Brothers films, is incidental to the jokes, but it follows the usual pattern.
Fans have debated for eighty years over whether this or Duck Soup is the Marx Brothers' best film, but most agree it's one of the funniest movies ever. Opera became the largest box-office hit of the Marx Brothers' filmography. MGM head Irving Thalberg though had a solution and felt their comedy would appeal more to women and audiences if they focused their chaos against clear bad guys who deserved the mistreatment while also helping a young couple come together. After Duck Soup wasn't as big a hit as their previous movies, the Marx Brothers were in a bit of a career downturn. The one where Groucho says " Of course you know this means war!", this time for real.Ī Night at the Opera is a 1935 Marx Brothers film, the first made in their switch from Paramount to MGM.