Kaufman and Morris Ryskind based on a story by James Kevin McGuiness, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, besides offering the usual Marx Brothers combination of madcap hijinx, music, and irreverence, turns out to be a sweet film with the Marx Brothers playing match makers for two young lovers. Directed by Sam Wood (who would also direct the Marx Bros A DAY AT THE RACES) and written by George S. I had seen clips of their best scenes and read quotes from their best one liners. I have to admit I'm not sure I've seen any Marx Brothers film from start to finish except for HORSEFEATHERS and DUCK SOUP (which my wonderful aunt took me to see at the Portland Art Museum theater back in the 70s).
I'm not sure I had ever seen A NIGHT AT THE OPERA in its entirety. It is that scene which compelled CrazyFilmGuy to watch A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. Or the stateroom scene on a ship in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935). The mirror scene with Groucho and Harpo in DUCK SOUP. The final football play in HORSEFEATHERS (1932). Unusual for comedies, the Marx Brothers films usually have one incredibly funny set piece that filmgoers still laugh out loud watching even today.
They also had a perennial foil in actress Margaret Dumont who put up with the Marx Brothers antics and insults in seven Marx Brothers films including ANIMAL CRACKERS (1930), DUCK SOUP, and A DAY AT THE RACES (1937). The appeal of the Marx Brothers besides their wonderful one liners and crazy antics was their anarchy toward the establishment: the rich, the powerful, highbrow institutions like colleges and opera, gangsters, bullies, and the police. Karl Marx was not the fifth Marx Brother. The Marx Brothers were made up of Groucho Marx (fake black moustache, cigar, and one liners) Harpo Marx (manic personality, frizzy afro, mute) Chico Marx (Spanish accent, prince of malapropisms, pointy hat), and Zeppo (supposedly the heartthrob of the group which means the least talented). Before CrazyFilmGuy discovered the hilarious British Comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus as an adolescent, he was giggling at the madcap comedy of four siblings known as the Marx Brothers in their classic farce DUCK SOUP (1933) directed by Leo McCarey.