Topic: A Night In Casablanca (1946) - The Marx Brothers

[metaldams]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038777/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1



      After a five year layoff and a promised farewell from the screen, The Marx Brothers, influencing countless rock artists in the future, break their promise and give the public more.  Hey, I'm glad they broke their promise because A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA is a good film.  If I were to write a short review, I'd sum it up like this - take away the first eight or ten minutes that focuses heavily on the romantic couple and replace the ending action sequence with something more comedic and we have a perfect Marx Brothers movie.  As it stands now, I will not write a short review, so I will do more than state the bread's a little moldy but the meat is wonderful.

      The romantic couple have no sappy lines towards each other.  The country was in a different place in 1946 than it was during their MGM days, so the sappy lines are more jingoistic in nature than romantic.  Frankly, these two characters were completely unnecessary and fortunately do not have much to do with the middle of the film.  The plot itself could have easily been carried by the brothers and actually is carried by the brothers for a good portion of the film.  As for the ending, it's not bad as an action sequence, I just would have preferred something more comedic in nature, think the end of GO WEST.

      OK, the bad stuff out of the way, there is plenty of good stuff to go around.  We get a good old fashioned charades game between Chico and Harpo like in the Paramount days, always a welcome sight.  The funny payoff is a few minutes later, Harpo tries to communicate in the same way towards Groucho, only to have a bewildered Groucho response.  Really funny seeing poor Harpo extracting such effort to communicate for nothing.

      The scene in the hotel room where they keep messing around with the Nazi's packed things without getting caught is a comic sequence of pure genius.  It is extended brilliantly and never gets old.  Harpo hiding inside the top of the trunk and slamming the lid on the Nazi's fingers is always good for a laugh, but I think my favorite part is Groucho assuring Chico inside the closet everything will be OK because he's hidden in closets before.  Whether intended this way or not, it feels like a reference to Groucho's closet scene with Thelma Todd in MONKEY BUSINESS.

      I also want to give a shout out to Sig Ruman as the Nazi enemy.  He appeared with the brothers as the enemy in a lot of the MGM's and always did a fine job.  He actually has quite an impressive filmography overall, so he deserves a mention for sure.  Lisette Verea as Beatrice is a more than worthy femme fatale for Groucho, frankly as good as Thelma Todd was, so it's a bit shocking to see this is her only American film credit.  I don't know if this was a personal choice or whether she was blacklisted or what, but she's great here.

      Speaking of her, classic exchange between her and Groucho.

Groucho: "Do you know I think you're the most beautiful woman in the world?"
Beatrice: "Really?"
Groucho: "No, but I don't mind lying if I think it will get me somewhere."

      Other highlights include Harpo's as usual awesome solo, the sword fighting scene, and Harpo in the hotel room pinned against the wall.  I never noticed this before, but when Harpo is pinned against the wall by all those shoes, he's not just acting silly, he's actually shining all the shoes!  Notice the strategically placed brushes on his head, hands, and under his armpits so when he moves around, the shoes are being shined.  Oh, and the food tasting scene does a great job featuring all three brothers - it's chaos again reminds me of the Paramount days.

      A DAY AT THE RACES would be a perfect 10 if they could have trimmed the fat.  A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA would be a perfect 10 if it started and ended better, but oh friends, let's be thankful for that extended middle.  Next week is LOVE HAPPY, the conclusion of our Marx Brothers discussion.  It's been a lot of fun, guys.  Thankfully we got plenty more Stooges and Laurel and Hardy left to fill the void.

8/10

     

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Groucho's character name, Ronald Kornblow, gets funnier the more you think about it, for no rational reason at all.  Groucho went into the project expecting a good working relationship with the director, Archie Mayo, who was a long-time pro director, but Groucho ended up loathing him.  Aside from Groucho's complaint that the film was lit too darkly, which indeed it occasionally is, it's hard to figure out all the animus.  All the brothers hated Sam Wood, too, mainly for his neanderthal politics - I wonder if some of that may have crept into their relationship with Archie Mayo, as well, though I myself have never read anything about a situation like that.

[metaldams]

Groucho's character name, Ronald Kornblow, gets funnier the more you think about it, for no rational reason at all.  Groucho went into the project expecting a good working relationship with the director, Archie Mayo, who was a long-time pro director, but Groucho ended up loathing him.  Aside from Groucho's complaint that the film was lit too darkly, which indeed it occasionally is, it's hard to figure out all the animus.

I don't know much about the behind the scenes, but perhaps Mayo was just tired at this point?  It appears he only made one more film after this then retired....and yes, Ronald Kornblow is a funny name.

[Larrys#1]

This is a big step up from the disappointing THE BIG STORE. One good thing about this film is that the musical numbers are kept to a bare minimum. My favorite scene is towards the end where the Marx Bros keep messing things up in the hotel room and unpacking everything. That was hilarious.

This film is a sort of an interesting turn for the Marx Bros. The plot is bit dramatic especially in the beginning where we see the manager poisoned. Seeing a movie start out that way sorta makes it feel like you're watching a drama. It's not until the Marx Bros arrive on screen where we finally see the comedy arise. I'm not complaining about this because I'm not bother by it at all, but just wanted to bring it up. I just find it interesting.

This movie is not as funny as their earlier works, but certainly a major improvement over THE BIG STORE.

8.5/10

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I actually saw this one in a real theater with a real audience.  It got big laughs.

[metaldams]

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I actually saw this one in a real theater with a real audience.  It got big laughs.

I imagine it would.  The majority of this film is hysterical and I can easily see a modern audience laughing at a lot of this stuff.  Heck, the Groucho exchange I quoted in my review, I said it to a co-worker today and he was cracking up.

[Dr. Mabuse]

"A Night in Casablanca" is easily the best of the later Marx comedies and a fitting finale to their screen career. (For all intents and purposes, "Love Happy" remains a Harpo solo vehicle.)  This postwar escapade features the Marxes in splendid form while recapturing the rough-edged spontaneity of their early Paramount comedies. Margaret Dumont's absence is compensated by the return of Sig Ruman as a Marx foil. It may seem odd to place Groucho, Harpo and Chico in a post-WWII setting, yet the shenanigans inside the Hotel Casablanca are a refreshing throwback to "The Cocoanuts." In many ways, the Marxes have come full circle. The final image of the brothers chasing beautiful Lisette Verea through the streets of Casablanca ends the movie on an appropriately Marxian note, which wasn't the case in most of their MGM efforts.

8/10

[Toast5884]

I always felt in the minority liking this film. As others have said, I think it's a huge improvement over The Big Store. Groucho's one-liners in this movie are some of his best ("I don't mind being killed, but I resent hearing it from a character whose head comes to a point!"). Only thing that takes me out of the film is I can never see Frederick Giermann without thinking of him as the U-Boat captain in They Stooge to Conga.

[Dr. Mabuse]

You are no longer in the minority. More critics and historians consider "A Night in Casablanca" to be the Marxes' best film since "A Day at the Races." I would go a step further and say it's their best since "A Night at the Opera."

[Toast5884]

You are no longer in the minority. More critics and historians consider "A Night in Casablanca" to be the Marxes' best film since "A Day at the Races." I would go a step further and say it's their best since "A Night at the Opera."

I'd agree with that. A Day at the Races has some great moments but there are also times it starts to feel like the Marx Brothers by numbers. Maybe those scenes were shot after Groucho told off Mayer, lol.

[metaldams]

A DAY AT THE RACES has some classic scenes but can really use some editing.  A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA is about a perfect comedy in the middle, just a shame for that beginning.  Don’t know which I like better.  Flawed yet entertaining films, the both of them.

[Dr. Mabuse]

Harpo is toned down in "A Day at the Races," but he's given full rein in "A Night in Casablanca." The contrast is astonishing.

A pity that Groucho's introductory scene at the Desert View Hotel was cut from "A Night in Casablanca" — it would have made a difference in terms of pacing.

[metaldams]

Harpo is toned down in "A Day at the Races," but he's given full rein in "A Night in Casablanca." The contrast is astonishing.

A pity that Groucho's introductory scene at the Desert View Hotel was cut from "A Night in Casablanca" — it would have made a difference in terms of pacing.

Had no idea Groucho had an introductory scene cut.  You very well may be right the pacing would have improved, it possibly could have improved what I perceive to be a flaw.

[NoahYoung]

For the comedy scenes alone, this is a step-up from the final 3 at M-G-M. I do think that Sig Ruman is too sadistic in trying to kill Harpo, especially with the comments he makes. Groucho running a hotel and insulting the guests is a sure-fire path to comedy gold. Especially when he strongly implies that a somewhat elderly couple are not married and just looking to shack-up for a few days! 

The first time I saw this as a kid, I hadn't even seen CASABLANCA, through in truth it is not really a parody. When Harpo is literally holding up the building by standing against it at the beginning, I thought it was one of the funniest things I had seen at the time. Even now, I think it is one of their best visual gags.

The room packing scene is great -- kinda like the moving furniture in and out of the rooms in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA.

In the end, it is better to have another Marx Bros. movie than none at all -- I would assume audiences felt the same way in 1946.

[Dr. Mabuse]

Groucho went into the project expecting a good working relationship with the director, Archie Mayo, but Groucho ended up loathing him. Aside from Groucho's complaint that the film was lit too darkly, which indeed it occasionally is, it's hard to figure out all the animus.

An excerpt from Groucho's January 1946 letter to his daughter Miriam: "I was terribly depressed at the preview. We had worked so long and hard on this, and thought we had it so solid and tight, and then to see reams of it emasculated by that fat idiot [Archie Mayo], well, it was heartrending. I'm sure ['A Night in Casablanca'] will be better than 'The Big Store,' but it will never be another 'Night at the Opera.' "

[Freddie Sanborn]

Groucho was none too fond of any of his directors, and typically panicked at previews. He wanted to buy Cocoanuts back from Paramount and Night at the Opera back from MGM to prevent release. In Casablanca there was a whole sequence showing Kornblow at his previous hotel, which was cut. As co-producers, the Brothers certainly could have insisted on the cuts being restored before release if they wanted to press the issue.

An excerpt from Groucho's January 1946 letter to his daughter Miriam: "I was terribly depressed at the preview. We had worked so long and hard on this, and thought we had it so solid and tight, and then to see reams of it emasculated by that fat idiot [Archie Mayo], well, it was heartrending. I'm sure ['A Night in Casablanca'] will be better than 'The Big Store,' but it will never be another 'Night at the Opera.' "

[Dr. Mabuse]

As co-producers, the Brothers certainly could have insisted on the cuts being restored before release if they wanted to press the issue.

From Susan Fleming Marx's posthumous memoir Speaking of Harpo (2022):  "The brothers began shooting 'A Night in Casablanca' full of confidence. . . . As the shooting wore on, the confidence began to fade, and they couldn't finish the picture fast enough. As quickly as they could, the Marx Brothers retired again."

[metaldams]

I’m no expert on The Marx Brothers relationship with their directors, but I always found it curious that Robert Florey was chosen as their first director in THE COCOANUTS.  We’re talking a French director who excelled in expressionism and later did horror movies (if you know the Frankenstein story you know what I’m talking about).  The last guy I’d choose as a director for a comedy team who uses the English language and not visual film making as their forte.

Good stuff about Groucho and Archie Mayo.

[Dr. Mabuse]

I’m no expert on The Marx Brothers relationship with their directors, but I always found it curious that Robert Florey was chosen as their first director in THE COCOANUTS.  We’re talking a French director who excelled in expressionism and later did horror movies (if you know the Frankenstein story you know what I’m talking about).  The last guy I’d choose as a director for a comedy team who uses the English language and not visual film making as their forte.

You've probably heard this story, but Florey wanted to "open up" the film by traveling to Florida to shoot some location footage. Monta Bell, head of production at Paramount's Astoria Studios, turned down Florey's request — saying that authentic locations were unnecessary "when one of the lead actors wears a fake mustache."

Despite being restricted to the Astoria soundstage and its technical challenges, Florey added some nice visual flourishes — notably the chorus overhead shot that predates Busby Berkeley. I also like the way Florey frames Chico's piano solo (which comes surprisingly late in the film). And let's not forget the beautifully timed adjoining-rooms sequence. Thanks in part to Florey and Joseph Santley's direction, "The Cocoanuts" lacked the stiffness and claustrophobia that plagued many 1929 talkies. However, I sometimes wish the film had been shot a year later when all the technical problems had been ironed out.

[NoahYoung]

I just watched this one again. Here are some additions to my above comments:

I rank this film smack dab in the middle (as Joe Williams would sing with Count Basie) of the Marx Bros.' film cannon. 6 films better than it -- 6 films worse than it.

The films I rank better: the final 4 Paramounts, and the first 2 M-G-Ms.

I don't think many Marx Bros. aficionados would disagree, although ranking it ahead of THE COCOANUTS may raise a few eyebrows.

I was considering ranking it above A DAY AT THE RACES (ADATR), since there's too much in that film where I'm tempted to use the fast forward button on the remote. Same with ANIMAL CRACKERS, where even some of the Marx routines drag a bit.

Yes, A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA (ANIC) does take a while before you have seen each of the brothers appear on-screen, but that happens in some of their early classics as well. The setup of the plot in ANIC is certainly more interesting than the setup in ANIMAL CRACKERS, for example, or even ADATR.

The finale of ANIC is weak, but still much better than the somewhat similar finale of THE FLYING DEUCES with Laurel and Hardy. At least here Groucho gets to make a few wisecracks, and Chico looks genuinely scared out of his pants!

They spend precious little time on the romantic sub-plot, to the point that their scenes give the impression that much was cut (which it actually was.) But cut in a more "edited for time on TV" rather than cut out of the movies to begin with. The preview version was apparently much longer.

The pacing of the film is very fast and there are no lulls where you are reaching for the remote.


Groucho: "You're going to Tunis? There are some beautiful women in Tunis! Woohoo!" I laughed one of my loudest laughs in a long time the other night at this line.

[NoahYoung]

Trivia:

Which Marx Brother is the first to appear on-screen in this movie?

BTW, the street scenes look like they could have been filmed in the Morocco region of EPCOT in Walt Disney World, which was created nearly 40 years after this picture was made!

[Freddie Sanborn]

Chico, or his stand-in, can be seen from the back in the opening shot of the town square.

[NoahYoung]

Chico, or his stand-in, can be seen from the back in the opening shot of the town square.

Correct! It was a trick question -- didn't think anyone would get it so quickly.

Actually, it's from the front, but his head is partially obscured. It actually looks like he's reading through the script.

Definitely Chico and not a stand-in, though.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I was reading the chapter about this film in GROUCH HARPO CHICO AND SOMETIMES ZEPPO, by Joe Adamson, last night. He basically trashes the film and all but calls it an utter piece of crap!

I have several books on the Marx Brothers, mostly bought when I was a kid in the 70s. I need to revisit all of them, but if I remember correctly, none of the ones written in the 60s and 70s thought much of anything made after A DAY AT THE RACES.

Back then, we didn't have the internet to look up all this stuff, so it was a treat to see a book on the Marx Brothers (or any other of my favorite classic comedians) .  I would almost always get my mother to buy one for me at the bookstore in the mall.

When reading them, you'd discover all the films you hadn't yet seen, and didn't even know existed! Back in the 70s, it was fairly easy to see 4 of the 5 Paramount films on TV (minus ANIMAL CRACKERS, of course). By "fairly easy" I mean perhaps 1 or 2 per year! In the NYC area, the local stations were fond of cutting stuff out, which you knew because right after the credits, they would superimpose "Edited for television" on the screen, at which point I'd let out a big groan! In these days before the VCR, you had to watch these movies "live"! For the Marx Brothers, the Paramounts were usually shown on a weekend afternoon, which was both good and bad. Good: you didn't have to beg your parents to let you stay up past midnight to watch them. Bad: in the good weather, you usually had something better to do on a weekend afternoon than to plant yourself in front of the TV for an hour and a half!

Regarding the edits: The films were provided to the TV stations uncut, but the hacks at the TV stations had to cut out scenes for time so they could fit in more commercials. There was neither rhyme nor reason to their methodology, and believe it or not, they would excise comedy scenes rather than "filler"! They were sort of clever though -- the stuff they cut out would be masked by a commercial break. In other words, the Marx would be in the middle of a scene, such as the speakeasy scene in HORSEFEATHERS, and it would cut to a commercial. When it came back on, they wouldn't be in the speakeasy anymore! What made it frustrating in this case is that they decided to broadcast this particular film in a 1 hour and 15 minute timeslot! In the normal hour and a half timeslot, the film would fit with no edits.

The final 3 M-G-M films were shown often, and probably cut for time, too. For who-knows-what-reason, they showed these 3 much more than the first 2, which usually wound up being shown at weird times or on days I couldn't watch, so I didn't get to see these 2 in full until the 80s!

So I became very familair with 7 of their films as a kid, but it was a longer journey to see the other 6 as the years went on.

In July of 1979, ANIMAL CRACKERS made it's TV debut in prime time on CBS on a Saturday night. This was an event for me at the time. I never did get to see it in the theater in 1974 during it's brief re-release.

During the VCR era, you could rent all the M-G-Ms, and you could finally see ANIMAL CRACKERS at your leisure! Pretty much all the rest became available, though I'm not sure how long it took to release LOVE HAPPY -- but no one really cared about that one!

There were other ways to see at least parts of their films in the 70s. Castle Films released 5 extracts from the Paramounts on 16mm, Super 8, and Standard 8mm for home use:

THE PIGSKIN CAPER
THIS IS WAR
THE INCREDIBLE JEWEL ROBBERY
THE STOWAWAYS
MONKEY BUSINESS

You can probably guess from which features they were from, though JEWEL ROBBERY was from the TV show of the same name. The downside was that they only ran for an average of 8 minutes each. You could get them in both sound and silent versions. I got 2 of them back in the 70s -- I now have all 5.

Also, in the 70s, a company called Ivy Films released A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA and LOVE HAPPY in Super 8, full-length. I now have a copy of the former that I bought within the last few years.

So it was a far cry from being able to see most of these films on-demand via youtube (when they don't get taken down) or your favorite streaming service.




 

[Freddie Sanborn]

Thanks for correcting my faulty memory regarding Chico’s appearance. Yes, back in the day every writer parroted the claim that the quality of the Brothers’ films was a straight downward trajectory from ANATO to Love Happy. I know that Joe Adamson has upgraded his opinion of ANIC. Now that we have easy access to all the films, it is easier to compare their relative merits and demerits, an advantage that earlier writers didn’t have.

[metaldams]

I got into The Marx Brothers at a relatively later time - the early 2000’s.  Even so, that’s still creeping up on 25 years.  I was still on VHS but DVD’s were starting to take over.  No streaming.  While ultimately I prefer being able to see almost what I want whenever I want, there must of been something exciting catching a film you’ve only heard about on TV that one time a year it aired.  The only time I really experienced that is when TCM ran the Harold Lloyd films before the New Line Cinema box set was released.  It was always an event.

As far as the narrative with The Marx Brothers, even in the early 2000’s that same everything past A DAY AT THE RACES was not worth your time yarn was being spun.  At the end of the day, watching the films and making up our own minds is obviously the best way to go.  You can read my reviews here, but I only partially conform to what we were told.