A Night in Casablanca (1946)

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Joseph Fields (writer)
Roland Kibbee (writer)

Release Date:

10 May 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The Marx Brothers spend...

Plot:

The Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Nazi | Marx Brothers | North Africa | Post WWII

Cast

Groucho Marx	...	Ronald Kornblow
Harpo Marx	...	Rusty
Chico Marx	...	Corbaccio
Charles Drake	...	Lt. Pierre Delmar
Lois Collier	...	Annette
Sig Ruman	...	Count Pfferman / Heinrich Stubel
Lisette Verea	...	Beatrice Rheiner
Lewis L. Russell	...	Governor Galoux (as Lewis Russell)
Dan Seymour	...	Prefect of Police Capt. Brizzard
Frederick Giermann	...	Kurt
Harro Mellor	...	Emile
David Hoffman	...	Spy
Paul Harvey	...	Mr. Smythe

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Hungary:14 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Loma Vista Productions

Trivia:

The Marx Brothers put up their own money to produce the movie and, as they did with A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races, did a tour in which some of the comedy scenes were performed live to be "tested" for laughs.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the police station near the beginning of the film where the murder of the manager has been reported, there is a fan spinning above the officers' heads. Yet when the Marx brothers and Annette sneak in after escaping from the prison cells, the fan has disappeared.

Quotes:

Ronald Kornblow: The elevator is stuck between the fifth and sixth floors? This could only happen to me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Kapou se xero: (#1.4)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Who's Sorry Now?

A Fond Farewell

By 1946 the Marx Brothers considered themselves retired as a screen team--but brother Chico's on-going financial difficulties coaxed them back into the studio for a final film. The result is a film that will never compete with their sharp-edged comedies of the 1930s but which possesses considerable charm nonetheless.

Although the film began as a parody of the classic CASABLANCA, the plot changed quite a bit by the time it reached the screen. Groucho has been employed as the manager of the Hotel Casablanca--where three previous managers have met sudden death. Attempts on his life soon follow, and before too long the brothers stumble upon the tale of former Nazis in search of treasure hidden somewhere inside the resort.

Time, it seems, mellowed the brothers, and although they retain their sparkle they perform without the manic edge that characterized their earlier films; the result is a much friendlier, cozier style of comedy that feels as comfortable your bedroom slippers. All three have at least one opportunity to shine, with perhaps the most memorable moments being the ever-shrinking dancefloor and the hilarious packing scene, and it has tremendous charm--and is all the more welcome for following the several uninspired films the brothers made during the early 1940s.

Although the Marx Brothers would appear in one more film, LOVE HAPPY, it is uninspired--and rather curiously the three never appear together in the same scene! So it is perhaps best to regard A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA as their final appearance as a screen team. And while it isn't among their great films, it is indeed lots of fun.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer