Customer Reviews

Room Service [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Based on the hit Broadway play, "Room Service" (1938) remains the only film not written specifically for the Marx Brothers. Except for a few priceless moments, this hectic farce never gels. Groucho, Harpo and Chico are shackled by William A. Seiter's lethargic direction and an incompatible supporting cast. The reliable presence of Margaret Dumont is sorely missed. "Room Service" should be viewed as a well-intentioned, yet unsuccessful experiment.

"Room Service" released in 1938, is the Marx Bros. eighth film. Originally based on a play that had nothing to do with either the Marx Bros., or their brand of comedy, little room was created for the trio to go wild in this film. Absent is much of the Marxist humor we are so accustomed to, and want to see in all their films. Also absent is Margaret Dumont. And while "Room Service" has its enjoyable moments, it marks a turning point, a downward slide for the brothers and their future films. All of the blame cannot be given to the Marx Bros., however. RKO, the film's distributor, which had acquired the rights for the film version for a large sum of money, wanted to keep the movie in as much its original form as possible.

Groucho plays producer Gordon Miller. He is staying in the hotel where his production of "Room Service" is about to be performed. It is the opening night, and rehearsals are still going on, as is the construction of the set. The only problem is the bill he has rung up, which the hotel manager keeps asking him for. As the manager happens to be Groucho's brother in law, he is more leinient with him, than he otherwise would be. Still, he threatens to cancel the play if partial payment is not made.

Chico plays, of all things, the director of the play. Some critics have cited flaw in this, as Chico has never been put in such in important position. Indeed, he is hardly involved with the play, spending most of his time with Groucho in his hotel room. Harpo plays Faker Englund, and for the first time in a Marx Bros. film, he has no real purpose for being there. In the original play, Faker Englund was a minor character, with few lines. Here, those lines are given to Chico, and Harpo is merely allowed to create the mayhem which is his trademark. And indeed, Harpo's scenes do help to move the film along, and give a certain amount of comic relief. He too joins his brothers in the hotel room.

Groucho, confined to his hotel room, is not allowed to leave until he pays his bill. House detectives are always nearby to make sure he doesn't try to leave. And while the hotel manager is still threatening to cancel the opening night of the play, Groucho stalls for time, promising payment as long as the play is allowed to go on. The manager capitulates, for the time being.

The Marx Bros. are as confined to the hotel room as they are to the comedy they can perform. Still, there are good moments, such as Harpo playing dead in order to stall for time, and keep the play running.

For those people eager to watch the Marx Bros. perform their style of comedy, run rampant among society, wise-crack to the arragant elite, and use puns and one-liners to whittle to size the snobs, "Room Service" may be a disappointment. However, for the loyal Marx Bros. fan, this film can still be enjoyable and funny.

Room Service features The Marx Brothers, Lucille Ball and a rather young Ann Miller in the only film The Marx Brothers ever made at R-K-O pictures. The plot moves slower than the typical Marx Brothers plot and the classic Marx Brothers one liners aren't there often; but Room Service was based on a play not written for The Marx Brothers so it's somewhat forgivable. Unfortunately, Room Service winds up being good but not great. I felt like I was on an airplane out of town to sunny, beautiful Aruba--but after taxiing down the runway the plane came screeching to an abrupt halt, never taking off. Sigh.

The action begins when Gordon Miller (Groucho Marx) is getting deeper and deeper into debt at New York City's Hotel White Way as he struggles to keep himself, the producer of a play, and the cast sheltered in a hotel until they can find a backer for the show. Gordon's buddies Harry Binelli (Chico Marx) and Faker Englund (Harpo Marx) try to help Gordon but they aren't too successful. When the author of the play, Leo Davis (Frank Albertson), comes to New York to stay with Gordon and the cast in the hotel it only means that now there's another person Gordon and his pals must harbor. Meanwhile, Christine Marlowe (Lucille Ball) plays a cast member of the show who is also trying to help get the show onto the stage.

Unfortunately, their luck is running out. A hotel top manager, Gregory Wagner (Donald MacBride) is furious that Gordon and his cast have run up a $1,200 bill (a lot in those days) and they can't pay. Wagner is even more enraged when he finds out that Gordon, his buddies and the cast have been allowed to run up such a high bill because Gordon's brother-in-law, Joseph Gribble (Cliff Dunstan), has been running the hotel.

Just when a wealthy backer finally comes through, things begin to get even more out of control. Expects to see some high jinks and silly scenarios as Gordon, his buddies and the cast all stall for time so that they can put on the show and finally get their profitable hit.

Can they stall the hotel's top management to make the show go on so they can have a hit? What happens when Gordon gets the idea that the playwright must pretend to be ill to stall for time and avoid them all being thrown out? Are the authorities alerted? Do doctors arrive to examine the "patient?" No spoilers here, folks--you'll just have to watch the movie to find out!

Look for some good choreography in scenes where the actors are all running around the hotel room in different directions all at once. The scene where the Marx Brothers and the playwright eat a much needed meal is also well done. The cinematography works well with different camera angles of the same set, too.

Room Service is a must for true Marx Brothers fans; but I can't tell you it's their best movie ever. It's good; but it's not great. The actors work very hard with the script they were given and the plot tries its best to be funny as much as possible, although the film never quite takes off to make Room Service a true classic. Casual fans of The Marx Brothers can wait to see Room Service until they've seen many more of the other Marx Brothers movies first.

Three stars.

This is definitely different than other Marx brothers movies. I think the main reason is that the material wasn't written for them specifically. In fact, they even had to write in a part for Harpo. So yeah, there was no Harpo on the harp, or Chico on the piano, or any moments of utter Marx madness which keeps me in stitches (unless you count Harpo chasing the turkey around the room, and breaking every single breakable thing there in his attempts). The good thing about this movie is, it's still funny. And it wasn't JUST the Marx boys that made it funny - the plot actually had some depth to it too. Which made it almost hard for me to follow at times. But I thought the ending was great. Especially Groucho & Chico just sitting there singing "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", and then seeing the same thing in a play a few minutes later...
Yeah, hard to explain. If you like the Marx brothers, I'd recommend you watch this - it's different, but not terrible either.

A mediocre comedy by Marx Brothers standards. They are out of character. Almost the entire film is inside one hotel room. This was the first "dud" the brothers had. Room Service was not written for the Marx Brothers and it shows. A very young Lucille Ball is an added attraction.

ROOM SERVICE is the only film in the Marx filmography that was not specifically written for the Brothers. It was originally a stage play and adapted to the screen without regard for the peculiar talents of those who would be bringing the production to life. It shows. There's a good rule of thumb in regards to Marx Brothers films. The goofier the name of Groucho's character, the better the film. DUCK SOUP had Rufus T. Firefly. A DAY AT THE RACES had Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush. And ROOM SERVICE has, um, Gordon Miller. Yes, Gordon Miller. That must have had them rolling in the aisles.

The late Gene Siskel claimed that a movie fails if it is less interesting than a hypothetical documentary involving the same cast of actors and actresses sitting around having lunch. His rule definitely applies in this case. The Marx Brothers, Lucille Ball, Ann Miller. Who wouldn't want to eavesdrop on that meal? But who wants to see them in a movie that treats them all as generic characters? Certainly not me.

There are so many things wrong with ROOM SERVICE that I scarcely know where to start. The fact that it isn't funny is high on my list of complaints. So is the lack of a convincing bad guy. Come on, fellows, this is a Marx Brothers film where I'm supposed to have a stereotypical evil dude to boo and hiss at! The only person here to cheer against only wants Groucho (sorry, Gordon Miller) to pay off his IOUs. Hardly mustache-twirling behavior. And the couple we're supposed to be rooting for isn't much better (at least, I assume we're supposed to be rooting for them). The playwright character (the Zeppo-type straight man) is boring and whiney as all get out.

The thing that gets me about William A. Seiter's direction is how slow it is. Gags are dragged out way too long. One-liners that should be rapid fired come out at a snail's pace. The film's only savior is Harpo who is once again off in his own little silent universe. Ordinarily this allowed him to bounce his surreal antics off of other goofy goings-on. But here, he's the only source of fun. Groucho, Chico and Lucy are bound by the dialog in the script, and therefore simply can't be as funny as we know they're capable of being.

The picture's only real comedy moments come from scenes where the script was presumably vague enough to allow the Brothers to insert some actual funny stuff. Harpo destroying a hotel room chasing an obviously fake turkey and the scene of the Brothers enjoying their first meal in days are genuinely amusing moments, but such sequences are very few and very far between. And Lucille Ball is completely, utterly and totally wasted. A great shame.

The Marx Brothers return. This is a decent Marx Brothers film. Lucille Ball appears in this one...she actually doesn't have a very big role or a funny role she is more just window dressing on this film. The film has some bright moments but overall is not one of the better Marx Brothers films by any means. If you are a Marx Brothers fan you may want to add this to your collection...otherwise if you are just looking for a real entertaining Marx Brothers film try "Duck Soup" or "A Day At The Races" and let this one rest.

Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx join together to star in this vehicle, originally a Broadway play from John Murray and Allen Boretz. The plot revolves around a would-be producer named Gordon Miller (played by Groucho Marx), trying desperately to find somebody to back his production "Hail and Farewell". Chico and Harpo, along with Lucille Ball (in a fine straight performance), do not fare well (pardon the pun), in their attempts to assist him. Ann Miller also has a small role as the love interest of the play's author (played by Frank Albertson).

All that said, one might inquire if this film is as funny as the Brothers earlier efforts. Although the humorous scene where Groucho and Chico along with the Hotel Manager sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" to the "dead" playwright is indeed welcome, it lacks the originality and spontaneous humor of the earlier efforts (i.e. "Animal Crackers", "Horsefeathers", etc.). In all fairness, it's an interesting chance to see The Brothers Marx as actors, not as zany, no holds barred comedians. This could be due to the fact that the team switched from Paramount to Warner Brothers studio during this time, and as a result, laid the zaniness to rest. A must for die hard fans, but for comedy purists, stick to the diet of "Duck Soup" with a side order of "Coconuts" and "Animal Crackers".

...which is where most of the film is set, but, hey, I'm not complaining. Funny all over, and full of pranks, gags and numerous punchlines. Although this film does not fature Chico and Harpo displaying their musical talents, it still gets a lot of laughs the way they scheme to get the play at the hotel theatre together. This is a great classic!

This is probably the dullest Marx picture I've ever seen. The boys were made more like accessories and not lead actors in this film. The slpastick and double entende so prominent in many of their films is absent here. Even Lucille Ball's appearance can't save this movie. Margaret Dumont definately was needed in this picture along with some better writing.