Room Service

Many criticize "Room Service" as the worst Marx Brothers film. This is both misleading and ridiculous. While "Duck Soup" now receives the most critical acclaim, one need only compare that film to Room Serivce to see a dramatic improvement in the directing and delivery. Room Service wasn't written explicitly for the Marx Brothers, so it doesn't have catchy lines. Still, the film flows much better than predecessors and is still pretty damn funny. The Marx Brothers made many great movies, and yes, this is one of those great ones!

The Marx Brothers and Frank Albertson must avoid being thrown out of their hotel suite. They have no money to pay their bill, so they invent a series of ailments for Mr. Albertson to act out in order to distract hotel management. The four hope an upcoming production of a play will reverse their fortunes.

"Room Service" finds the Brothers slightly of the mark. Groucho and Chico appear uninterested, especially when watching the other performers. Harpo is more lively, but is still not quite Harpo; his "Say Ahhhh…" goes on too long. Oddly, enough, the fourth member of their team, Mr. Albertson, turns in the more consistent performance. Donald MacBride is also very good. Lucille Ball acts like the Marx Brothers - standing around until her next line. Ann Miller is more interested, as Albertson's squeeze. A flying turkey steals the show!

****** Room Service (9/21/38) William A. Seiter ~ Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Frank Albertson

I consider this the last Marx Brothers film worth seeing, though it is inferior to all their previous films. While you'll get a few laughs in their efforts following ROOM SERVICE, they are definitely a step below their earlier efforts.

The film was an adaptation of a stage production and it's obvious because most all the action takes place in one hotel room. As a result, there's a definite feeling of claustrophobia in the picture and it also prevents the film from rising to a higher level of entertainment.

About the only real WONDERFUL moment in the film is the very end, where one of the characters appears to come back to life--it's well worth seeing.

The movie manages a few chuckles, but is not prime material for Marx Bros. fans. One reason is that there's too much conventional logic in what the boys do, unlike their usual wacky comedic logic. Thus, there's little of the usual anarchic assault on well-ordered society that provides larger point to their madcap style.

Here the boys are trying to beat the hotel out of a big bill in order to get their stage play produced, and what they do makes perfectly good sense, though done in zany style. I get the feeling that, unlike other Marx movies, any number of good comedic actors could have replaced them to decent effect. Also, journeyman director Seiter fails to bring the zaniness to the kind of madcap boil that marks their best features. For example, the comedy mix tends to keep the boys apart instead of effectively combining them.

Nonetheless, the movie has its moments and some good gag lines, along with lively humorous support— MacBride as the dyspeptic hotel manager, Wood as the string bean agent, and Albertson as the boyish playwrite. Unfortunately, Lucille Ball's expert comedic talent goes untapped, but thankfully not her good looks.

Looks like the boys miss their home at MGM where their best movies were made. But even second-rate Marx Bros. at RKO still manages some good laughs.

Though not one of the Marx Brothers' better known films, "Room Service" is well worth seeing nonetheless. Originally a stage play, it has the distinction of being the only Marx Brothers' film that wasn't originally written by or for the Brothers. However, the film adaptation is seamlessly tailored for the Marxes' stock characters: Groucho, the glib con-man; Chico, the deceptively simple Italian caricature; and Harpo, their anarchic collaborator. The film is very well written, with lots of hilarious gags and pratfalls. Especially memorable is the scene in which the brothers put on multiple layers of clothes as they prepare to decamp their hotel room without paying the bill. Even funnier is the scene in which the brothers, not having eaten for days, frenetically polish off a meal they had arranged to be diverted to their room. Watch Harpo as he madly harpoons peas with his fork and devours them one by one, like a ravenous automaton! In an earlier scene, the boys chase a flying turkey around the hotel room, hoping to make a meal of it. Alas, it flies out the window, whereupon Groucho says, "Never mind, we didn't have any cranberry sauce anyway!"

Unfortunately, the film lacks the usual piano and harp numbers by Chico and Harpo. Regrettable too is the absence of Margaret Dumont, Groucho's legendary "straight woman." Even so, the film is great fun--pure escapism!