[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideToronto Int'l Film FestivalSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

A Night at the Movies

  • 1937
  • Approved
  • 10m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
526
YOUR RATING
A Night at the Movies (1937)
SatireComedyShort

A man and his wife have a less-than-enjoyable time at the movies.A man and his wife have a less-than-enjoyable time at the movies.A man and his wife have a less-than-enjoyable time at the movies.

  • Director
    • Roy Rowland
  • Writers
    • Robert Benchley
    • Robert Lees
    • Frederic I. Rinaldo
  • Stars
    • Robert Benchley
    • King Baggot
    • Jack Baxley
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    526
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Roy Rowland
    • Writers
      • Robert Benchley
      • Robert Lees
      • Frederic I. Rinaldo
    • Stars
      • Robert Benchley
      • King Baggot
      • Jack Baxley
    • 15User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos1

    View Poster

    Top cast15

    Edit
    Robert Benchley
    Robert Benchley
    • Husband
    King Baggot
    King Baggot
    • Movie Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Baxley
    • Movie Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Sidney Bracey
    Sidney Bracey
    • Movie Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Francis X. Bushman Jr.
    Francis X. Bushman Jr.
    • Ticket Taker
    • (uncredited)
    Ricardo Lord Cezon
    • Child Who Stares
    • (uncredited)
    Betty Ross Clarke
    Betty Ross Clarke
    • Wife
    • (uncredited)
    Hal K. Dawson
    • Mr. Pennelly
    • (uncredited)
    Flora Finch
    Flora Finch
    • Movie Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Priscilla Lawson
    Priscilla Lawson
    • Usherette
    • (uncredited)
    Gwen Lee
    Gwen Lee
    • Cashier
    • (uncredited)
    Jack 'Tiny' Lipson
    • Movie Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Claire McDowell
    Claire McDowell
    • Movie Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Artie Ortego
    Artie Ortego
    • Movie Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Sheridan
    Frank Sheridan
    • Mr. Baum
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Roy Rowland
    • Writers
      • Robert Benchley
      • Robert Lees
      • Frederic I. Rinaldo
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews15

    6.2526
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    6wmorrow59

    Amusing, but not Benchley's best

    This short comedy was recently selected for inclusion as a special feature in the new DVD release of the Marx Brothers' A Day at the Races. Based on the evidence at hand, viewers unfamiliar with Robert Benchley may find it hard to believe that the guy was a first class wit on par with Groucho himself, in his own understated way, but you'll just have to take my word for it. Better still, take a look at some of the comic articles he wrote for magazines and newspapers, most of which have been collected in book form. Benchley's nonsense pieces and essays on the frustrations of day-to-day life are still funny, and often hilarious.

    Benchley's short films are generally pleasant, but only occasionally rise to the level of his written output. Many of them focus on the foibles of bourgeois domestic life, and come off rather like the later TV sitcoms of the '50s. However, the filmed versions of Benchley's double-talk lectures sometimes scale the heights of inspired insanity he regularly reached in his magazine pieces, and one very early talkie from 1928, The Sex Life of the Polyp, is one of my favorite Benchley shorts, a perfect little gem of comic absurdity.

    As for the item at hand, A Night at the Movies is a pleasant but unremarkable effort devoted to the petty irritations encountered by Mr. and Mrs. Average during an evening at the local Bijou. There is confusion with the tickets, difficulty finding seats, a tall fat man who sits directly in front and blocks the screen, someone with a persistent cough, and a moment of strangeness involving a small boy with an eerie stare. (Today, of course, a major problem would be pagers and cell-phones going off during the show.) For modern viewers this short may be more valuable as social history than as comedy, seeing as how it was made in an era when men in public places had to find a place to stow their hats, and dancers performed at movie theaters between the features. On that level this film is an interesting time capsule.

    This modest comedy short may not look like much alongside the Marx Brothers, but don't dismiss Robert Benchley. You'll just need to look elsewhere for his funniest and freshest work.
    6CinemaSerf

    A night at the Movies

    Finally agreeing on which film to see, Robert Benchley and his (uncredited) wife Betty Ross Clarke set off in time to watch the feature. There is a free lottery to win a shiny new car in the foyer and that's where the tickets are accidentally placed, so ensuring the rest of their visit gets off on a typically unfortunate foot! It pans out with the usual cinema nuisances and as Benchley gets more irritated by his experience, he leaves the auditorium and struggles to find his way back into what appears to be the world's s largest circular cinema. It's an amiable critique of going to the movies, and for those of us who regularly attend them there are certainly some truths that ring true around selfishness and lack of self-awareness, but I think this rather over-contrives the scenarios and his bumbling can go wrong, will go wrong character actually began to annoy me quite quickly.
    Michael_Elliott

    Fun Short

    Night at the Movies, A (1937)

    *** (out of 4)

    Oscar-nominated Robert Benchley short has a couple (Benchley, Betty Ross Clarke) going to the movie where all sorts of trouble starts. Benchley has to put up with losing his tickets, sitting behind a tale man and then getting lost while trying to find an exit. This comedy doesn't feature too many laughs but it's still highly entertaining just because it's fun seeing someone else go through various trouble that could happen at a movie theater. Benchley's style of comedy does aim for laugh-out-loud moments but instead just mild smiles seeing stuff that I'm sure we've all gone through and it's rather funny how this film, now seventy-two-years old, is still relevant today. I've seen quite a few of Benchley's shorts but I've read that none of them could compare to his comic writing but as of this date I've yet to read anything from him.
    4SnoopyStyle

    no laughs

    Husband (Robert Benchley) and wife go to the movies. They are not that excited. At the theater, they are given two tickets, one for the movie and one for a raffle to win a new car. It's a series of bad experiences.

    Is this actually funny? I know Benchley was some kind of comedy star of his day. I don't really get it. It's complaining about the movie going experience as it gets played in the movie theaters. I guess that could work if done well. First, I don't like this couple. I don't care about their movie going experience. The kid is almost funny. I can see the attempt, but the result is no laughs.
    7planktonrules

    Benchley takes on the movie theater.

    Robert Benchley stars in yet another short film about a poor schnook who seems to always get getting the short of things in life. In this case, the schnook (Benchley) and his wife want to go to the movies but 1001 little annoyances occur. The summary says that Benchley leaves the ticket in the car...that is NOT the case. Apparently, there was a prize drawing and he accidentally dropped the movie tickets into the slot for that and tried to use the raffle tickets to get into the theater. Then, annoyances about--such as an incredibly large man who sits in front of him and, ultimately, his accidentally walking up on stage and embarrassing himself. All in all, it's pretty typical of a Benchley short with very few belly laughs but plenty of fun, gentle entertainment as he plays his put-upon character. Worth seeing but far from a must-see.

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Just after Robert Benchley buys his tickets from the cashier (Gwen Lee), he walks past a poster advertising My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937), which features Lee.
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      Husband: Well, now, let's see - at the, uh, Mirdaline, there is "The Third Glove"; it says it's the best show in town.

      Wife: Oh, I've seen that - but I don't mind seeing it again if you haven't.

      Husband: No, no; there's no sense in sitting through it a second time. Well, others - uh, showing "Souls on a Tandem".

      Wife: What's the picture with it?

      Husband: Uh, "The Case of the Missing Milkman".

      Wife: Hmm. We can miss that. But I hear "Souls on a Tandem" is good.

      Husband: Yes, it is - I saw it last week. I'd just as soon see it again, though.

      Wife: Oh, no, no; there's no use your sitting through it a second time.

    • Alternate versions
      An alternate version exists where Robert Benchley literally walks in front of the opening titles and addresses the audience.
    • Connections
      Featured in La grande parade du rire (1964)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 6, 1937 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Вечер в кино
    • Filming locations
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 10m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.