The Marx Brothers invade high society and scheme
their way into the latest production of the New York Opera Company, while also
procuring a role for a friendly tenor who hopes himself to win the affections
of a lovely chorus girl. A Night at the Opera is not only one of the greatest
Marx Brothers films, but also at the pinnacle of film comedies in general. So,
upon eagerly returning to it recently, I must confess I was a little
disappointed by how much of it is taken up by lame song and dance numbers and sappy
romantic interludes, facts I must have blocked out of my memory or which had
been minimized by the otherwise hilarious raucousness that dominates the rest
of this film, whose highlights include the "party of the first part"
sequence and the unfathomably staged Stateroom Scene.
