7) A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA

Director: Archie Mayo
Stars: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Sig Ruman, Charles Drake, Lois Collier, Lisette Verea
Year: 1946
Rating: N/R

Hard to believe (for me, anyway), but there are still a handful of Marx Brothers films I have yet to see; something I am trying to rectify, so I thought I'd start with their last good one (and next-to-last film, overall). While A Night in Casablanca is nowhere near the quality of the films made in their early/golden years, the boys are pretty darned funny here - in a film set in post-war Casablanca, with murder, intrigue, Nazis ... and the Marx brothers caught up in it all.

The film opens with another murder of the new manager at the Hotel Casablanca. It seems that the last several managers of the famous hotel have all died under mysterious circumstances - and with no one left to turn to, next in line is Ronald Kornblow (Groucho), the manager of a small hotel far enough outside of town who has no clue as to the Casablanca's reputation. In fact, Kornblow has no clue about a lot of things ... and as the hotel's new manager, it seems Kornblow is next in line for check-out.

Chico and Harpo are aboard as hotel employees, while Marx Brothers regular Sig Ruman plays undercover Nazi Heinrich Stubel - the man behind the murders, scheming to eventually BE manager of the Casablanca so that he can start the hunt for the Nazi treasures still hidden somewhere within the hotel. Add a wicked woman scheming with Stubel to get rid of Kornblow (Lisette Verea), and a young serviceman (Charles Drake) eventually framed for the murders, along with his naive girlfriend (Lois Collier) who professes his total innocence - and you have a heady mix of characters, along with some laugh-out-loud scenes (Chico's piano playing and Harpo's scene strumming the harp are fitted in wonderfully here, without slowing down the film at all) that include the brothers slowly making a nightclub dance floor smaller and smaller by setting up dining tables amidst couples trying to dance. Oh yeah, and the packing scene, toward the end - PURE classic Marx Brothers! The chase scene at the film's finale is perfectly shot, choreographed flawlessly and a real homage to some of the boys' best work, and overall the film is definitely one of their better efforts in their later years ...

And yet somehow, the film feels only slightly above average. Terrific as a film in general, for a Marx Brothers film you can sort of feel the test of time here a bit. The gags, one-liners, and writing all hold up - yet somehow, none of it seems delivered with the sharp snap and wit of their earlier films. VERY entertaining, often funny, and genuinely enjoyable as a comedy, A Night in Casablanca is a great little film that just - somehow - feels like it could have been greater *** - Reel Cool