Room Service (1938)

Room Service
Directed by William A. Seiter
Written by Morry Ryskind from the play by John Murray and Allen Boretz
1938/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing/Warner Archives DVD

[box] Hilda Manny: If I don’t come back you’ll know it’s good news. Gordon Miller: And if you do come back bring four bottles of poison.[/box]

It’s pretty bad when the producers feel compelled to add another comedian to a Marx Brothers movie and this is a pretty bad movie.

Gordon Miller (Groucho Marx) is trying to put on a Broadway show together with his sidekicks Binelli (Chico) and Faker (Harpo).  His entourage and the entire company are seriously behind on the rent at a New York hotel.  They struggle to elude both starvation and the hotel manager (Donald MacBride).  With Lucille Ball and Ann Miller.

There is entirely too much talking in this picture.  In the Marx Brothers defense, they are funnier than Donald MacBride with his repeated “Jumping Butterballs!” schtick.  I wonder if that’s where they got the name for the turkey …

Clip

And on that note, I conclude my 1938 viewing.