Room Service (1938)

Directed by

William A. Seiter

Genre

comedy film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 18m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.5 of 10 from 81 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A broke Broadway producer holes up in a hotel room with his eccentric cast and crew. They scheme to find a mysterious backer for their play while dodging the hotel manager who wants them evicted.

fast-pacedsillyzanylightheartedchaoticslapstickplayfulenergetic

What happens

Room Service is a 1938 American comedy film directed by William A. Seiter, based on the 1937 play of the same name by Allen Boretz and John Murray. The film stars the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo and Chico) and also features Lucille Ball, Ann Miller and Frank Albertson. It was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures; RKO paid $255,000 for filming rights, which was then a record for a sound picture. This is the only film starring the Marx Brothers with a screenplay based on material that was not written especially for the team. Less frenetic and more physically contained (mostly Gordon Miller's hotel room) than their other films, the plot revolves around the shenanigans of a broke Broadway producer getting a play staged and funded by a mysterious backer, while evading eviction from a hotel. RKO remade the movie in 1944 as Step Lively, starring George Murphy and Frank Sinatra. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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