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Room Service Overview:

Room Service (1938) was a Comedy - Black-and-white Film directed by William A. Seiter and produced by George Abbott.

Room Service BlogHub Articles:

Classic Films in Focus: ROOM SERVICE (1938)

By Jennifer Garlen on Jan 23, 2013 From Virtual Virago

There are several truly brilliant Marx Brothers films, including Duck Soup (1933) and A Night at the Opera (1935), but Room Service (1938), directed by William A. Seiter, offers little to compare with them. It's a shame, too, because in addition to the brothers we get Lucille Ball and a very young A... Read full article

Classic Films in Focus: ROOM SERVICE (1938)

By Jennifer Garlen on Jan 23, 2013 From Virtual Virago

There are several truly brilliant Marx Brothers films, including Duck Soup (1933) and A Night at the Opera (1935), but Room Service (1938), directed by William A. Seiter, offers little to compare with them. It's a shame, too, because in addition to the brothers we get Lucille Ball and a very young A... Read full article

Classic Films in Focus: ROOM SERVICE (1938)

By Jennifer Garlen on Jan 23, 2013 From Virtual Virago

There are several truly brilliant Marx Brothers films, including Duck Soup (1933) and A Night at the Opera (1935), but Room Service (1938), directed by William A. Seiter, offers little to compare with them. It's a shame, too, because in addition to the brothers we get Lucille Ball and a very young A... Read full article

Room Service

By RBuccicone on Jun 27, 2011 From MacGuffin Movies

Room Service (1938)      From what I have found in my encounters with the Marx Brothers so far is that the films using some material of their stage shows and/or focused more on their antics than the actual story line are the ones that most tickle my fancy. Room Service, unfortunately, does neit... Read full article

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Room Service Quotes:

Leo Davis: I'll give you the best performance you ever saw in a hotel bedroom!
Leo Davis: Gee, I-I-I don't know whether I can keep it up for two and a half hours.
Gordon Miller: It's all right. We'll help you.
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.
Harry Binelli: I still think it's a terrible play, but it makes a wonderful rehearsal.
Gordon Miller: Shhh. Money.
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Room Service Facts
Although she seems much older and mature, Ann Miller is only 15 years old in this film. She had lied about her age and obtained a fake birth certificate when she was about 14 years old stating that she was 18. Ms. Miller was so tall, poised and beautiful that she pulled it off.
This is the first (and last) time The Marx Brothers worked with material not specially created for them.
The Broadway play "Room Service" opened at the Cort Theater on May 19, 1937 and ran for 500 performances (without The Marx Brothers). Cliff Dunstan, Donald MacBride, Philip Wood and Alexander Asro originated their movie roles in the play. Also in the opening night cast was Eddie Albert as Leo Davis, Betty Field as Hilda, Teddy Hart as Faker, Sam Levene as Gordon Miller and Philip Loeb (also in the movie) in a role cut from the screenplay. The play was revived in 1953 with Jack Lemmon as Leo Davis.
The only film The Marx Brothers made with R-K-O. During salary negotiations with R-K-O, erstwhile member Zeppo Marx represented The Marx Brothers, threatening to rejoin the group if their demands weren't met!
The original play was adapted into a Marx Brothers screenplay by Morrie Ryskind, who co-wrote the stage and screen versions of The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers and also co-wrote A Night at the Opera. Much of the original play's strong language had to be toned down for the screen, into milder expletives such as "Jumping Butterballs!"
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