History Film / RoomService1938

''Room Service'' is the eighth full-length film starring the Creator/MarxBrothers, released in 1938 following ''Film/{{A Day at the Races|1937}}''. It is notable in several aspects: it's the only film the Marxes made for Creator/RKOPictures as well as their only film not originally written for them, and it features no musical numbers or scenes for [[TheCastShowoff Chico or Harpo to show off their skills]]. The movie started as an adaptation of a successful Broadway comedy {{Farce}}, which was pitched to RKO by Zeppo Marx and adapted by longtime Marx Brothers' writer Morrie Ryskind.

Despite the popularity of the Marxes and the success of the original theatrical play, ''Room Service'' ended up as a bomb for RKO, who paid a staggering $225,000 for the rights and ended up losing $330,000 on the film. Some attribute the film's failure to [[CreatorsOddball its deviation from the form of previous Marx movies]] -- it's less frenetic and more contained, with a larger cast of supporting characters, and the Marxes are not playing characters following their typical archetypes.

The story centers around Gordon Miller (Groucho), a theatrical producer who's trying to find a backer for his troupe's play "Hail and Farewell". Miller and his crew have been staying for free at his brother-in-law's hotel (and running up a hefty bill in the process), but the ride is brought to an end when Gregory Wagner (Donald [=MacBride=]), the hotel's supervising director, arrives to balance the books, causing Miller to scramble to save the production before he can be evicted. He's aided by Harry Binelli (Chico), Faker (Harpo), playwright Leo Davis (Frank Albertson), and actress Christine Marlowe (Creator/LucilleBall).

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/room_service.jpg]]

''Room Service'' is the eighth full-length film starring the Creator/MarxBrothers, released in 1938 following ''Film/{{A Day At The Races|1937}}''. It is notable in several aspects -- it's the only movie the Marxes did for Creator/RKOPictures, it's their only film not originally written for them, and it offers no musical numbers or scenes for [[TheCastShowoff Chico or Harpo to show off their skills]]. The movie started as an adaptation of a successful Broadway comedy {{Farce}}, which was pitched to RKO by Zeppo Marx and adapted by longtime Marx Brothers' writer Morrie Ryskind.

The story centers on Gordon Miller (Groucho), a theater producer who's trying to find a backer for his troupe's play "Hail and Farewell". Miller and his crew have been staying for free at his brother-in-law's hotel and racking up a huge bill in the process. The ride comes to an end when Gregory Wagner (Donald [=MacBride=]), the hotel's supervising director, arrives to balance the books, causing Miller to scramble to save the production before he can be evicted. He is aided by Harry Binelli (Chico), Faker (Harpo), and playwright Leo Davis (Frank Albertson).

The story centers on Gordon Miller (Groucho), a theater producer who's trying to find a backer for his troupe's play "Hail and Farewell". Miller and his crew have been staying for free at the White Way Hotel, run by his brother-in-law (Cliff Dunstan) and racking up a huge bill in the process. The free ride comes to an end when Gregory Wagner (Donald [=MacBride=]), the hotel's supervising director, arrives to balance the books, causing Miller to scramble to save the production before he can be evicted. He is aided by Harry Binelli (Chico), Faker (Harpo), and playwright Leo Davis (Frank Albertson).

Despite the popularity of the Marxes and the success of the original theatrical play, ''Room Service'' ended up as a bomb for RKO, who paid a staggering $225,000 for the film rights and ended up losing $330,000 on the film. Some attribute the film's failure to [[CreatorsOddball its deviation from the form of previous Marx movies]] -- it's less frenetic and more contained, with a larger cast of supporting characters, and the Marxes are not playing characters following their typical archetypes.

* LargeHam: Donald [=MacBride=] plays the part of gregory Wagner with bombastic relish. He seldom has a scene where he isn't roaring at the Marxes or being overly melodramatic at an imagined tragedy.

''Room Service'' is the eighth full-length film starring the Creator/MarxBrothers, released in 1938 following ''Film/{{A Day At The Races|1937}}''. It is notable in several aspects -- it's the only movie the Marxes did for Creator/RKOPictures, it's their only film not originally written for them, and it offers no musical numbers or scenes for [[TheCastShowoff Chico or Harpo to show off their skills]]. The movie was originally a successful Broadway comedy {{Farce}}, pitched to RKO by Zeppo Marx, and adapted by longtime Marx Brothers' writer Morrie Ryskind.

* FakingTheDead: Done by both Leo and Faker to keep Wagner from interrupting the premiere of "Hail and Fairwell".

* PlayingSick: Done ''twice'' by Leo, first to keep himself and Miller from being evicted from their room, and later to keep Wagner from calling the police to shut down the premiere of the play.

The story centers on Gordon Miller (Groucho), a theater producer who's trying to find a backer for his troupe's play "Hail and Farewell". Miller and his crew have been staying for free at the White Way Hotel, run by his brother-in-law (Cliff Dunstan) and racking up a huge bill in the process. The free ride comes to an end when Gregory Wagner (Donald [=MacBride=]), the hotel's supervising director, arrives to balance the books, causing Miller to scramble to save the production before he can be evicted. He is aided by Harry Binelli (Chico), Faker (Harpo), and Leo Davis (Frank Albertson), the author of the play.

* OnlyOneName: Faker (Harpo Marx), Sasha (Alexander Asro), Hilda (Ann Miller), and Christine (Creator/LucilleBall).

* BrickJoke: The collections agent returns from a futile effort to find Leo in the middle of his (mock) funeral.

* {{Determinator}}: Wagner is driven to evict Miller and his troupe from White Way and resolve the hotel's finances, as he will receive a lucrative promotion for doing so. He is only deterred when he learns that a reclusive millionaire plans to back the play.

''Room Service'' is the eighth full-length film starring the Creator/MarxBrothers, released in 1938 following ''Film/{{A Day At The Races|1937}}''. It is notable in several aspects -- it's the only movie the Marxes did for Creator/RKOPictures, it's their only film not originally written for them, and it offers no musical numbers or scenes for [[TheCastShowoff Chico or Harpo to show off their skills]]. The movie was originally a successful Broadway show, pitched to RKO by Zeppo Marx, and adapted by longtime Marx Brothers' writer Morrie Ryskind.

The story centers on Gordon Miller (Groucho), a theater producer who's trying to find a backer for his troupe's play "Hail and Farewell". Miller and his crew have been staying at the White Way Hotel, run by his brother-in-law (Cliff Dunstan) and racking up a huge bill in the process. The free ride comes to an end when Gregory Wagner, the hotel's supervising director (Donald [=MacBride=]), arrives to balance the books, causing Miller to scramble to save the production before he can be evicted. He is aided by Harry Binelli (Chico), Faker (Harpo), and Leo Davis (Frank Albertson), the author of the play.

* CountryMouse: Leo Davis is a downplayed version of this trope. When he first appears, he is awestruck and easily swayed by everyone else around him, and mentions that the White Way is the first hotel he's ever been in.

''Room Service'' is the eighth full-length film starring the Creator/MarxBrothers, released in 1938 following ''Film/{{A Day At The Races|1937}}''. It is notable in several aspects -- it's the only movie the Marxes did for Creator/RKOPictures, it's their only film not originally written for them, and it offers no musical numbers or scenes for [[TheCastShowoff Chico or Harpo to show off their skills]]. The movie was adapted from a successful Broadway show by longtime Marx Brothers Morrie Ryskind, and sold to RKO by Zeppo Marx.

''Room Service'' is the eighth full-length film starring the Creator/MarxBrothers, released in 1938 following ''Film/{{A Day At The Races|1937}}''. It is notable in several aspects -- it's the only movie the Marxes did for RKO Pictures, it's their only film not originally written for them, and it offers no musical numbers or scenes for [[TheCastShowoff Chico or Harpo to show off their skills]]. The movie was adapted from a successful Broadway show by longtime Marx Brothers Morrie Ryskind, and sold to RKO by Zeppo Marx.

''Room Service'' is the eighth full-length film starring the Creator/MarxBrothers' seventh film, released in 1937 following ''Film/ADayAtTheRaces1937''. It is notable in several aspects -- it's the only movie the Marxes did for RKO Pictures, it's their only film not originally written for them, and it offers no musical numbers or scenes for [[TheCastShowoff Chico or Harpo to show off their skills]]. The movie was adapted from a successful Broadway show by longtime Marx Brothers Morrie Ryskind, and sold to RKO by Zeppo Marx.

Despite the success of the Marxes and the original theatrical play, ''Room Service'' ended up as a bomb for RKO, who paid a staggering $225,000 for the film rights and ended up losing $330,000 on the film. Some attribute the film's failure to its failure to follow the structure of previous Marx Brothers movies -- it's less frenetic and more contained, with a larger cast of supporting characters and the Marxes not playing to their typical archetypes.

The story centers on Gordon Miller (Groucho), a theater producer who's trying to find a backer for his troupe's play "Hail and Farewell". Miller and his crew have been staying at the White Way Hotel, run by his brother-in-law (Cliff Dunstan) and racking up a huge bill in the process. The free ride comes to an end when the hotel's supervising director (Donald MacBride) arrives to balance the books, causing Miller to scramble to save the production before he can be evicted.

!!''Room Service'' features the following tropes: