7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure.
Starring: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Charles Drake, Sig RumanComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
While A Night in Casablanca evidently was planned at some point to have at least a bit more Casablanca (the film, not the place) in it, the resulting film is a genial send up of films involving foreign intrigue, spies and lost treasures. Reportedly made at least in part to help retire some financial debts on the part of Harpo, A Night in Casablanca came out four years after the legendary Humphrey Bogart — Ingrid Bergman opus, and that lapse of time may help explain at least in part why a straight up parody of the film didn’t ultimately pan out. In a way, A Night in Casablanca seems to be clearly trying to harken back to the very first Marx Brothers feature, The Cocoanuts (available as part of The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection), courtesy of the fact that Groucho once again portrays the manager of a fairly raucous hotel. In this case, however, Groucho's character of Ronald Kornblow is an unwitting dupe who is in charge of a facility after the close of World War II running rampant with ex-Nazis and other scheming sorts, and who may in fact be marked for murder.
A Night in Casablanca is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of ClassicFlix with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.36:1. This is another very winning presentation from ClassicFlix, though it doesn't have the same consistent levels of clarity that have been seen in some earlier releases by the label. Detail levels are often very enjoyable, including things like the webbed inside of Stubel's toupee (see screenshot 11) or even the checked bathrobe that Stubel wears in some scenes. Contrast is generally solid, with good black levels throughout and nicely modulated gray scale. Grain looks natural, though I didn't notice some expected spikes during things like optical dissolves. ClassicFlix typically does a fantastic job on the restoration side of things, and that's once again the case here, with only very minor speckling and scratches having made it through the improvement gauntlet. A lot of this transfer looks commendably sharp, but there are some fluctuations (typically not dependent on framings or opticals), some of which can be seen in some of the screenshots I've included with this review. My score is 3.75.
A Night in Casablanca features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. This is definitely a product of its time, and so some of the music in particular has a somewhat narrow and shallow sound, but there's no actual distortion or other damage. Dialogue and some occasionally goofy sound effects are all presented cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.
- On Stage Performance Clip (1080p; 5:52) is from August 1945 and features the Marx Brothers "testing" material.
- Radio Commercials (1080p; 4:32)
If common wisdom and/or Groucho's own writing is/are to be believed, Warner Brothers got itself into something of an uproar when this film was announced, at least in its original formulation of parodying the legendary Bogart-Bergman film. While some of what has been reported actually evidently never really occurred, Groucho wasn't above implying that Warner wanted to shut down this film, leading to a series of patently hilarious letters Groucho really did send to the powers that be at the studio (probably as much for self promotional purposes as to put the scare into them). In the oft quoted show business maxim that there's no such thing as bad publicity, Warner might have just as well let things develop as they were initially planned to, but this supposedly redacted and rethought A Night in Casablanca still has quite a few laughs and an overall surprisingly sweet tone. Technical merits are generally solid, and A Night in Casablanca comes Recommended.
Warner Archive Collection
1937
Warner Archive Collection
1943
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1945
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1949
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1968
Warner Archive Collection
1935
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Fox Studio Classics
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1945