A Night at the Opera

A Night at the Opera (1935) is the Marx Brothers comedy you can watch online on iFILM, with Groucho as the smooth-talking schemer Otis Driftwood, conning a wealthy widow while wrecking an entire opera company in the process.

Groucho wants to bleed his rich client; Chico and Harpo just want to get two young singers their big break and humiliate the pompous fools standing in the way. The jokes come fast. Groucho fires off insults before anyone can react, Harpo destroys the scenery in total silence, and Chico mangles every contract he touches. It all builds to the legendary stateroom gag, where a dozen people cram into a tiny ship cabin, and a finale that tears a live performance apart from backstage.

Directed by Sam Wood at MGM, the film sits near the top of nearly every list of the greatest screen comedies. The plot barely matters here, the speed and the anarchy do. Best for anyone who loves verbal sparring and old-school clowning done at full tilt. Stream A Night at the Opera (1935) online on iFILM.