People are voting emotionally.

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Directed by William Seiter, with a screenplay by Morrie Ryskind, this slightly above average Marx Brothers comedy also features Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, Frank Albertson, and Donald MacBride (among others). Though the film lacks a lot of the staples of their earlier films (music, Zeppo, and memorable quotes besides "jumping butterballs"), it's still an entertaining 80 minutes.Groucho plays the would-be producer of a play, Chico's his assistant, and Harpo is Harpo; all three are destitute (that is to say, their money has run out). They've been holed up in a New York hotel with 20 members of their cast (Ball is one of its leads) while rehearsing it, running up a bill of $1,200, over several months before its manager, Groucho's brother-in-law (Cliff Dunstan), is caught by one of the hotel's would-be vice presidents (MacBride), who insists that they pay their bill or get out!The play's small town author (Albertson) from Oswego shows up in time to get mixed up in the mess; he's corrupted by "the boys" and also falls in love with one of the hotel's employees (Miller, who doesn't dance in this film). She would like him to find a role for one of the hotel's ham waiters (Alexander Asro).In the nick of time, they find a would-be backer, a famous wealthy financier whose representative (Philip Wood) informs them that his boss, who would like his mistress to have a role in their play, wishes to remain anonymous for fear of scandal.Philip Loeb plays a collector who wants to repossess the penniless author's typewriter; Charles Halton plays the hotel's doctor, who's called into verify that the author is indeed sick and thus can't be evicted.The first two thirds of the film takes place in one room in the hotel, and most of the last third was shot in another (a suite). Later remade as the musical Step Lively (1944) with Frank Sinatra, who plays the author.

Only The Marx Bros. could make a static stage play with essentially almost all the "action", confined to a set of hotel rooms, so lively and entertaining. Similar to what the 3 Stooges or W.C. Fields could do! This is RKO so there are no lavish over-blown fancy and silly musical programs here, but what an amazingly terrific and funny series of events. Chico's moose head on the wall and Harpo's "flying turkey" circling the ceiling! A shy and timid playwright. The dumbest bill collector in the world. Lucile Ball has a very small part and Anne Miller is wonderful as the love interest. As always, and similar to W.C. Field's "Old Fashioned Way", the entire "company" (of 22 actors) is free-loading on the 19th floor, and Groucho is trying to raise money out of thin air for his play. (Watching The Marx Bros. "inhale" dinner is hilarious, especially Harpo eating peas with a knife.) Groucho owes the hotel 1200 bucks for room and board! That was an awful lot of money in those days. Two people "die" in the film, but both deaths are "faked": The playwright, who has 67 cents to his name, and Harpo, ridiculously dressed as a coal miner with a lit lamp!, in costume. He puts on his "Ookie face" with a fake dagger in his back, and appears in the excerpt and final scene of the play, which, thankfully, only runs for 3 minutes at the very end. Frank MacBride, as the overwrought "home office efficiency man" is terribly funny and terribly loud, both at the same time. Jumpin' Butterballs!

The only Marx Bros. film made at RKO is enjoyable despite not feeling very much like a Marx Bros. picture at all. It's the first movie the brothers made with parts not written specifically for them. The plot is about producer Groucho, his assistants Chico & Harpo, and actress Lucille Ball trying to get a play financed while avoiding being thrown out of their hotel. It's a movie based on a stage play and feels like it. Most of the movie takes place in one hotel room and the script is very talky. The last part wouldn't be a bad thing if the script was written with Groucho in mind. But it wasn't so Groucho doesn't get a lot of witty one-liners here. There are no gags or zingers that would make a Marx Bros. highlight reel in this one. But, on the plus side, there are no lame musical numbers to sit through. In addition to the brothers and Lucy, the cast includes Donald MacBride, Frank Albertson, and a 15 year-old Ann Miller (playing older). They're all fine but Margaret Dumont is sorely missed. There are a lot of things not to like about this but it works well enough for what it is. Keep expectations low and you'll probably find it's a good time-passer, even though it's not a classic.

One other reviewer expressed the same sense about this film that I had. It seemed awfully stagy. And, I think with much more talkative roles, especially for Groucho. Now, I don't mind that except that I am used to the clever, witty comments and retorts, and then their moving on and mixing in with antics. This film does have antics, but nothing on the long-laugh producing craziness of "A Night at the Opera," and "A Day at the Races." I think what made their earliest films the best, was that they had screenplays in which each of the brothers was off doing his thing – the scenes would move from one to another; and then at times they would come together for real hilarity. In "Room Service," Groucho seems stuck in one spot as though he were caught in their room, and Chico and Harpo come and go with a moose head, a live turkey, etc. But, "Room Service" is a Marx Brothers comedy, and one worth seeing. I think Frank Albertson does a banner job as Leo Davis. Cliff Dunstan, who had a very short career in the movies, did a very good job as Joseph Gribble, the hotel manager and brother-in-law of Groucho's Gordon Miller. Donald MacBride gives one of the best performances in this film as the flustered hotel inspector-director, Gregory Wagner. It was nice to see Lucille Ball in this early role that had a little meat to it. Ball had been uncredited in 25 films and was in 4 shorts from 1933 to 1935 when she got her first credited role in "I Dream Too Much" She would be in another 20 films with bit parts, this one included, before she would get a lead role. From there it was all up hill for the crazy blonde, who was a very talented actress as well as a comedienne.