A Night at the Opera (film) DVD commentary. But this could not have occurred, because Sam Marx had died in 1933, during pre-production of "Duck Soup", two years before "A Night at the Opera" was released. The rumor arose because Frenchy had had such a cameo appearance in the Marx Brothers' earlier "Monkey Business". There is, however, a reference to the Marx Brothers' mother, Minnie Marx, during the stateroom scene, in which a woman asks, "Is my Aunt Minnie in here?" Part of the concept of casting the Marx Brothers as stowaways on a ship was recycled from "Monkey Business". As Groucho's and Margaret Dumont's characters
Kaiser-class ocean liner Lloyd", thus commissioned their regular ship builders, AG Vulcan of Stettin, to construct an ocean liner demonstrating the power of the emperor and the German Empire. Having never ordered a liner of this size, the construction was followed closely and she would soon become the pride of the German people. At the advent of "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse", the world was stunned by the idea of an ocean liner with four funnels. This novelty fascinated the world and the liner soon became a great success. Her interiors were distinctly German and were all designed by Johann Poppe, the house designer