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I am fairly certain that all which survives on A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (at least in the MGM/Turner/Warner vaults) is the curious abrupt-cut opening to the film.
This issue piqued my curiosity when I was a student at USC, where many MGM files are housed. According to the original release cutting continuity, the film was released in 1935 with that abrupt cut at the beginning.
Also, according the MGM files I researched there, the first theatrical re-issue of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (at least in the U.S.) was in 1948, not 1942. This was corroborated by the FILM DAILY YEARBOOK of 1949 covering 1948's film release activity.
Further clues lie in the running time in original reviews match the running time of current prints, and the screenplay of the film, published by Viking in the early 70's, contains the original full script, prior to editing, and then the final release version script. This also indicates that the current version with the abrupt beginning is indeed how the film was originally released, strange as that may seem.
So from my vantage point, there was no fiddling with the film after release. If anyone has any factual evidence to the contrary, I'd be pleased to know about it since this issue has been a source of curiosity to me for years.
Meanwhile, there has been no genuine announcement that WB is going to release this picture in June (I don't believe these "rumor mill"-types who are so often a font for errata). However, Robert Weide's comments are solid evidence enough for me that these are definitely in the works, and that is truly welcome news.
I hope that Warner Bros. releases all 7 of the Marx pictures they control, and not just the first two. What a great boxed set that would make!
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