History Main / TheStateroomSketch

Originally done by the Creator/MarxBrothers in ''Film/ANightAtTheOpera1935'', seen right. All other versions of this gag are most likely an homage to the original, which was developed by Creator/BusterKeaton who reworked a similar sequence from his film, ''Film/TheCameraman''.

* Applied to a whole house by the Berners Street Hoax [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berners_Street_hoax]]. As part of a bet, one man sent out hundreds of letters requesting visitors, tradesmen, and deliverymen to visit. They duly did, attracting in turn more rubberneckers who read about the stunt in the newspapers and wanted to see it for themselves.

[[quoteright:325:[[Film/ANightAtTheOpera https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0739.JPG]]]]

Originally done by the Creator/MarxBrothers in ''Film/ANightAtTheOpera'' (seen right). All other versions of this gag are most likely an homage to the original, which was developed by Creator/BusterKeaton who reworked a similar sequence from his film, ''Film/TheCameraman''.

* Done in ''Film/BrainDonors'' with Volare's dressing room. Appropriate, given that the movie is a remake of ''Film/ANightAtTheOpera''.

* ''Film/ANightAtTheOpera'' is the TropeNamer. In the scene in question, Groucho boards a ship and finds he has been booked into a stateroom so tiny that it barely holds him and his luggage. Inside his luggage, however, he finds stowaways Harpo, Chico and the movie's romantic hero. [[HilarityEnsues Then in come the maid, the electrician, some waiters with food]], a girl looking for her aunt... It ends with Margaret Dumont opening the door and everyone tumbling out.
* The Creator/MarxBrothers' ''A Night in Casablanca'': A restaurant dining room is filled not only with guests, but also tables and chairs.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In the episode "Oo-Oo-Me-Me-Tocoludi-Gucci-Moo-Moo". Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis had spent their summer vacation in a tiny house-trailer Miss Brooks nicknamed "mousie". While waiting for a perspective buyer to show up, Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis clean the trailer. Unfortunately, Walter Denon, Harriet Conklin and Mr. Conklin all come to visit. HilarityEnsues.

* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'': Actual Closet variant, completes the homage by having their mother open the door so that everyone tumbles out.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': a confirmed homage in "The Circle", though it's in Kira's large quarters rather than a closet and it's pretty much friends barging in to wish her farewell or argue why she shouldn't leave. All done in one take, though the final cut has reaction shots cut in.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Done with a train compartment in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius,'' [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20140326 starting here]], and continuing over the next two months of comics.

[[caption-width-right:325: "Hey, is it my imagination, or is it getting crowded in here?"]]

* ''Film/ANightAtTheOpera'', of course: Groucho boards a ship and finds he has been booked into a stateroom so tiny that it barely holds him and his luggage. Inside his luggage, however, he finds stowaways Harpo, Chico and the movie's romantic hero. [[HilarityEnsues Then in come the maid, the electrician, some waiters with food]], a girl looking for her aunt... It ends with Margaret Dumont opening the door and everyone tumbling out.

* The Creator/MarxBrothers later took it UpToEleven in ''A Night in Casablanca'', filling a restaurant dining room not only with guests, but also tables and chairs.

* In ''Literature/CurseOfTheWolfgirl'' fashion designer Thrix is preparing for a date and is visited by almost [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters every non-villain character]].

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' does this in one episode when everyone has to cram into a two-man tent to conserve heat. Alan Alda's Groucho Marx impression shows up, of course, to quote the original's line, "Hello, room service? Send up a larger room!"

* ''Series/YesMinister'' has the Prime Minister is in a small train cabin reading an advance copy of a speech to be given in front of the Queen by an African leader who's just come to power. It encourages the Scots and the Irish to "throw off the imperialist yoke". First his Permanent Secretary, then the Foreign Secretary, the Press Officer and Undersecretary of the Foreign Office join him. Sir Humphrey lampshades this saying "Welcome to the standing committee."

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1355881327061360100
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* ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' has an episode where Bob and Emily prepare to embark on a two-month cruise, which climaxes with a huge crowd of people jamming into the Hartleys' cabin on the ship to see them off, including Howard, Jerry, Carol, Bob's entire therapy group, the ship's stewards... and one random guy who was walking down the hall and "was just suddenly sucked right in".
-->'''Howard:''' The first one who makes a Marx Brothers joke gets it.

[[folder: Eastern European Animation ]]
* In Academy Award-winning 1981 short ''Animation/{{Tango}}'', a little boy climbs into an apartment to retrieve his ball. Then a nursing mother enters. Then a schoolgirl. Then a man carrying a package. Then more and more and more people--a nude woman, a man with a dog, a plumber carrying a toilet, etc--until ''36 people'' are cycling through the tiny studio apartment.

[[folder: Film ]]

** They later took it UpToEleven in ''A Night in Casablanca'', filling a restaurant dining room not only with guests, but also tables and chairs.
* The Buster Keaton gag from ''Film/TheCameraman'' involves just two people, Buster and a significantly bigger man. But it's a tiny changing room at the pool, so two is enough to make a crowd.
* Done in ''Film/BrainDonors'' with Volare's dressing room. Appropriate, given that the movie is a remake of ''Film/ANightAtTheOpera''.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]
* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' - Actual Closet variant, completes the homage by having their mother open the door so that everyone tumbles out.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' - Elaine [[ItMakesSenseInContext moves into a janitor's closet so she can order food]], and Jerry and the gang drop by.
* Done in ''Series/YesMinister'' with a really small sleeping compartment in a railway carriage and an endless series of visitors, one of whom is very fat.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': a confirmed homage in "The Circle", though it's in Kira's large quarters rather than a closet and it's pretty much friends barging in to wish her farewell or argue why she shouldn't leave. All done in one take, though the final cut has reaction shots cut in.

* ''[[Series/{{MASH}} M*A*S*H]]'' does this in one episode when everyone has to cram into a two-man tent to conserve heat. Alan Alda's Groucho Marx impression shows up, of course, to quote the original's line, "Hello, room service? Send up a larger room!"

* ''Series/YesMinister'' has the Prime Minister is in a small train cabin reading an advance copy of a speech to be given in front of the Queen by an African leader who's just come to power. It encourages the Scots and the Irish to "throw off the imperialist yoke". First his Permanent Secretary, then the Foreign Secretary, the Press Officer and Undersecretary of the Foreign Office join him. Sir Humphrey lampshades this saying "Welcome to the standing committee".

[[folder: Music ]]

* In the video for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" Music/CyndiLauper invites so many people to her bedroom party that they fall through the door.

[[folder: Radio]]
* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In the episode "Oo-Oo-Me-Me-Tocoludi-Gucci-Moo-Moo". Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis had spent their summer vacation in a tiny house-trailer Miss Brooks nicknamed "mousie". While waiting for a perspective buyer to show up, Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis clean the trailer. Unfortunately, Walter Denon, Harriet Conklin and Mr. Conklin all come to visit. HilarityEnsues.

[[folder: Webcomics ]]
* Done with a train compartment in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius,'' [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20140326 starting here]], and continuing over the next two months of comics.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]
* Done in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}},'' in "Hercule Yakko". Dot name-drops "Night At the Opera".
** Includes a VisualPun as well: a map of the continental 48 U.S. states on the door.
* Set up and subverted early on in ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}''. Fry initially stays in Bender's tiny, closet-like apartment (since robots don't need a lot of personal space)... until he finds out that the apartment's "closet" is actually a full-sized apartment.

[[folder: Real Life]]
* Applied to a whole house by the Berners Street Hoax [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berners_Street_hoax]]. As part of a bet, one man sent out hundreds of letters requesting visitors, tradesmen, and deliverymen to visit. They duly did, attracting in turn more rubberneckers who read about the stunt in the newspapers and wanted to see it for themselves.
* Done to William Gaines, publisher of Magazine/MadMagazine. Gaines was a big Marx Brothers fan, and a bunch of his friends dropped by for a visit. He quickly realized what was happening, and found it ActuallyPrettyFunny.

* The children's book ''TheMitten'' is about a mole who finds a lost mitten and climbs in to keep warm, followed by a rabbit, then a hedgehog, etc etc...

* ''Series/YesMinister'' has the Prime Minister is in a small train cabin reading an advance copy of a speech to be given in front of the Queen by an African leader who's just come to power. It encourages the Scots and the Irish to "throw off the imperialist yolk". First his Permanent Secretary, then the Foreign Secretary, the Press Officer and Undersecretary of the Foreign Office join him. Sir Humphrey lampshades this saying "Welcome to the standing committee".

[[quoteright:300:[[Film/ANightAtTheOpera https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0739.JPG]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300: "Hey, is it my imagination, or is it getting crowded in here?"]]

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': a confirmed homage in "The Circle", though it's in Kira's quarters rather than a closet and it's pretty much friends barging in intending to wish farewell privately. All done in one take, though the final cut has reaction shots cut in.

[[Folder: Real Life]]

* Applied to a whole house by the Berners Street Hoax [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berners_Street_hoax]]. As part of a bet, one man sent out hundreds of letters requesting visitors, tradesmen, and deliverymen to visit. They duly did, in turn attracting more rubberneckers who read about the stunt in the newspapers and wanted to see it for themselves.