The Cocoanuts (1929)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Directors:

Robert Florey
Joseph Santley

Writers:

George S. Kaufman (play)
Morrie Ryskind (adaptation)

Release Date:

3 August 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

Paramount's All Talking-Singing Musical Comedy Hit!

Plot:

During the Florida land boom, the Marx brothers run a hotel, auction off some land, thwart a jewel robbery, and generally act like themselves.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Florida | Marx Brothers | Auction | Irreverence

Cast

Zeppo Marx	...	Jamison
Groucho Marx	...	Hammer
Harpo Marx	...	Harpo
Chico Marx	...	Chico
Oscar Shaw	...	Bob Adams
Mary Eaton	...	Polly Potter
Cyril Ring	...	Harvey Yates
Kay Francis	...	Penelope
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Potter
Basil Ruysdael	...	Detective Hennessy
Gamby-Hale Ballet Girls	...	Themselves (as Gamby-Hale Girls)
Allan K. Foster Girls	...	Themselves

Runtime:

96 min | USA:140 min (preview)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate not issued at release) | UK:U | Finland:K-8 | USA:Passed

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed on a stage in New York City. Sound films were still so new that soundproofing was not installed, so the film had to be shot in the early hours of the morning to reduce outside traffic noise.

Quotes:

Hammer: Hey, hey! You know that suitcase is empty?
Chico: That's all right. We fill it up before we leave.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Paul Giamatti/Ludacris featuring Sum-41 (#30.10)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

MONKEY-DOODLE-DO0

I liked it. It was nice.

The Marx Brothers first motion picture and Paramount's first "all talking, all singing, all dancing" musical will delight fans of the Marx Brothers, musicals and early cinema alike. While dated and somewhat stagey, after all it *was* basically a filmed version of their hit Broadway show, it holds up better than many films of its day. Kaufman and Ryskind, who also wrote the stage show, wrote the screenplay with an eye to making the Marx Brothers wit appear spontaneous and natural. I remember how shocked I was when I first realized the boys were using a script!

The movie is laced with classics of Marxian comedy. The famous "Why a duck?" scene with Groucho and Chico (remember - it's pronounced Chick-o, not Cheek-o, because he was such a womanizer), Groucho answering the telephone at the hotel's front desk (Ice water? Ice water? Peel some onions. That'll make your eyes water.) and Harpo shaking hands with the house detective while all of the hotel silverware falls out of his coat pockets.

Margaret Dumont is priceless as the clueless matron. She claimed in later years it wasn't an act; she really had no idea what the brothers were doing. Regardless, she is the ideal foil for the boys as they tear into "polite" society.

Take a look at The Cocoanuts. You'll see the wellspring from which all that Marx madness flows.

Jon Brian Waugh