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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sylvan Lee	...	Bell Captain (uncredited)
Barton MacLane	...	Bather (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Florey
Joseph Santley

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

Produced by
Monta Bell	....	producer
James R. Cowan	....	associate producer
Jesse L. Lasky	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Walter Wanger	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Walter Wanger	....	producer (uncredited)
Adolph Zukor	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Frank Tours		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
George J. Folsey		(as George Folsey)

Film Editing by
Barney Rogan		(uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Joseph Ruttenberg	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Frank Tours	....	musical director

Other crew
Jesse L. Lasky	....	presenter
Adolph Zukor	....	presenter
Allan K. Foster	....	dance director (uncredited)
Erna Kay	....	choreographer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1929) (USA) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sogemedia (2007) (Spain) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (Spain) (2008) (Spain) (DVD)

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

The first Marx comedy - huge laughs.

"The Cocoanuts" is the very first film the Marx Brothers did and is essentially a filmed recording of their Broadway triumph. Talkies were still in their infancy, and the technical aspects of this flick prove it! The camera can barely keep up with the boys as they leap around. But don't let the staginess and crummy musical interludes and subplots distract you... this film has some of the great moments in Marx comedy. Chico is especially aggressive with his lines (he just annoys the hell out of Groucho, foiling his plan to rig an auction with his denseness) and Harpo (with his original red wig, which films dark brown) has never been better, destroying the hotel lobby by eating buttons off bellboy's uniforms and swilling ink. Groucho has some of his most potent insults. Zeppo, surprisingly, has even less to do here than in subsequent outings. This film is hilarious and head-and-shoulders above their later MGM films like "Go West" and "At the Circus." Funny, funny, funny!