Animal Crackers (1930)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Victor Heerman

Writers:

George S. Kaufman (play) &
Morrie Ryskind (play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

28 August 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

The maddest comics of them all!

Plot:

Mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding.

Plot Keywords:

Party | Explorer | Painting | Marx Brothers | Police

Cast

Groucho Marx	...	Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding
Harpo Marx	...	The Professor
Chico Marx	...	Signor Emanuel Ravelli
Zeppo Marx	...	Horatio Jamison
Lillian Roth	...	Arabella Rittenhouse
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Rittenhouse
Louis Sorin	...	Roscoe Chandler
Hal Thompson	...	John Parker
Margaret Irving	...	Mrs. Whitehead
Kathryn Reece	...	Grace Carpenter
Robert Greig	...	Hives
Edward Metcalf	...	Hennessey
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Allen	...	House Party Guest (uncredited)
Donald MacBride	...	House Party Guest (uncredited)
Ann Roth	...	House Party Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Victor Heerman

Writing credits
George S. Kaufman		(play) &
Morrie Ryskind		(play) &
Bert Kalmar		(play) &
Harry Ruby		(play)
Morrie Ryskind		(writer)

Original Music by
Max Reese		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
George J. Folsey		(as George Folsey)

Art Direction by
Ernst Fegté		(uncredited)

Sound Department
Ernest Zatorsky	....	sound (uncredited)

Other crew
Pierre Collings	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1930) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1979) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (Spain) (2003) (Spain) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Western Electric  sound system

Runtime:

97 min | Argentina:98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:T | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U | USA:G (1974 re-release)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Animal Crackers (1930) did not appear on television until fifty years after its release. When it finally did reach the small screen, it was via a prime-time broadcast on the CBS network in summer 1980.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening scenes Hives turns to speak to Mrs. Rittenhouse after his opening song, and his waistcoat is different. It continues to swap from one style to another throughout the movie.

Quotes:

Capt. Spaulding: I used to know a fellow who looked exactly like you by the name of Emanuel Ravelli. Are you his brother?
Ravelli: I am Emanuel Ravelli.
Capt. Spaulding: You're Emanuel Ravelli?
Ravelli: I am Emanuel Ravelli.
Capt. Spaulding: Well, no wonder you look like him. But I still insist there is a resemblance.
Ravelli: Heh, heh, he thinks I look alike.
Capt. Spaulding: Well, if you do, it's a tough break for both of you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Hamlet (#11.9)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

You Must Do Your Best Tonight

I attended the 1974 "re-opening" of this film

When "Animal Crackers" was re-released after decades in hiding (due to copyright problems), the ticket-buyer & ticket-holder lines at New York's Sutton Theatre stretched down 57th Street for every showing. I was dazzled when I first sat through this film-- it seemed as if there was a kind of magic in the theatre that night. I can remember having goosebumps when Lillian Roth sang "Why Am I So Romantic?".

I was working as manager of the Paris Theatre on 58th Street when "Animal Crackers" opened at the Sutton, and because both houses were part of the Cinema-5 circuit, I was always able to get passes. -- In this case, because I had also worked as 'relief manager' at The Sutton on many occasions, I was well known to the staff and had entry to that theatre whenever I wanted. --During the 'opening' run of "Animal Crackers," I often walked over to The Sutton when my day's shift was complete at The Paris.

I can tell you that every screening of "Animal Crackers" that I attended was packed. And every time I was present for the film's end, I witnessed a standing ovation-- something that many film producers can only dream of.

I often tried to imagine myself attending a 'live' performance of this show. --As many have mentioned here, "Animal Crackers" was a hit Broadway show, starring the Marx Brothers, long before it was filmed by Paramount.

Rather than complaining that this film is "stagey", many who comment here would do well to remember that a film like this is as close to a Broadway show as millions of people will ever get. The annoying penchant some viewers have for wondering why the film version of a Broadway hit show (especially a musical-comedy) isn't more "opened-up" is both tiresome and moot.

Also, the constant comparison of "Animal Crackers" to other Marx Brothers films (especially the later MGM films) is an 'apples-to-oranges' kind of thing. It would make far more sense to compare it to other early filmed-versions of it's Broadway contemporaries, such as "Rio Rita" or "Flying High" or "Girl Crazy"....

Although the stage show of "Animal Crackers" was on Broadway long before I was born, (and the film's initial premier pre-dates me by almost as long), I am forever gratified to have been able to attend the 1974 "re-opening" of the film in New York, and to see, feel, and participate in, the audiences' jubilant reactions.

I rated this film 10/10. It's a perfect comedy, with (theatre-goers will recognize this-) honest-to-goodness Broadway music-- and with Lillian Roth, too. "Animal Crackers" is a great show in every respect.

Hungadunga!