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:

The sight gags in which Harpo eats the lobby's telephone and drinks from the inkwell were not in the original play. Robert Florey improvised the gags to give Harpo bits of silent business to do.

Quotes:

Hammer: All along the river, those are all levees.
Chico: That's the Jewish neighborhood?
Hammer: Well, we'll pass over that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence (2007)

Soundtrack:

BALLET MUSIC

Glitchy but still brilliant

Furry sound and picture and some continuity problems in terms of lighting and a couple of shots do nothing to marr the appeal of the Marx brother's very first sound feature. I love the Marx brothers. I think they made the greatest comedies in movie history and The Cocoanuts has lost very little appeal in 72 years. Having said that, I am only 16, but I enjoy it today a huge amount, much more than enjoy many modern comedies.

Groucho as Mr Hammer is not as loud as in later films and his stooped walk less defined, but still hilarious. Chico is very much the same and his 'viaduct' routine and the land auction is hysterically funny. Harpo is very different to how he is in later films. He is a fiendish pick-pocket, and far sharper and less innocent than in films such as A Night At The Opera (1935) and A Day At The Races (1937). It works very well all the same and his rapport (if you call it that) with his brothers is nothing short of amazing.

The only complaints I have are with the weak-as-water links into dreary musical numbers (an example is the hotel staff doing an early version of the hand jive [!] followed by Groucho saying 'I'll make'em dance for their money'). Some of the links are amusing (and non-existent). Harpo walks into a room full of musical instruments, finds a harp, plays a 3-minute solo and then it cuts to the next scene. These musical interludes are obviously just showcases of the brother's multiple talents, but they are unnescesary. However without them, the film wouldn't be quite the same :-)

Any fan should see this classic film, even if only for the hilarious engagement dinner, and you will never be able to look at Carmen in quite the same way again!

He wants his shirt! HAHAHAHA!