The Cocoanuts (1929)

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

Directors:

Robert Florey, Joseph Santley

Writers:

George S. Kaufman (book), Morrie Ryskind (adapted by)

Stars:

Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
The Marx Brothers
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 Martin
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Potter
Basil Ruysdael	...	Detective Hennessy
Gamby-Hale Ballet Girls	...	Dancers (as Gamby-Hale Girls)
Allan K. Foster Girls	...	Dancers

Storyline

Mr. Hammer runs a bankrupt Florida hotel. He'll try anything to make money, even make love to rich Mrs. Potter. But his main scheme, selling real estate, is in danger of sabotage from zanies Chico and Harpo, who also reduce the schemes of a pair of jewel thieves to chaos. A subplot involves the star-crossed love of Polly Potter and architect Bob Adams.

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Plot Keywords:

photographic negative scene | man wears eyeglasses | hotel | florida | marx brothers | 

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Taglines:

MARY EATON Broadway's Blondest Beauty! (Print Ad- Evening Record, ((Ellensburg, Wash.)) 7 September 1929)

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Cocoanuts

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 140 min (preview) 89 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although his character is not named in the credits, in one scene Harpo Marx is referred to as "Silent Red."

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Goofs

In the opening scene, Hammer sends Jamison to meet a 4:15 train. When Jamison gets back, he refers to it as a 4:30 train.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Instead of a conventional cast list, the actors are presented as they might be in a stage program: a single visual showing cameo portraits of the leading players identified by both their character names and their own.

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Alternate Versions

Preview version reputedly ran 140 minutes; extensively cut to 96 minutes for the final release version. The cut material allegedly consisted mostly of additional musical numbers.

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Connections

Referenced in The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000)

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Soundtracks

THE BELL-HOPS
(1925) (uncredited)
Written by Irving Berlin
Danced by Gamby-Hale Ballet Girls

User Reviews

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