The Cocoanuts
Directed by Robert Florey and Joseph Santly
Written by Morrie Riskind from a stage play by George S. Kaufman
1929/US
Paramount Pictures
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
Hammer: Hello? Yes? Ice water in 318? Is that so? Where’d you get it? Oh, you want some.
The boys were still learning the ropes of the movie business but their film debut is one of my favorite of their films.
Mr. Hammer (Groucho Marx) is the owner of a hotel that is going down the drain fast. amison (Zeppo Marx) helps him manage it.. Things look up with the arrival of the wealthy Mrs. Potter (Margaret Dumont) and her daughter Polly (Mary Eaton). Polly is in love with hotel clerk Bob Adams (Oscar Shaw), an aspiring architect. Mrs. Potter objects strongly to the match and wants Polly to marry Harvey Yates (Cyril Ring). But unbeknownst to all Harvey is a conman who is scheming with equally bad Penelope Martin (Kay Francis) to steal Mrs. Potter’s $100,000 diamond necklace.
Hammer’s idea to save his hotel is to auction off swamp land for development. Either that or to seduce Mrs. Potter.
Then Chico and Harpo arrive and create chaos everywhere they go. All this is interrupted at random times with love duets and chorus numbers.
I laughed out loud several times, mostly during Groucho’s encounters with Margaret Dumont. How I love that woman! One of the great straight “men” of all times. This movie is heavy on the musical comedy. The songs aren’t too memorable. I always enjoy Chico and Harpo’s performances on piano and harp and this movie has some dandies. The chorus girls are also unintentionally amusing – where did they ever find them and how did they improve so noticeably in just a few years? The Monkey Doodle Do number must be seen to be believed. Recommended.
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The Criterion Channel is showing a series of films in its Pre-Code Paramount Collection in March. These will probably be the next films I will cover. The list is here.
