The Cocoanuts
Encyclopedia
The Cocoanuts is the first feature-length Marx Brothers
film, produced by Paramount Pictures
. The musical comedy stars the four Marx Brothers, Oscar Shaw
, Mary Eaton
, and Margaret Dumont
. Produced by Walter Wanger
and the first sound movie to credit more than one director (Robert Florey
and Joseph Santley
), and was adapted to the screen by Morrie Ryskind
from the George S. Kaufman
Broadway
play.
Five of the film's tunes were composed by Irving Berlin
including "When My Dreams Come True," sung by Oscar Shaw
and Mary Eaton.
As one of the earliest examples of a transfer of a stage musical to the new medium, The Cocoanuts highlights the imperfect production methods of early sound films.
. Mr. Hammer (Groucho Marx
) runs the place, assisted by Jamison (Zeppo Marx
), who would rather sleep at the front desk than actually help him run it. Chico
and Harpo
arrive with empty luggage, which they plan to fill by robbing and conning the guests. Mrs. Potter (Margaret Dumont
, in the first of seven appearances with the Marxes) is one of the few paying customers. Her daughter Polly (Mary Eaton
) is in love with struggling young architect
Bob Adams (Oscar Shaw
). He works to support himself as a clerk at the hotel, but has plans for the development of the entire area. Mrs. Potter wants her daughter to marry Harvey Yates (Cyril Ring
), whom she believes to be of higher social standing than the clerk. This suitor is actually a con man out to steal the dowager's diamond necklace with the help of his conniving partner Penelope (Kay Francis
).
, including techniques which were soon to become standard, such as overhead shots of dancing girls imitating the patterns of a kaleidoscope
. The musical numbers were recorded live on the soundstage as they were shot, rather than pre-recorded, with an off-camera orchestra. The main titles are superimposed over a negative image of the "Monkey-Doodle-Do" number photographed from an angle that does not appear in the body of the film.
One of the more famous gags in the film has Groucho giving directions to Chico, who keeps misunderstanding "viaduct
" as "why-a-duck". In another sequence Groucho is the auctioneer for some land of possibly questionable value ("You can have any kind of a home you want to; you can even get stucco
! Oh, how you can get stuck-oh!") He has hired Chico to artificially "bid up" during the auction. To Groucho's frustration, Chico keeps outbidding everyone, even himself. Still another sequence has Groucho, and later the necklace thief, perform a formal speech. Harpo repeatedly walks off, with a grim look on his face, to the punch bowl. (It is implied that the fruit punch has been spiked with alcohol
). Another highlight is when the cast, already dressed in traditional Spanish garb for a theme party, erupts into an operatic treatment about a lost shirt to music from Carmen
.
As the film was made in the early days of sound film, to eliminate the sound of the camera motors, the cameras and the cameramen were enclosed in large soundproof booths with a glass panel to allow filming fronting the booth. Before filming the cameraman was shut inside the booth with packs of ice to prevent condensation forming on the glass panel. The length of filming was therefore limited by endurance of the cameramen within the airtight booths. This practice was commonplace in the early years of sound film and is largely responsible for the static camera work of that era. For many years, Marxian legend had it that Florey, who had never seen the Marxes' work before, was put in the soundproof booth because he could not contain his laughter at the brothers' spontaneous antics.
Every piece of paper in the movie is soaking wet, to keep crackling paper sounds from overloading the primitive recording equipment of the time. In fact, this did not occur to the director until 27 takes had been made (of the "Viaduct" scene) and disposed of because of the noise made by the paper. The director finally got the idea to soak the paper in water; the 28th take of the "Viaduct" scene used soaked paper, and this take was quiet and kept.
The "ink" that Harpo drank from the hotel lobby inkwell was actually Coca-Cola
, and the "telephone mouthpiece" that he nibbled was made of chocolate, both inventions of Robert Florey. In A Night in Casablanca
, Harpo could again be seen eating "telephones."
Filming took place at Paramount's Astoria Studios
in Astoria, Queens
. It was the first of only two films done by the brothers in New York (the other was Animal Crackers
, released in 1930). After that, production of all Marx films shifted to Hollywood.
The Cocoanuts is one of the few Irving Berlin
vehicles that did not yield any particularly memorable songs. Berlin had actually written one of his eventual greatest hits, "Always", for the stage play. But George S. Kaufman
, convinced that it would never be a hit, persuaded him to excise it. Reportedly, Kaufman (or Groucho) remarked, "No one will believe a lyric like 'I'll be loving you, always.' How about changing it to, 'I'll be loving you Thursday'?" The song "Always" was eventually used in the movie The Pride of the Yankees
. Several songs from the stage play were omitted from the film. "Lucky Boy" was sung by the chorus to congratulate Bob on his engagement to Polly. "A Little Bungalow" was a love duet sung by Bob and Polly, and was replaced with "When My Dreams Come True" in the film.
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
film, produced by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. The musical comedy stars the four Marx Brothers, Oscar Shaw
Oscar Shaw
Oscar Shaw , was a stage and screen actor and singer...
, Mary Eaton
Mary Eaton
Mary Eaton was a leading stage actress, singer, and dancer in the 1910s and 1920s. A professional performer since childhood, she enjoyed success in stage productions such as the Ziegfeld Follies and early sound films such as Glorifying the American Girl and The Cocoanuts, but found her career in...
, and Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont was an American comedic actress. She is remembered mostly for being the comic foil to Groucho Marx in seven of the Marx Brothers films...
. Produced by Walter Wanger
Walter Wanger
Walter Wanger was an American film producer. An intellectual and a socially conscious movie executive who produced provocative message movies and glittering romantic melodramas, Wanger's career began at Paramount Pictures in the 1920s and led him to work at virtually every major studio as either a...
and the first sound movie to credit more than one director (Robert Florey
Robert Florey
Robert Florey was a French screenwriter, director of short films, and actor who moved to Hollywood in 1921. In 1950, Florey was made a knight in the French Légion d'honneur....
and Joseph Santley
Joseph Santley
Joseph Santley was an American actor, singer, dancer, writer, director, and producer of musical theatrical plays and motion pictures....
), and was adapted to the screen by Morrie Ryskind
Morrie Ryskind
Morrie Ryskind was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and motion pictures, who became a conservative political activist later in life.-Biography:...
from the George S. Kaufman
George S. Kaufman
George Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals, notably for the Marx Brothers...
Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play.
Five of the film's tunes were composed by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
including "When My Dreams Come True," sung by Oscar Shaw
Oscar Shaw
Oscar Shaw , was a stage and screen actor and singer...
and Mary Eaton.
As one of the earliest examples of a transfer of a stage musical to the new medium, The Cocoanuts highlights the imperfect production methods of early sound films.
Plot
The Cocoanuts is set in the Hotel de Cocoanut, a resort hotel, during the Florida land boom of the 1920sFlorida land boom of the 1920s
The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble, which burst in 1925, leaving behind entire new cities and the remains of failed development projects such as Aladdin City in south Miami-Dade County and Isola di Lolando in north Biscayne Bay...
. Mr. Hammer (Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
) runs the place, assisted by Jamison (Zeppo Marx
Zeppo Marx
Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx was an American film star, musician, engineer, theatrical agent and businessman. He was the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films, from 1929 to 1933, but then left the act to start his second career as an...
), who would rather sleep at the front desk than actually help him run it. Chico
Chico Marx
Leonard "Chico" Marx was an American comedian and film star as part of the Marx Brothers. His persona in the act was that of a dim-witted albeit crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes, and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat.As the first-born of the...
and Harpo
Harpo Marx
Adolph "Harpo" Marx was an American comedian and film star. He was the second oldest of the Marx Brothers. His comic style was influenced by clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish wig, and never spoke during performances...
arrive with empty luggage, which they plan to fill by robbing and conning the guests. Mrs. Potter (Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont was an American comedic actress. She is remembered mostly for being the comic foil to Groucho Marx in seven of the Marx Brothers films...
, in the first of seven appearances with the Marxes) is one of the few paying customers. Her daughter Polly (Mary Eaton
Mary Eaton
Mary Eaton was a leading stage actress, singer, and dancer in the 1910s and 1920s. A professional performer since childhood, she enjoyed success in stage productions such as the Ziegfeld Follies and early sound films such as Glorifying the American Girl and The Cocoanuts, but found her career in...
) is in love with struggling young architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Bob Adams (Oscar Shaw
Oscar Shaw
Oscar Shaw , was a stage and screen actor and singer...
). He works to support himself as a clerk at the hotel, but has plans for the development of the entire area. Mrs. Potter wants her daughter to marry Harvey Yates (Cyril Ring
Cyril Ring
Cyril Ring was an American film actor. He began his career in silent films in 1921. By the time of his final performance in 1951, he had appeared in over 350 films, almost all in small and/or uncredited parts...
), whom she believes to be of higher social standing than the clerk. This suitor is actually a con man out to steal the dowager's diamond necklace with the help of his conniving partner Penelope (Kay Francis
Kay Francis
Kay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star at the Warner Brothers studio, and the highest paid American film actress...
).
Exposition
The plot is almost beside the point, and the story and setting are little more than an excuse for the brothers to run amok. The film is notable for its musical "production numbers" similar to those used in the 1930s by Busby BerkeleyBusby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
, including techniques which were soon to become standard, such as overhead shots of dancing girls imitating the patterns of a kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope
A kaleidoscope is a circle of mirrors containing loose, colored objects such as beads or pebbles and bits of glass. As the viewer looks into one end, light entering the other end creates a colorful pattern, due to the reflection off the mirrors...
. The musical numbers were recorded live on the soundstage as they were shot, rather than pre-recorded, with an off-camera orchestra. The main titles are superimposed over a negative image of the "Monkey-Doodle-Do" number photographed from an angle that does not appear in the body of the film.
One of the more famous gags in the film has Groucho giving directions to Chico, who keeps misunderstanding "viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
" as "why-a-duck". In another sequence Groucho is the auctioneer for some land of possibly questionable value ("You can have any kind of a home you want to; you can even get stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
! Oh, how you can get stuck-oh!") He has hired Chico to artificially "bid up" during the auction. To Groucho's frustration, Chico keeps outbidding everyone, even himself. Still another sequence has Groucho, and later the necklace thief, perform a formal speech. Harpo repeatedly walks off, with a grim look on his face, to the punch bowl. (It is implied that the fruit punch has been spiked with alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
). Another highlight is when the cast, already dressed in traditional Spanish garb for a theme party, erupts into an operatic treatment about a lost shirt to music from Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
.
Cast
- Groucho MarxGroucho MarxJulius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
as Mr. Hammer - Harpo MarxHarpo MarxAdolph "Harpo" Marx was an American comedian and film star. He was the second oldest of the Marx Brothers. His comic style was influenced by clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish wig, and never spoke during performances...
as Harpo - Chico MarxChico MarxLeonard "Chico" Marx was an American comedian and film star as part of the Marx Brothers. His persona in the act was that of a dim-witted albeit crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes, and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat.As the first-born of the...
as Chico - Zeppo MarxZeppo MarxHerbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx was an American film star, musician, engineer, theatrical agent and businessman. He was the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films, from 1929 to 1933, but then left the act to start his second career as an...
as Jamison - Margaret DumontMargaret DumontMargaret Dumont was an American comedic actress. She is remembered mostly for being the comic foil to Groucho Marx in seven of the Marx Brothers films...
as Mrs. Potter - Mary EatonMary EatonMary Eaton was a leading stage actress, singer, and dancer in the 1910s and 1920s. A professional performer since childhood, she enjoyed success in stage productions such as the Ziegfeld Follies and early sound films such as Glorifying the American Girl and The Cocoanuts, but found her career in...
as Polly Potter - Oscar ShawOscar ShawOscar Shaw , was a stage and screen actor and singer...
as Robert 'Bob' Adams - Kay FrancisKay FrancisKay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star at the Warner Brothers studio, and the highest paid American film actress...
as Penelope - Cyril RingCyril RingCyril Ring was an American film actor. He began his career in silent films in 1921. By the time of his final performance in 1951, he had appeared in over 350 films, almost all in small and/or uncredited parts...
as Harvey Yates - Basil RuysdaelBasil RuysdaelBasil Ruysdael was an American film actor and opera singer.-Early life:He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and started as a bass-baritone in the Metropolitan Opera Company from 1910 to 1918...
as Detective Hennessey
Production
Referring to directors Robert Florey and Joseph Santley, Groucho Marx remarked, "One of them didn't understand English and the other didn't understand Harpo." When the Marx Brothers were shown the final cut of the film, they were so appalled they tried to buy the negative back and prevent its release. Paramount wisely resisted — the movie turned out to be a big hit and earned close to two million dollars.As the film was made in the early days of sound film, to eliminate the sound of the camera motors, the cameras and the cameramen were enclosed in large soundproof booths with a glass panel to allow filming fronting the booth. Before filming the cameraman was shut inside the booth with packs of ice to prevent condensation forming on the glass panel. The length of filming was therefore limited by endurance of the cameramen within the airtight booths. This practice was commonplace in the early years of sound film and is largely responsible for the static camera work of that era. For many years, Marxian legend had it that Florey, who had never seen the Marxes' work before, was put in the soundproof booth because he could not contain his laughter at the brothers' spontaneous antics.
Every piece of paper in the movie is soaking wet, to keep crackling paper sounds from overloading the primitive recording equipment of the time. In fact, this did not occur to the director until 27 takes had been made (of the "Viaduct" scene) and disposed of because of the noise made by the paper. The director finally got the idea to soak the paper in water; the 28th take of the "Viaduct" scene used soaked paper, and this take was quiet and kept.
The "ink" that Harpo drank from the hotel lobby inkwell was actually Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, and the "telephone mouthpiece" that he nibbled was made of chocolate, both inventions of Robert Florey. In A Night in Casablanca
A Night in Casablanca
A Night in Casablanca was the twelfth Marx Brothers movie, starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx. The picture was directed by Archie Mayo and written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee, and is generally considered one of the better of the Marx Brothers' later films.-Plot:Set in...
, Harpo could again be seen eating "telephones."
Filming took place at Paramount's Astoria Studios
Kaufman Astoria Studios
The Kaufman Astoria Studios is an historic movie studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens.-History:It was originally built by Famous Players-Lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to the Broadway theater district. Many features and short...
in Astoria, Queens
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
. It was the first of only two films done by the brothers in New York (the other was Animal Crackers
Animal Crackers (film)
Animal Crackers is a 1930 American comedy film, in which mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding. The film was both a critical and commercial success upon initial release, and remains one of the Marx...
, released in 1930). After that, production of all Marx films shifted to Hollywood.
Songs
- "When My Dreams Come True"
- "The Bell-Hops"
- "Monkey-Doodle-Doo"
- "Ballet Music"
- "Tale of the Shirt"
- "Gypsy Love Song"
The Cocoanuts is one of the few Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
vehicles that did not yield any particularly memorable songs. Berlin had actually written one of his eventual greatest hits, "Always", for the stage play. But George S. Kaufman
George S. Kaufman
George Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals, notably for the Marx Brothers...
, convinced that it would never be a hit, persuaded him to excise it. Reportedly, Kaufman (or Groucho) remarked, "No one will believe a lyric like 'I'll be loving you, always.' How about changing it to, 'I'll be loving you Thursday'?" The song "Always" was eventually used in the movie The Pride of the Yankees
The Pride of the Yankees
The Pride of the Yankees is a 1942 American film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. The film is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who died only one year before the film's release, at age 37, from amyotrophic lateral...
. Several songs from the stage play were omitted from the film. "Lucky Boy" was sung by the chorus to congratulate Bob on his engagement to Polly. "A Little Bungalow" was a love duet sung by Bob and Polly, and was replaced with "When My Dreams Come True" in the film.