The Cocoanuts
by Robert Florey, Joseph Santley
Our Price: $63.08
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $12.22 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chico Marx, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Oscar Shaw, Zeppo MarxDirector: Joseph Santley, Robert Florey
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), PCM Mono
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-07-08
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Cocoanuts
Movie Review: Funny
Summary: 3 Stars
I have never been as big a fan of The Marx Brothers as I have been of other great comedy teams, be it the verbal brilliance of Abbott & Costello, the pathos laden antics of Laurel & Hardy, nor the violent slapstick of The Three Stooges. The reason is because the team's success or failure basically falls all on the shoulders of its lone truly brilliant member, Groucho Marx. The first film to feature the zany antics of the brothers was the 1929 talkie film of their 1926 Broadway comedy hit, The Cocoanuts. They did, however, self-finance an earlier silent film called Humorisk, which was a critical disaster, in its lone showing, and of which no known copies seem to exist. In a sense, the heart of the brothers' act in all their films is not when the three (or four, including the forgettable Zeppo, who plays a hotel desk clerk in this outing) brothers interact, but when Groucho interacts with anyone in the film, most especially the sublimely stolid Margaret Dumont.
It's not that the other brothers are not without talents, but they are simple old time vaudevillians who, sans their genius brother, would have been minor role players in film. Gummo, who never appeared in a single film, wisely chose a behind the scenes role; Zeppo retired after the team's fifth film, Duck Soup, never had an ounce of comic heft; Chico was a generic ethnic humorist who, without the team would never have lasted- even his piano playing is crude and uninspiring; and Harpo, despite his mimetic brilliance, and often soulful harpsichording, was simply a one trick pony with many antecedents. Groucho, the character, was without antecedent or descendent. Is it any wonder that the only one of the brothers to trot out a second act in Americana- that most difficult of bows, was Groucho?
In short, he IS the Marx Brothers and they are Groucho, Groucho, Groucho (and Groucho, in the first five films). This can be seen from the very first through last scene of The Cocoanuts. The hour and a half long film, directed by Robert Florey and Joseph Santley, from the George S. Kaufman play, adapted by Morrie Ryskind, and scored by Irving Berlin, is often derogated in comparison to later classics like the aforementioned Duck Soup, A Day At The Races, or A Night At The Opera, but despite all the waxing over those later films, The Cocoanuts is quintessential Marxist humor. Just as all of the other great comedy teams merely played slight variations of their personae, so do the Marxes in this and later films, which, to a degree, can be seen as one long running gag show, punctuated with silly plot asides, like this film's stolen necklace and wan musical interludes. Yet, this film kicked off the whole Marx schtick, even if it is rough, and at times we can hear snippets of stray dialogue that was not supposed to be in the plot, or one of the boys looking at the wrong camera, or other actors deliberately speaking into hidden microphones, or extras who mug for the camera, but it is still chock with some classic gags and lines.... Groucho always gets the best lines, and does the most with them. His scene of professed love to Margaret Dumont, where he swoons over coming home from a hard day's work to her as a waiting wife, of course, gives way to a revision with him as the waiting husband with her coming home from work. Only Groucho could have pulled off such a scene without turning off the audience, and his likeability as a cad is what propelled the film to great heights, critically and financially, and made the brothers stars, whereas most of the routines where Harpo and Chico play off of each other is time worn schtick that isn't even up to the typical gags the Three Stooges used.
The Cocoanuts is a crude but effective comedy, but without Groucho, it would have been long forgotten. The third or more of the film that is wholly dependent upon his presence is the backbone of the film, and clearly all the boys' later producers recognized this fact, if not in the boys' salaries, certainly in screen time and billing, for Groucho Marx was the Marx Brothers. The others were merely his foils, and the props that Groucho used to climb to superstardom. To deny that reality is to miss out on why the Marx Brothers are still relevant, for it is Groucho's sexual innuendos and political jabbery that still appeal to viewers today, long after Harpo's inane mugging, and Chico's now often cringe-inducing ethnic humor has fallen to disrepute. Fortunately, The Cocoanuts highlighted the right brother, and the world of film comedy has had no reason to cringe since.
Summary of The Cocoanuts
In the Marx Brothers' first feature film, Groucho portrays a hotel owner out to fleece everyone, from innocent bellboys to wealthy society types. Chico and Harpo are along for the ride as Groucho's accomplices. Featuring the music and lyrics of Irving Berlin.Comedy DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in The Lost Queen of Warner Brothers: Kay Francis
Ginger, Loretta, and Irene who?by George Eells
Putnam; Published: 1976; Unknown Binding; Book
A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women, 1930-1960by Jeanine Basinger
Knopf; Published: 1993-08-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $30.00
Price in other shops:
The Power of Glamour: The Women Who Defined the Magic of Stardomby Annette Tapert
Crown; Published: 1998-11-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywoodby Mick LaSalle
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2001-12-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.70
Price in other shops:
The Complete Kay Francis Career Record: All Film, Stage, Radio and Television Appearancesby Lynn Kear, John Rossman
McFarland; Published: 2008-02-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $48.00
Price in other shops:
Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Careerby Lynn Kear; John Rossman
McFarland & Company; Published: 2006-01-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $31.50
Price in other shops:
Kay Francis: I Can't Wait to be Forgotten - Her Life on Film and Stageby Scott O'Brien
BearManor Media; Published: 2007-09-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.23
Price in other shops:
![Wonder Bar [VHS] Image](/images/Wonder-Bar-VHS-6304466188-X.jpg){kind=small}
Wonder Bar [VHS]MGM (Warner); Release date: 1998-09-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $59.99
![Raffles [VHS] Image](/images/Raffles-VHS-B00000FAXT-X.jpg){kind=small}
Raffles [VHS]Hbo Home Video; Release date: 1997-09-23; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $88.00
Four Jills in a JeepTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-10-07; DVD
Best price: $4.28
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
The Broadway Melody (Special Edition)WARNER HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2005-02-01; DVD
Best price: $3.32
Price in other shops:
The Unknown Marx BrothersRelease date: 2000-09-05; DVD
Best price: $12.22
A Night in CasablancaWarner Brothers; Release date: 2004-05-04; DVD
Best price: $1.74
Price in other shops:
Love HappyLions Gate; Release date: 2004-06-15; DVD
Best price: $7.13
Price in other shops:
A Night at the OperaWARNER HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2004-05-04; DVD
Best price: $11.44
Price in other shops:
A Day at the RacesWarner Brothers; Release date: 2004-05-04; DVD
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
![Duck Soup [VHS] Image](/images/Duck-Soup-VHS-6300181367-X.jpg){kind=small}
Duck Soup [VHS]Universal Studios; Release date: 1992-03-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.25
Price in other shops:
Horse FeathersRelease date: 1998-08-05; DVD
Best price: $49.95
![Animal Crackers [VHS] Image](/images/Animal-Crackers-VHS-6300181243-X.jpg){kind=small}
Animal Crackers [VHS]Universal Studios; Release date: 1992-03-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.15
Price in other shops:
![Monkey Business [VHS] Image](/images/Monkey-Business-VHS-6300184072-X.jpg){kind=small}
Monkey Business [VHS]Universal Studios; Release date: 1994-05-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops: