The Cocoanuts (1929)

The Cocoanuts (1929)

„The Cocoanuts“ is a 1929 pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Robert Florey and Joseph Santley. The screenplay by Morrie Ryskind is an adaptation of a book of the same name by George S. Kaufman

It marks the first feature film starring the Marx Brothers, based on their hit Broadway show of the same name. Directed by Robert Florey and Joseph Santley, it showcases the zany humor and quick wit that would define their iconic career.

Mr. Hammer, the stogey-chewing, mustachioed entrepreneur of the Hotel de Cocoanut, moonlights as an auctioneering real estate speculator during the Florida Land Boom of the Twenties. Mr. Hammer runs the hotel, assisted by Jamison.

Though his 600-room establishment is filled with an assortment of guests, only one, the haughtily stuffed Mrs. Potter, is paying any rent.

Meanwhile, her lovely daughter, Polly Potter, is in love with Bob Adams, a struggling young architect. He works to support himself as a clerk at the hotel, but has grand plans for the development of the entire area as Cocoanut Manor. Bob's ambitions towards architectural fame and love's reward are chronicled in the Irving Berlin tune, “When My Dreams Come True.”

Hammer's financial throes abound, precipitating ever more ingenious and whacky plots to salvage his position, the most ardently pursued of which is the wooing of the wealthy Mrs. Potter. The rascal even exhorts his employees to labor gratis in order to free themselves from “wage slavery.”

Guests Chico and Harpo arrive with empty luggage, which they apparently plan to fill by robbing and conning the guests. Unable to pay their bill, Chico and Harpo cascade through the hotel, mischievously bent upon larcenous chicanery, stealing silverware, evading Hammer, fumbling uproariously with stock hotel props such as bellboys, luggage, room-keys, and mail-bins.

Among Hammer's other guests are Harvey Yates and his partner in crime, Penelope, two somewhat more dedicated miscreants who have designs on wealthy Mrs. Potter's lucre, plotting to purloin her expensive diamond necklace. Mrs. Potter wants her daughter to marry Harvey Yates, whom she believes to be of higher social standing than Adams. She remains in the dark as to their devilish deviousness, duped to the point of promoting a match between the lovely Polly and Harvey, whom she regards as “one of the Boston Yates.”

The stolen necklace is discovered by Harpo, who cleverly produces it from the stump of a tree on the lot that Bob buys at the Hammer's auction. Bob is tossed into jail, later to be freed by Chico and Harpo, while the precious Polly has so infatuated Yates that he is tricked into revealing the true tale of the theft. The jig finally up, the engagement party continues with only the substitution of Bob as the prospective groom needed to change pretty Polly's perilous predicament to one of anticipated paradise.

Key Characters:

• Mr. Hammer (Groucho Marx): The wisecracking hotel manager.
• Harpo and Chico (Harpo Marx and Chico Marx): Mischievous troublemakers creating comedic havoc.
• Polly Potter (Mary Eaton): The ingenue in love with Bob.
• Bob Adams (Oscar Shaw): Polly’s love interest and a struggling architect.
• Penelope (Margaret Dumont): A wealthy socialite targeted by the jewel thief.

Cast:

• The Marx Brothers – 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
• Allan K. Foster Girls – Dancers
• Dolores Hope – Dancer
• Sylvan Lee – Bell Captain
• Barton MacLane – Lifeguard

„The Cocoanuts“ ist eine Musikkomödie aus dem Jahr 1929 unter der Regie von Robert Florey und Joseph Santley. Das Drehbuch von Morrie Ryskind ist eine Adaption des gleichnamigen Buches von George S. Kaufman.

Es ist der erste Spielfilm mit den Marx Brothers, der auf ihrer gleichnamigen Broadway-Hit-Show basiert. Unter der Regie von Robert Florey und Joseph Santley zeigt der Film den schrägen Humor und die Schlagfertigkeit, die ihre ikonische Karriere bestimmen sollten.

Groucho Marx spielt Mr. Hammer, den skrupellosen Manager eines angeschlagenen Hotels in Florida während des Landbooms in den 1920er Jahren. Das Chaos bricht aus, als Hammer versucht, fragwürdige Grundstücke zu verkaufen, während sich Harpo und Chico Marx in eine Reihe von urkomischen Intrigen und Missverständnissen verstricken. Währenddessen entwickelt sich eine romantische Nebenhandlung, als das junge Paar Bob und Polly versucht, einen Juwelendieb zu überlisten.

Hauptcharaktere:

• Mr. Hammer (Groucho Marx): Der augenzwinkernde Hotelmanager.
• Harpo und Chico (Harpo Marx und Chico Marx): Schelmische Störenfriede, die für komödiantischen Wirbel sorgen.
• Polly Potter (Mary Eaton): Die Unschuldige, die in Bob verliebt ist.
• Bob Adams (Oscar Shaw): Pollys Liebhaber und ein erfolgloser Architekt.
• Penelope (Margaret Dumont): Eine wohlhabende Dame der Gesellschaft, die im Visier des Juwelendiebs steht.