The Cocoanuts, starring the Marx Brothers—Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo | clown ministry

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Review of The Cocoanuts, starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont

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The Cocoanuts was the first movie filmed by the Marx Brothers, and remains one of their funniest. It features the Marx Brothers in the roles that they soon made famous—Groucho, with the grease paint mustache, master of the fast wisecrack; Chico, the vaguely-Italian pianist who constantly looking to con someone, and Harpo, who never speaks, but is the master of outrageous comedy and pantomime. The under-appreciated fourth brother, Zepoo is here as well, as is Margaret Dumont, Groucho’s perennial foil, appearing in this first film as well. There is a plot to the movie, dealing with Groucho trying to flim-flam everyone possible in a land swindle, and the Marx Brothers stopping a jewel robbery, but that’s frankly of secondary concern to the antics of the Marx Brothers.

One thing to bear in mind is that this is one of the first "speaking" movies—the sound quality reflects that, as does the music by Irving Berlin. Even so, this first Marx Brothers makes room for Chico to demonstrate his comedy piano playing, and Harpo doing a harp solo.

Funny movie quotes from the Marx Brothers’ The Cocoanuts:

Chico : Right now I’d do anything for money. I’d kill somebody for money. I’d kill *you* for money.
[Harpo looks dejected.])
Chico : Ha ha ha. Ah, no. You’re my friend. I’d kill you for nothing.
[Harpo smiles.]

Groucho : Hey, hey! You know that suitcase is empty?
Chico : That’s all right. We fill it up before we leave.

Groucho : I’m gonna put extra blankets, free, in all your rooms, and there’ll be no cover charge.

Groucho : Three years ago I came to Florida without a nickel in my pocket. Now I’ve got a nickel in my pocket.

Groucho : Wages? Do you want to be wage slaves? Answer me that!
Bellhops : No.
Groucho : No, of course not. But what makes wage slaves? Wages!

Groucho : What would you like? Would you like a suite on the third floor?
Chico : No. I’ll take a Pollack in the basement.

Zeppo : Any luck with the 4:30?
Groucho : Yeah. It didn’t hit me.

[Answering telephone.]Groucho : Hello? Yes? Ice water in 318? Is that so? Where’d you get it? Oh, you want some.

Margaret Dumont : Get out of this room, or I’ll scream for the servants.
Groucho : Let the servants know! Let the whole world know! About us!
Margaret Dumont : You must leave my room. We must have regard for certain conventions.
Groucho : One guy isn’t enough, she’s gotta have a convention.

Groucho : Now here is a little peninsula and here is a viaduct leading over to the mainland.
Chico : Why a duck?

Groucho : Why, it’s the most exclusive residential district in Florida. *Nobody* lives there.

[on phone] Groucho : Believe me, you gotta get up early if you want to get out of bed.

[The Marx Brothers are chasing each other through Mrs. Potter’s suite.] Groucho : This hotel not only has running water. It has running guests!

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

Groucho : You can have any kind of a home you want. You can even get stucco. Oh, how you can get stucco.

Groucho : Jail is no place for a young fellow. There’s no advancement.

Trivia about the Marx Brothers’ The Cocoanuts:

All paper used as props is soaking wet. This was done to prevent overloading the early sound equipment with paper-crinkling noise.
Groucho Marx said of the film’s two directors, "One of them didn’t understand English, and the other one didn’t understand comedy."
The Cocoanuts was filmed on a stage in New York City. Sound films were still so new that soundproofing was not installed, so the film had to be shot in the early hours of the morning to reduce outside traffic noise.

Editorial Review of The Cocoanuts (courtesy of Amazon.com)

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.