The Cocoanuts (1929)

Directed by Robert Florey & Joseph Santley. Starring Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Margaret Dumont, Mary Eaton, Kay Francis, Cyril Ring, Oscar Shaw, Zeppo, Basil Ruysdael.

First Marx Brothers feature film, an adaptation of a Broadway production they did with George S. Kaufman and Irving Berlin; not a good place for newbies to begin but has more than enough entertainment value to still make it a must for fans. Plot is the usual thin gruel for the jokes to swim in—Groucho runs a hotel, Chico and Harpo show up to cause trouble, Shaw wants to marry Eaton but schemers stand in their way when they plot to steal a necklace belonging to Eaton’s mother (Dumont). Meanwhile, Harpo eats a telephone, Chico asks, “Why a duck,” Groucho conducts a chaotic auction, and Zeppo is barely in it; comedy is overstuffed with song-and-dance numbers that are all yawners save for the one about Ruysdael’s shirt. Be warned if you want to get a hold of Mrs. Potter—she’s awfully ticklish.

72/100