It’s of no surprise that I enjoy the works of the Marx Brothers. I mean, if you actually sat down and watched one of their movies, I have a good feeling that you’d be of the same opinion. Let’s be honest-how can you not? There’s zany antics, wacky hi-jinx, musical numbers that don’t actually suck, sight gags aplenty and even philosophy.
Wait, what? Philosophy? In a black and white comedy stemming from the roaring twenties?
True believer, you heard right. Many movies tackle important philosophical questions, such as “What is the meaning of existence?”, “What is the true nature of religion?” and “How should people relate to each other?” However, only The Cocoanuts tackles the most complicated question of them all: “Why a duck?”
Step inside for more.
Hammer, played by Groucho Marx, is a hotel manager in Florida during the land boom of the 1920s. Despite the boom, his hotel has a serious shortage of guests, He does have one wealthy guest, Mrs. Potter, who rejects his romantic advances at every turn. He barely notices that her daughter, Polly is in love with Bob Adams, a young architect who works in the hotel, while Mrs. Potter wants her to marry Harvey Yates. Hammer can’t miss the arrival of two new guests, Chico and Harpo, who will turn the hotel upside down completely. To save his skin, a telegram arrives telling Hammer that high-paying customers are on their way but outside, a source of controversy for him is brewing as scheming thieves Penelope and her boyfriend Harvey plan to steal the necklace of the wealthy Mrs Potter and frame Bob.
All that taken aside, The Cocoanuts does take a good twenty minutes to get going, as the plot with the necklace is set up. Although Groucho does his best, the laughs don’t take off until Harpo and Chico arrive at the hotel (they sent the telegram), carrying an empty suitcase that Chico says they’ll fill up during their stay. The second these two arrive, it’s as if Groucho breathes a sigh of relief and the humor can finally flow, with Harpo running rings around everyone and Chico providing him with someone to spar with verbally. If Chico isn’t present, then Groucho can always chat with Dumont, with their continuing relationship made plain from the start: he the seducer but actually after her money, she befuddled, flattered and insulted all at once.
With that said, the plot is still wispy at best. The intellectual content comes mainly from the fact that the film is nearly 80 years old. Harpo and Chico’s characters don’t even have names. No, really. It’s actually quite entertaining, as you’ll never really realize this until you finish the movie and think back about it.
Of course, with a steady stream of jokes, none of that matters, and The Cocoanuts provides a steady supply of laughs. This film has several of the Marx Brothers’ famous routines, most notably the “Why a duck?” and “Ice Water” routines (the latter culminates in the line “Oh, you want some ice water? Well, get an onion, that’ll make your eyes water.”). Not a minute passes without a pun. Two connecting rooms in the hotel offer an opportunity for farce. This movie is an hour and a half of hilarity.
This is largely due to the Marx Brothers’ efforts. Groucho, Chico, and Harpo are a wild trio; their talents made many films comedic masterpieces, and this is one of them. Irving Berlin’s music is delightful. Mostly, the songs are just elegant dance numbers in the grand Hollywood tradition. While not Berlin’s best music, the songs are catchy.
One very amusing number is the “operatic” song where Hennessey loses his shirt (goes topless–not broke); it’s a rare light moment for the stern character. By modern standards, the audio quality isn’t that good; when the film was made, however, any audio was a technological triumph-the promotions described the film as “all talking.”
The Cocoanuts was not only the Marx Brothers’ first film, but also a very early sound effort–so early that the kinks still hadn’t been worked out of the medium. (Watch out for scenes containing maps, newspapers, and other paper items–they’re all soaked in water to keep them from rustling in the primitive microphones.) But the four Marx Brothers do a fine job working around the technical shortcomings by unleashing their customarily irreverent barrage of wit. Groucho’s one-liners are delivered so fast you can’t stop to laugh at any one punchline, and Harpo eats up the set … literally. Although their best work was still to come, The Cocoanuts displays an energy and freshness that would set a standard for a very long time.