THE MARX BROTHERS FIRST FILM.
IN 1929, THE LEGENDARY FOUR MARX BROTHERS (GROUCHO, CHICO, HARPO AND ZEPPO) MADE THEIR MOVIE DEBUT IN A FILMING OF THEIR BROADWAY SHOW THE COCOANUTS.
THE COCOANUTS WAS A SMASH HIT BROADWAY SHOW, PLAYING 377 PERFORMANCES TO PACKED HOUSES.
INTERESTINGLY, THE BOYS FILMED THE COCOANUTS DURING THE DAY AND AT NIGHT THE PLAYED IN THEIR NEW BROADWAY HIT SHOW ANIMAL CRACKERS.
IT WAS THE EARLY DAYS OF SOUND MOVIES, AND THE STAGES WEREN'T YET SOUNDPROOFED.
THIS NECESSITATED THE FILMING TO BE DONE VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING, TO AVOID THE SOUND OF NEARBY TRAFFIC.
ALSO, THE SOUND WAS SO DELICATE, ALL PAPER USED IN THE FILM HAD TO BE SOAKED AND MADE WET, TO AVOID THE "LOUD" SOUND OF PAPER CRINKLING.
CHICO AND HARPO ARE ACTUALLY BILLED IN THE CREDITS AS "CHICO" AND "HARPO" RESPECTIVELY.
IN THE BROADWAY SHOW, CHICO WAS BILLED AS "WILLIE THE WOP", BUT THIS WAS DEEMED TOO OFFENSIVE FOR THE MOVIE.
HARPO IS BILLED AS "HARPO" BUT IS REFERRED TO AS "SILENT SAM" IN THE FILM, HIS BROADWAY CAST NAME.
THIS IS THE ONLY MARX BROTHERS FILM WHERE HARPO WEARS A RED WIG, WHICH LOOKS BLACK ON FILM.
FOREVER AFTER, HARPO WOULD ACT IN HIS FAMOUS BLOND WIG.
THIS FILM IS ALSO HISTORIC IN HOLLYWOOD HISTORY.
ALTHOUGH ALMOST EVERYONE CREDITS THE GREAT BUSBY BERKELEY FOR "INVENTING" THE FAMOUS "OVERHEAD SHOT" OF CHORUS GIRLS DANCING, IT IS ACTUALLY THE COCOANUTS WHICH SET THE PRECEDENT.
THE VERY FIRST USE OF THE "OVERHEAD SHOT" OF CHORUS GIRLS DANCING IS CLEARLY SEEN HERE, A FEW YEARS BEFORE SAMUEL GOLDWYN BROUGHT BUSBY BERKELEY TO HOLLYWOOD TO WORK IN HIS FILMS.
THE COCOANUTS ALSO HAS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE ONLY SHOW IRVING BERLIN WROTE WHICH YIELDED NO HIT SONGS.
THE SHOOTING WAS FAR FROM SMOOTH.
IT WAS THE ONLY MARX BROTHERS FILM WITH TWO DIRECTORS (ROBERT FLOREY AND JOSEPH SANTLEY).
GROUCHO WAS TO LATER COMPLAIN ABOUT THE DIRECTORS: ONE OF THEM DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ENGLISH AND THE OTHER DIDN'T UNDERSTAND COMEDY.
THE REQUISITE BOY-GIRL COUPLE WAS PLAYED BY OSCAR SHAW AND MARY EATON.
AND OF COURSE, LEGENDARY STRAIGHT WOMAN, MARGARET DUMONT, IS AROUND TO GET INSULTED BY GROUCHO.
IT WAS ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE TWO FRUSTRATED DIRECTORS TO GET ALL FOUR MARX BROTHERS ON STAGE TOGETHER AT ONE TIME.
CHICO WAS THE WORST, ALWAYS PLAYING CARDS OR IN A CRAP GAME OR JUST AS LIKELY, IN ONE OF THE CHORUS GIRL'S DRESSING ROOMS.
HARPO MIGHT WANDER OFF TO A CORNER TO TAKE A NAP OR PRACTICE ON HIS BELOVED HARP OR HAVE ONE OF THE GIRL EXTRAS MASSAGE HIS SORE ARMS OR HIS ITCHY SCALP (SORE FROM STRUMMING THE HARP AND WEARING HIS ITCHY WIG, RESPECTIVELY).
GROUCHO MIGHT WANDER IN, SEE HIS BROTHERS GONE, AND LEAVE THE SET HIMSELF.
ZEPPO MAY NOT HAVE APPEARED, BUT WHO CARED?
THE DIRECTORS HAD AN INTERESTING SOLUTION TO KEEP THE WANDERING BROTHERS COLLECTED.
THEY ACTUALLY HAD FOUR FULL-SIZED CAGES BROUGHT ONTO THE STAGE.
AND IN TRUE MARX BROTHERS SURREALISM, THE MARX BROTHERS WOULD SHOOT THE SCENE, THE DIRECTOR WOULD YELL "CUT" AND THE FOUR BROTHERS WOULD WALK OFF AND GO INSIDE THEIR RESPECTIVE CAGES.
THE CAGES WERE CLEARLY LABELLED "GROUCHO", "CHICO", "HARPO" AND "ZEPPO".
INSIDE CHICO'S CAGE, THERE WAS A TELEPHONE, SO CHICO COULD AT LEAST CALL HIS BOOKIE.
THE ENDING OF THE FILM IS ALSO UNIQUE (AND INANE) FOR A MARX BROTHERS FILM.
IT SHOWS THE FOUR BROTHERS SMILING, MUGGING, AND SILENTLY WAVING TO THE CAMERA, LIKE FOUR IDIOTS- AS THE FILM'S SOUNDTRACK PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND.
(GROUCHO IS SO BRILLIANT AS A COMEDIAN, HE EVEN MAKES THIS INANE SHOT FUNNY!)
THE COCOANUTS HAD ITS PREMIERE ON AUGUST 3, 1929, AND WAS A SMASH HIT.
BUT THE FOUR BROTHERS NEVER REALLY LIKED THE COCOANUTS.
THEY WERE REPORTEDLY SO APPALLED BY THE FILM, THEY OFFERED TO BUY THE NEGATIVE FROM PARAMOUNT STUDIOS SO THEY COULD BURN IT.
