Customer Reviews

Animal Crackers/The Cocoanuts [VHS]

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More than funny- it's Marx! This is the best of the Marx brothers, so don't hesitate to buy. These videos contain all of the classic comedy you could want to pass an evening. With the famous "Hooray for Captain Spalding!", the lost fish routine, the elephant in my pajamas story, and Chico's hilarious, endless piano solo, who could want more? It also contains a very cute "fist-fight" between Harpo, Chico, and a larger lady ("Pick on somebody your own size, why don't you?") This will have you rolling on the floor for hours. I personally loved it! The quality of the tape itself is good, as well, especially for the film being so old. Whether you rent or buy it, I promise you won't be disappointed!

This double dip of Marx Brothers movies is a treat! Animal Crackers and The Cocoanuts are two of the best Marx Brothers films ever made. They both have almost nonstop one-liners, sight gags and outstanding acting by Margaret Dumont who so often played the "straight man" for scenes with Groucho's one-liners.

The choreography, cinematography, lighting, sets, script and much, much more are all flawless in both films. The acting is very convincing and the casting was excellent, too. I wish they produced many more comedies like this film these days! The quality of the print isn't always the best and a few of the lines were a bit faint due to the microphone not catching them well, but it makes little difference: these two films are brilliant.

In Animal Crackers, the plot is razor thin but it's the comedy and the sight gags that make you want to watch this film. The funny lines and the gags come at you nonstop and time hasn't aged them one bit.

It all starts when the wealthy Mrs. Rittenhouse (Margaret Dumont) gives a swanky party for Captain Jeffrey Spaulding (Groucho Marx), a famed African explorer just back from a major expedition. There's also going to be a fantastic unveiling of a rare and highly valuable painting at the party. Poor Mrs. Rittenhouse! The painting is swiped and replaced with an imitation and Captain Spaulding isn't quite the serious man she expected him to be.

The Cocoanuts is also entertaining and enjoyable. There's lots of fine acting and the casting was well done. The choreography impressed me greatly and the cinematography makes great early use of camera shots taken from above looking down directly at the dancers on the stage. (It actually was filmed on a stage, by the way.) In addition, the comedy and the sight gags are excellent even to this day.

In The Cocoanuts, we quickly meet Mr. Hammer (Groucho Marx), the owner of a Florida hotel that isn't exactly turning a profit. In fact, the only paying customers at the hotel are the wealthy and fairly stuffy Mrs. Potter (Margaret Dumont) and her daughter Polly (Mary Eaton). Polly is in love with a young architect named Bob Adams (Oscar Shaw) and they are planning to marry against the wishes of Mrs. Potter; Mrs. Potter wants Polly to marry the very rich Harvey Yates (Cyril Ring). Unbeknownst to Mrs. Potter, Polly and the others is the fact that Harvey and his gal-pal Penelope (Kay Francis) plan to steal Mrs. Potter's expensive necklace and frame Bob for the crime so that he won't be able to marry Polly--and Polly will then have to marry Harvey.

The auction scene where Mr. Hammer desperately tries to auction lots for fancy housing in the area is inevitably fouled up when his associate Chico (Chico Marx) doesn't get his fake bidding instructions straight; and Mr. Hammer gives us some really good laughs at the expense of poor Mrs. Potter. Look also for a great performance by Mary Eaton who sings and dances superbly in this film.

Animal Crackers and The Cocoanuts truly deserve their rightful place as two of the best comedies ever made. They haven't aged a bit and there's plenty of comic relief. Fans of The Marx Brothers should consider these two films a must-have for their collections; and anyone who appreciates timeless screwball comedy will cherish these films for many years to come.