Marx Brothers: The Cocoanuts (1929)

Marx brothers will be a rubric to honor the Marx Brothers who seems to be pushed into shadow behind Charlie Chaplin by most reviewers altrough they still done some great work. They movies like Animal Crackers and Duck Soup are even in IMDBs top 250. They have done some really great work in their times and altrough they are more smack-talk rather than slap-stick comedy like Charlie Chaplin or Abbot and Costello they still bring your losts of laugh, arguably more than nowadays "top" comedies like Hangover (2009). Of course since thier comedies are mostly relient on talk jokes, one has to have at last the basic knowledge of 30s-50s time priod to understand them. That being said, onto the first one.



we open in a beach with palms in the fireground. One would assume hawaii. There is a bunch of girls either dancing or doing some sort of wierd training. And then we are introduced to first guy, the owner of hotel, who talks his employes out of being paid. and does that in hilariuos maner. Employes get so happy they start dancing. random dancing/singing scenes in movies were rampant thoughout 30s and 40s. what people found in them i will never know.
Altrough thier (arguably) first big screen debut is full of dancing and singing between them are pearls of commedy. a guy speaks a lot of nonesense to and old lady when eventually she gets angry and goes "- Mister will you let me say something to you?" "- i highly doubt it". Their debut is arguable, because technically the quarto have made Humor Risk (1921), however last time that was shown was 80 years ago, hardly anyone know it exists and Groucho Marx himself said it was "lousy" so this is simply not avaiable.
Whole movie is set in the same hotel, msot of it in the reception. and the amount of how many ridiculous situations they can make up out of such a limited enviroment while using the things that are usually there is simply amazing. most of the tricks cant be explained, you just got to see the thing itself. like a guy triyng to eat telephone and drink it down with ink.
"ill do anything for money. ill kill for money. ill kill you for money. hahaha, no, your my friend, ill kill you for nothing" or "were gona have a little entertainment. very little" just doesnt need comment. Altrough Groucho gets the most screentime i think Harpo is at its best in here and really puts up a show. The main downfall however is those music scenes that are there just to streach the movie to the standart 90 minutes format.
The movie is wild, and the story is simple, yet ful of such turns and unexpected dialogue that makes it fun, and the acting is superb by the marx team. some parts seems to be missing, probably damadged roll by the time they tried restoring it, but it seems to be just a small chunks. or maybe it was filmed that way, though it doesnt seem to fit in the while movie. (update: apperently the movie was lost and then found in chunks of rotting reels and the actual movie you see now are actually 2 35mm rolls and a 16mm roll cut together, therefore the sudden jumps and changes of quality) either way, a mixed bag but has its fun moments, and as a debut for Marx brothers it worked.

And when i mean you have to see it i mean go and see it. Its public domain now. and its not like you can buy it anyway.

Rating: 6/10

P.S. for those wondering what will happen to Sci-Fi rubric, it will continue once i obtain more of them.