The Cocoanuts

George J. Folsey

The Cocoanuts is set in the Hotel de Cocoanut, a resort hotel, during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. Mr. Hammer Groucho Marx runs the place, assisted by Jamison Zeppo Marx, who would rather sleep at the front desk than actually help him run it. Chico and Harpo arrive with empty luggage, which they apparently plan to fill by robbing and conning the guests. Mrs. Potter Margaret Dumont, in the first of seven appearances with the Marxes is one of the few paying customers. Her daughter Polly Mary Eaton is in love with struggling young architect Bob Adams Oscar Shaw. He works to support himself as a clerk at the hotel, but has plans for the development of the entire area as Cocoanut Manor. Mrs. Potter wants her daughter to marry Harvey Yates Cyril Ring, whom she believes to be of higher social standing than the clerk. This suitor is actually a con man out to steal the dowagers diamond necklace with the help of his conniving partner Penelope Kay Francis.The plot is almost beside the point, and the story and setting are little more than an excuse for the brothers to run amok. The film is notable for its musical production numbers, including techniques which were soon to become standard, such as overhead shots of dancing girls imitating the patterns of a kaleidoscope. The musical numbers were recorded live on the soundstage as they were shot, rather than prerecorded, using an offcamera orchestra. The main titles are superimposed over a negative image of the MonkeyDoodleDo number photographed from an angle that does not appear in the body of the film. ........

Source: Wikipedia