The Cocoanuts was the Marx Brothers’ first film, and it brought Groucho’s stage character to the screen.
The Cocoanuts was released in 1929, directed by Robert Florey and Joseph Santley, and based on the Marx Brothers’ Broadway musical of the same name. Groucho played Mr. Hammer, the manager of a failing Florida hotel during the land boom of the 1920s. Chico and Harpo played two con men, and the plot involved stolen jewels, a romance and a land sale.
The film was made in the early days of talking pictures, and it kept much of the stage show’s structure, including musical numbers. Groucho’s Hammer was already fully formed: a fast-talking manager who insulted his guests, tried to sell land that was under water, and delivered jokes faster than anyone could answer them.
The Cocoanuts was a success, and it began the Marx Brothers’ film career. It showed that their stage comedy could work on screen, and it introduced Groucho’s screen persona to audiences who had never seen him in vaudeville or on Broadway.