HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Animal Crackers'' is a 1930 American
pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...
Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...
comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Victor Heerman Victor Eugene Heerman (August 27, 1893 – November 3, 1977) was an English-American film director, screenwriter, and film producer.Vazzana, Eugene Michael (2001). ''Silent Film Necrology.'' McFarland, After writing and directing short comedies ...
. The film stars the Marx Brothers, ( Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo), with
Lillian Roth Lillian Roth (December 13, 1910 – May 12, 1980) was an American singer and actress. Her life story was told in the 1955 film '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'', in which she was portrayed by Susan Hayward, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best ...
and
Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically ...
. It was based on their Broadway musical of the same name, in which mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding. A critical and commercial success upon its initial release, it was filmed at Paramount's
Astoria Studios The Kaufman Astoria Studios is a film studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens. The studio was constructed for Famous Players-Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Broadway theater district. The p ...
in
Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...
; it was the second of two films the Brothers would make in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. It was adapted from the successful 1928
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical of the same title by George S. Kaufman and
Morrie Ryskind Morris "Morrie" Ryskind (October 20, 1895 – August 24, 1985) was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and movies, who became a conservative political activist later in life. Life and career Ryskind was born in ...
, also starring the Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont. The part of Hives the butler was played by
Robert Greig Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian pol ...
who later appeared with the Marx Brothers again in ''
Horse Feathers ''Horse Feathers'' is a 1932 pre-Code comedy film starring the Marx Brothers. It stars the Four Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo), Thelma Todd and David Landau. It was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S. J. Perelman, an ...
'' (1932).


Plot

A newspaper headline explains that society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse is holding a lavish party at her home on Long Island. The party will host renowned explorer Captain Geoffrey (or Jeffrey) T. Spaulding, just returned from Africa, as the guest of honor. Also, as a special treat for the guests and Capt. Spaulding, revered art collector Roscoe W. Chandler will unveil his recently acquired painting, ''After The Hunt,'' by a famous fictional artist named Beaugard. Hives instructs his six footmen on preparations for the party ("He's One of Those Men"). Chandler arrives with the Beaugard and proceeds to flirt with Mrs. Rittenhouse; her daughter Arabella appears and interrupts them. Capt. Spaulding's secretary, Horatio Jamison announces the Captain's arrival ("I Represent The Captain") ("Hooray for Captain Spaulding, Part I"). Capt. Spaulding makes a grand entrance and announces that he cannot stay and must leave immediately ("Hello, I Must Be Going"). Mrs. Rittenhouse begs him to stay and the guests declare their admiration for the Captain and he decides to stay ("Hooray for Captain Spaulding, Part II"). Soon after, Signor Emanuel Ravelli, hired to provide music for the party, arrives followed a few moments later by his "partner" the Professor, hired to provide music for the weekend event. After an elaborate introduction, The Professor scares the guests away with a pistol he grabs from Capt. Spaulding's gun rack. The Professor soon takes off chasing after an attractive blonde party-goer. Arabella Rittenhouse is attending the party with her fiancé John Parker, who is a struggling painter. John feels discouraged because he hasn't been able to make a living with his art in order to support himself and Arabella. Arabella suggests John paint a portrait for Chandler, suggesting he would receive an impressive commission. John laughs at the idea, not believing Chandler to have a genuine appreciation for art. After examining the Beaugard, Arabella devises a scheme to win Chandler's interest in John's work: they'll replace the Beaugard with an almost perfect copy of it John painted in art school, since they can find no obvious differences. After the painting is unveiled at the party, they will surprise everyone and hopefully convince Chandler to hire John. Arabella asks Ravelli to switch the paintings. Meanwhile, another weekend party guest, Grace Carpenter thinks up the same idea with her friend Mrs. Whitehead, as a means of humiliating Mrs. Rittenhouse. They grab Grace's poorly made copy that she painted in art school and ask Hives to replace the Beaugard, unaware that they are removing John's copy. Ravelli catches the Professor chasing after the blonde girl and scolds him. Soon, Mrs. Rittenhouse and Mrs. Whitehead arrive and after the Professor is finished brutally assaulting Mrs. Rittenhouse, the four proceed to play an absurd variation of
Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. Ravelli and the Professor run into Chandler and recognize him as Abie the fish peddler from
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
. Chandler tries to bribe the two in order to keep them quiet, but they end up taking his money, tie and garters as well as, miraculously, Chandler's birthmark which is transferred to the Professor's arm. After a series of strange interludes while speaking with Mrs. Rittenhouse and Mrs. Whitehead, Capt. Spaulding has a debate on art and the economy with Chandler after his encounter with Ravelli and the Professor. Later that night a thunderstorm has put out the lights and Ravelli and the Professor attempt to replace the Beaugard. In the middle of the job, Capt. Spaulding and Mrs. Rittenhouse wander in. The Captain finds the Professor's lost fish in the sofa. Ravelli and the Professor succeed in replacing the painting. During the party, Mrs. Rittenhouse invites Capt. Spaulding to speak about his travels in Africa. He proceeds to tell a ridiculous and absurd account of his travels before Mrs. Rittenhouse cuts him off. Signor Ravelli is invited to play some selection on the piano ("I'm Daffy Over You", "Silver Threads Among the Gold", "Gypsy Chorus"). After several quips and interruptions, Chandler invites the guests into the parlor so he can unveil the Beaugard. Once the painting is revealed, Chandler notices the poor quality and realizes someone has stolen his painting and replaced it with a cheap imitation. John feels discouraged, thinking the painting is still his copy. Suddenly the lights go out again, and when restored, the imitation Beaugard is missing as well. The guests, now in an uproar, scatter and attempt to find the stolen painting, led by Capt. Spaulding. John and Arabella discuss the excitement of the situation and their love for each other ("Why Am I So Romantic?"). The next day, a police squad arrives to secure the house and search for the missing painting. Realizing that they may have gone too far, Mrs. Whitehead and Grace ask Hives for the Beaugard he took back, but he can't find it anywhere. Mrs. Whitehead deduces the Professor must have stolen it. After confronting him she gets Grace's copy back. Later, John finds Grace's copy of the Beaugard and reveals to Arabella that someone else must have had the same idea to switch paintings. Realizing that Chandler never actually saw John's copy, they become more hopeful. Soon after, John realizes the copy he found is now missing. Captain Spaulding, Jamison, and Ravelli discuss how they might go about finding the missing painting. After getting the painting back from the Professor, who is now in disguise, John and Arabella bring it to Capt. Spaulding. They figure out that the Professor must be the one who stole the paintings, and enlist the police to help find him. After a brief altercation, Spaulding, Ravelli, and Jamison enter with the Professor ("My Old Kentucky Home"). The Professor is apprehended and the three paintings are returned. Chandler momentarily mistakes John's copy for the genuine Beaugard. Realizing his talent, Chandler hires John to do a series a portraits for him. After momentarily letting the Professor go free, the police sergeant tries to apprehend him. To escape arrest, the Professor sprays the guests with a knockout substance from a Flit can. After everyone is laid out on the floor and fully subdued, the film concludes with the Professor knocking himself out next to the pretty blonde he has been chasing throughout the entire film.


Cast

* Groucho Marx as Captain Jeffrey Spaulding *
Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Grou ...
as The Professor * Chico Marx as Signor Emanuel Ravelli *
Zeppo Marx Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx (February 25, 1901 – November 30, 1979) was an American comedic actor, theatrical agent, and engineer. He was the youngest and last survivor of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers f ...
as Horatio Jamison *
Lillian Roth Lillian Roth (December 13, 1910 – May 12, 1980) was an American singer and actress. Her life story was told in the 1955 film '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'', in which she was portrayed by Susan Hayward, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best ...
as Arabella Rittenhouse *
Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically ...
as Mrs. Rittenhouse *
Louis Sorin Louis Sorin (September 23, 1893 – December 14, 1961) was an American actor. Biography Louis Sorin was born in New York City. He appeared in 15 films between 1929 and 1961. He also acted on stage, including appearing on Broadway in more than ...
as Roscoe W. Chandler *Hal Thompson as John Parker *
Margaret Irving Margaret Irving (January 18, 1898 – March 5, 1988) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1898, Irving is best remembered today for her roles as Aunt Gus in the 1950s sitcom '' The People's Choic ...
as Mrs. Whitehead *Kathryn Reece as Grace Carpenter *
Robert Greig Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian pol ...
as Hives, the butler *Edward Metcalf as Inspector Hennessey *The Music Masters as Six Footmen


Jokes

Four of Groucho's best-known quips: *"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know." ::(The American Film Institute listed this at number 53 in the 100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time.) *"Then, we tried to remove the tusks, ... but they were embedded in so firmly, we couldn't budge them. Of course, in Alabama the Tusk-a-loosa. But that's entirely ir-elephant to what I was talking about." *"Africa is God's country – and He can have it." *"We took some pictures of the native girls, but they weren't developed. But we're going back again in a couple of weeks!" Other quotes from Groucho: *"Ever since I met you, I've swept you off my feet." *"You mind if I don't smoke?" *"There's one thing I've always wanted to do before I quit: Retire." *"I was outside the cabin smoking some meat. There wasn't a cigar store in the neighborhood!" *"Didn't you ever see a Habeas Corpus?" Chico: "No, but I see Habeas Irish Rose." The film also contains the well-known Chico–Harpo scene in which Chico keeps asking Harpo for "a flash" (meaning a flashlight), and Harpo – not understanding – produces from his bottomless trenchcoat and baggy pants a fish, a flask, a flute, a " flit", a "
flush Flush may refer to: Places * Flush, Kansas, a community in the United States Architecture, construction and manufacturing * Flush cut, a type of cut made with a French flush-cut saw or diagonal pliers * Flush deck, in naval architecture * Fl ...
", etc. Zeppo figures in a well-known scene in which Groucho dictates a letter to his lawyers in rambling pseudo-legalese. Zeppo gets to one-up Groucho: When asked to read the letter back, Zeppo informs him, "You said a lot of things I didn't think were very important, so I just omitted them!" whereupon a minor skirmish ensues: what he's omitted is the body of the letter. (Joe Adamson, in ''Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Sometimes Zeppo'', observed that this scene disproved the common notion that Zeppo was the least of the Marx Brothers: "It takes a Marx Brother to pull something like that on a Marx Brother and get away with it.") One more complex running joke has Groucho turning the dialogue into a scene out of the
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...
play, ''
Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill began work on it as early as 1923 and developed its scenario in 1925; he wrote the play between May 1926 and the summer of 1927, and complete ...
'', in which the characters continually spoke asides that convey their thoughts. Groucho's voice becomes deep and droning as he steps apart from the other characters to comment on the scene
Living with your folks. Living with your folks. The beginning of the end. Drab dead yesterdays shutting out beautiful tomorrows. Hideous, stumbling footsteps creaking along the misty corridors of time. And in those corridors I see figures, strange figures, weird figures: Steel 186, Anaconda 74, American Can 138 ...
The comedy, thus, is in the unpredictable shifting of the scene's meaning, from two socialite ladies and a world-famous explorer mingling at a party, to a parody of O'Neill's work, to a mimicking of a man reading out stock prices. Incidentally, Groucho had heavy investments in Anaconda Copper and after having lost everything in the
stock market crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
experienced a bout of depression as well as insomnia. In the final scene, Harpo uses a
Flit gun A Flit gun is a hand-pumped insecticide sprayer used to dispense FLIT, a brand-name insecticide widely used against flies and mosquitoes between 1928 and the mid-1950s. Although named after the well-known brand, "Flit gun" became a generic name f ...
to pacify an entire crowd, finally spraying Groucho, who falls unconscious to the ground. The current prints of the film have the "Flit" name blotted out, since Paramount Pictures didn't get permission to use the trademarked name.


Musical numbers

Groucho's songs, " Hello, I Must Be Going" and "
Hooray for Captain Spaulding "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" is a song, composed by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby originally from the 1928 Marx Brothers Broadway musical ''Animal Crackers'' and the 1930 film version. It later became well known as the theme song for the Grouch ...
", both written by
Bert Kalmar Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter. Biography Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early ag ...
and
Harry Ruby Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American actor, pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...
''. It referred to a real Captain Spaulding, an army officer arrested a few years earlier for selling cocaine to Hollywood residents. The original full version of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" was edited in compliance to the
Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...
when it was re-released in 1936: the sexually suggestive line "I think I'll try and make her" was removed – it came after Mrs. Rittenhouse's line: "He was the only white man to cover every acre." It was long believed that this footage had been lost forever, until a pre-Hays Code print was discovered in the archives of the British Film Institute. This forms the basis of Universal's Blu-ray restoration, released in October 2016. Ironically, Groucho used an even more risqué line in introducing Chico's piano sequence: "Signor Ravelli's first selection will be, 'Somewhere My Love Lies Sleeping', with a male chorus." Chico's own piano composition "I'm Daffy over You" would be played again in their next feature film, ''Monkey Business'', in the film's score and by Harpo on the harp. *He's One of Those Men (Hives and Footmen) *I Represent the Captain (Zeppo) *
Hooray for Captain Spaulding "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" is a song, composed by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby originally from the 1928 Marx Brothers Broadway musical ''Animal Crackers'' and the 1930 film version. It later became well known as the theme song for the Grouch ...
Part I (The Cast) * Hello, I Must Be Going (Groucho) *Hooray for Captain Spaulding Part II (Cast) *Why Am I So Romantic? (Arabella and John, and as a harp interlude with Harpo) *I'm Daffy over You (Chico; the refrain is sometimes confused with the 1950s song " Sugar in the Morning") *
Silver Threads Among the Gold "Silver Threads Among the Gold", first copyrighted in 1873, was a popular song in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today it is a standard of barbershop quartet singing. The lyrics are by Eben E. Rexford, and the music ...
(Chico) *Brief piano interlude (Harpo) *Gypsy-chorus (a.k.a.
Anvil Chorus The "Anvil Chorus" is the English name for the (Italian for "Gypsy chorus"), a chorus from act 2, scene 1 of Giuseppe Verdi's 1853 opera ''Il trovatore''. It depicts Spanish Gypsies striking their anvils at dawn – hence its English name &n ...
) (Chico) *
My Old Kentucky Home "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sla ...
(Marx Brothers)


Releases

The original 1930 film release ran 99 minutes. In 1936, the film was reissued with several small cuts to accommodate the
Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...
. This version ran about 98 minutes. In December 1973, UCLA student and Marx Brothers fan
Steve Stoliar ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...
drove to
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...
, to view a rare screening of ''Animal Crackers'' at the Old Town Music Hall theater. The print shown there was old and of poor quality, probably because the film had not been distributed for theatrical release since the early 1950s. Paramount Pictures had allowed its licenses to expire, and rights had reverted to the authors of the Broadway stage play: the playwrights George S. Kaufman and
Morrie Ryskind Morris "Morrie" Ryskind (October 20, 1895 – August 24, 1985) was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and movies, who became a conservative political activist later in life. Life and career Ryskind was born in ...
, the composer
Harry Ruby Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American actor, pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.Bert Kalmar Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter. Biography Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early ag ...
. Although
MCA/Universal MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...
had acquired most of Paramount's pre-1950 sound feature film library in 1958, ''Animal Crackers'' evidently was regarded as a legal mess best left untouched. Stoliar impulsively contacted Groucho Marx to enlist Groucho's support for an unlikely campaign to attempt to persuade – or pressure – Universal to re-release the film. Groucho agreed to appear at the
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
campus for a publicity event. On February 7, 1974, Groucho and his assistant, Erin Fleming, visited UCLA under the aegis of Stoliar's newly formed "Committee for the Re-release of Animal Crackers" (CRAC). The event drew around 200 students, over 2,000 signatures on re-release petitions, and several reporters. Universal scrambled to appear responsive: a spokesman told a ''UCLA Daily Bruin'' reporter that the studio was "delighted" by the interest, and that "we have negotiated with the heirs of the writers (Morrie Ryskind and George S. Kaufman), but they were asking much more than we wanted to spend. Just recently we reached an agreement, and we're waiting to sign the contracts." (Not quite: Ryskind was still in the pre-heir stage – he lived until 1985. The songwriter Harry Ruby was also alive, though he died only two weeks later, aged 79.) The spokesman added that he expected the film would soon be released. As the ''Daily Bruin'' put it, "The rest of the day belonged to Groucho, as he showed surprising flashes of his old brilliance." Asked to name his favorite comedian, he said: "Me." He also said that "''Animal Crackers'' is the best of our movies." Groucho's UCLA appearance generated national press coverage. An appearance on the nationally syndicated ''
Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 ...
'' soon followed. In April 1974, Groucho and Stoliar "received an answer from Universal. According to Vice President Arnold Shane, they were 'delighted with the response of the students.'" On May 23, 1974, attempting to gauge public interest, Universal screened a sharp new print of the film at the UA Theater in Westwood, just south of the UCLA campus. Groucho made a personal appearance and walked unescorted into the theatre on the left aisle. People in the audience stood up and started applauding and soon the entire theater joined in. Encouraged by the response there – the lines stretched around the block for months – on June 23 the studio screened the film at the Sutton Theater in New York. Groucho attended the New York premiere. A near-riot broke out and a police escort was summoned. From there ''Animal Crackers'' went into national release. Because of these rights issues, ''Animal Crackers'' had never been seen on television until July 21, 1979, when
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
broadcast a
special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...
showing of the film. The complete, uncut ''Animal Crackers'', which had only been available for decades in a version cut for the 1936 reissue, was restored from a 35mm duplicate negative held by the British Film Institute and released by Universal Pictures in 2016 in DCP format for theatrical distribution and Blu-ray for home video as part of ''The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection''. The restored edition features an optional commentary track by film historian
Jeffrey Vance Jeffrey Vance (born May 21, 1970) is an American film historian and author who has published books on movie stars including Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Career While working as an archivist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists he met El ...
.


Reception

Like its predecessor ''
The Cocoanuts ''The Cocoanuts'' is a 1929 pre-Code musical comedy film starring the Marx Brothers (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, and Zeppo Marx in his first starring role). Produced for Paramount Pictures by Walter Wanger, who is not credited, the fil ...
'', ''Animal Crackers'' was a financial success. By June 1932, the film had earned $1.5 million in worldwide theatrical rentals.


Multicolor clip

In the 1990s, a 15-second clip filmed in
Multicolor Multicolor is a subtractive two-color motion picture process. Multicolor, introduced to the motion picture industry in 1929, was based on the earlier Prizma Color process, and was the forerunner of Cinecolor. For a Multicolor film, a sc ...
during the rehearsal of a scene in ''Animal Crackers'' was found and aired as a part of the AMC documentary ''Glorious Technicolor'' (1998). The clip is significant because it is the earliest known color footage of the Marx Brothers, and also for an appearance by Harpo without his usual costume and wig.The American Widescreen Museum,
Early Color Motion Pictures
', ''WidescreenMuseum.com'', 2003. Accessed February 8, 2010.


References in popular culture

* "Hello, I Must Be Going" became a theme in Oliver Stone's miniseries '' Wild Palms''. It was the title of the final episode, and sung by villain Senator Kreutzer (
Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...
) as he died. * British musician Phil Collins titled his 1982 album after the song "Hello, I Must Be Going". * The song "Hello, I Must Be Going" also accompanies the opening credits of
Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
's ''
Whatever Works ''Whatever Works'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed and written by Woody Allen and starring Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley Jr., Michael McKean, and Henry Cavill. It was released on June 19, 2009, received mi ...
'' (2009). * "Captain Spaulding" is one of many Marx Brothers character-related pseudonyms for Sid Haig's murderous clown character, John Cutter, in Rob Zombie's ''
House of 1000 Corpses ''House of 1000 Corpses'' is a 2003 American black comedy horror film written, co-scored, and directed by Rob Zombie in his directorial debut, and the first film in the ''Firefly'' film series. It stars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, K ...
'' and its sequel ''
The Devil's Rejects ''The Devil's Rejects'' is a 2005 black comedy horror film written, produced and directed by Rob Zombie, and is the second film in the ''Firefly'' film series, serving as a sequel to his 2003 film ''House of 1000 Corpses''. The film is centere ...
.'' * The film is referenced in ''Murray Takes a Stand'', a 1976 episode of ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Mo ...
''. * In the TV series ''
M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...
'' , in which actor Alan Alda's portrayal of Hawkeye Pierce is inspired by Groucho, early episodes featured a character named Captain Calvin Spalding, played by musician
Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...
. * "Hooray For Captain Spaulding" is performed in English and in French in a scene toward the end of
Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
's 1997 movie musical ''
Everyone Says I Love You ''Everyone Says I Love You'' is a 1996 American musical film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Allen, Alan Alda, Drew Barrymore, Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Julia Roberts, Tim Roth, Natasha Lyonne and Natalie Portman. Set in New Y ...
'' at a party scene in Paris where all the guests are dressed as Groucho Marx. * The Groucho-hosted quiz show
You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...
used an instrumental version of "Hooray For Captain Spaulding" as the theme for most of its run.


See also

*
List of United States comedy films This is a list of American comedy films. Comedy films are separated into two categories: short films and feature films. Any film over 40 minutes long is considered to be of feature-length (although most feature films produced since 1950 are co ...
* Kalmar and Ruby songwriting team


References


External links

* * *
Full description of ''Animal Crackers'' from Filmsite.org

Internet Broadway Database entry on ''Animal Crackers''
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Animal Crackers 1930 films 1930 comedy films American black-and-white films American comedy films Films based on musicals Films directed by Victor Heerman Films set in country houses Films set in Long Island Films shot at Astoria Studios Marx Brothers (film series) Paramount Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films