Animal Crackers | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Victor Heerman |
Written by |
Bert Kalmar Harry Ruby George S. Kaufman |
Starring |
Groucho Marx Harpo Marx Chico Marx Zeppo Marx Lillian Roth Margaret Dumont |
Music by |
Bert Kalmar Harry Ruby |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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96 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Animal Crackers is a 1930 Pre-Code Marx Brothers comedy film, 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 on its initial release, filming took place at Paramount's Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens; it was the second of two films the Brothers would make in New York.
The film stars the four brothers, Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, and Zeppo Marx, with Lillian Roth and Margaret Dumont. It was directed by Victor Heerman and adapted from a successful 1928 Broadway musical of the same title by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, also starring the Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont. The part of Hives the butler was played by Robert Greig who also appeared with the Marx Brothers in Horse Feathers (1932).
The plot concerns Groucho, as explorer Captain Geoffrey (or Jeffrey) T. ("The 'T.' stands for Edgar.") Spaulding, attending a party in his honor at the estate of society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse, and investigating the theft of a valuable painting during the party. The bulk of the movie consists of a succession of comedy sketches, one liner jokes, and visual gags.