Animal Crackers (1930)

Cast

Groucho Marx

Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding

Harpo Marx

The Professor

Chico Marx

Signor Emanuel Ravelli

Zeppo Marx

Horatio Jamison

Lillian Roth

Arabella Rittenhouse

Margaret Dumont

Mrs. Rittenhouse

Louis Sorin

Roscoe Chandler

Hal Thompson

John Parker

Margaret Irving

Mrs. Whitehead

Kathryn Reece

Grace Carpenter

About Animal Crackers

The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.

Popularity

2.2

Release

Aug 8, 1930

Genres

Comedy, Music

Director: Victor Heerman

Writer: Morrie Ryskind, George S. Kaufman

IMDb

Gallery

More Like This

6.3

The Big Store

1941

6.5

The Cocoanuts

1929

6.8

The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash

1978

6.2

A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

2025

5.8

Make Mine Music

1946

6.0

Ziegfeld Follies

1945

6.8

Arlo the Alligator Boy

2021

6.7

Guava Island

2019

6.6

Godspell

1973

6.6

Fun with Dick and Jane

1977

6.2

Cadet Kelly

2002

6.2

Thunderstruck

2012

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf

Jun 13, 2022

7.0

So a renowned explorer ("Capt. Spaulding" - Groucho Marx) returns from doing his David Livingstone in Africa and attends a lavish reception in his honour. Whilst at this swanky soirée, a very valuable painting is stolen and so he, along with Harpo, Chico & Zeppo all pitch in to recover it for their hostess; the glamorous but no-nonsense "Mrs. Rittenhouse" (Margaret Dumont - who frequently struggles to keep a straight face during the ensuing shenanigans!). It quickly accelerates into a rapid-fire series of set-piece sketches - and the best game of bridge you're ever likely to see on screen - with some wonderfully timed one liners. I always found Groucho's accent a bit tiring after a while - his really thick New York accent is not so easy on the ears, but that's an incidental criticism of a really fun vehicle for four folks who just knew how to make us laugh. Maybe one too many musical hiatuses that slow it down somewhat, but hey - you're bound to enjoy most of it.

Read full review