Animal Crackers
Starring: Groucho Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont
Director: Victor Heerman
Writer: George S. Kaufman, Harry Ruby, Bert Kalmar
Animal Crackers is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film starring the Marx Brothers and directed by Victor Heerman. It is based on the brothers' 1928 musical Animal Crackers by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, with songs by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. The screenplay was adapted by Morrie Ryskind. The film features Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo Marx alongside Margaret Dumont and Lillian Roth.
Trivia
- Based on Animal Crackers (1928 musical).
- After the commercial success of The Cocoanuts, Variety announced that Paramount Pictures signed the Marx Brothers for a follow-up film in February 1930.
- Paramount had not yet secured the rights to Animal Crackers, the brothers' then-current Broadway musical, from producer Sam H. Harris.
- The studio instead planned to commission an original screenplay from Ben Hecht, but by March, it was reported that Paramount had obtained the film rights to Animal Crackers and began pre-production, with the goal of commencing filming in May.
Filming Locations
- Principal photography began at Astoria Studios in Queens on April 28, 1930.
Previous Showings
12 Runs • 7 Festivals
9,240 tickets sold
Original Billings: 1 run (September 24, 1930)
Original Run: September 24, 1930 (Wednesday - Friday)
All runs on record (12):
- September 24, 1930 (Wednesday - Friday)Marx Brothers
- April 11 - 12, 1990 · 677 ticketsw/ The Cocoanuts
- June 12 - 15, 1993 · 1,247 ticketsw/ Horse Feathers
- September 14 - 15, 1996 · 661 ticketsw/ Horse Feathers
- December 15 - 17, 1999 · 965 ticketsHoliday 1999w/ Horse Feathers
- October 23 - 25, 2002 · 538 ticketsFall Folliesw/ Hail the Conquering Hero
- February 11 - 13, 2005 · 917 ticketsw/ The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
- July 2 - 4, 2008 · 1,354 ticketsSummer 2008 Bette Davis, James Stewart, silent films and more!w/ Duck Soup
- November 21 - 24, 2013 · 1,132 ticketsPreston Sturges and The Marx Brosw/ Christmas in July
- September 14 - 16, 2016 · 497 ticketsSummer 2016w/ Julius Caesar
- December 2 - 4, 2016 · 1,021 ticketsAstaire and Rogers plus The Marx Brothersw/ The Gay Divorcee
- September 11 - 12, 2025 · 231 ticketsSummer 2025w/ Horse Feathers