The CooCoo Nut Grove

The CooCoo Nut Grove
Directed byI. Freleng
Produced byLeon Schlesinger
StarringBernice Hansen
Tedd Pierce
The Rhythmettes
Verna Deane
Danny Webb
Peter Lind Hayes
Dave Barry[1]
Edited byTreg Brown
Music byCarl W. Stalling
Animation byBob McKimson
Sandy Walker
Color processTechnicolor
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • November 28, 1936 (1936-11-28)
Running time
6:43
LanguageEnglish

The CooCoo Nut Grove is a 1936 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short animated film, set in the famed Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. This is a caricature cartoon,[2] with recreations of celebrities from the time. The cartoon was directed by Friz Freleng, with animation by Robert McKimson and Sandy Walker, caricature design by T. Hee, and musical score by Carl Stalling.[3] The short was released on November 28, 1936.[4]

Plot

The short opens with a scene of a full moon reflecting on water lined with palm trees. "Thru' the Courtesy of Love" (Scholl/Jerome) plays during the opening scene. The camera pans to the Coo-Coonut Grove, 'Dine and Dance with the Stars', reflecting the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel, where many Academy Award shows were held in the 30s and 40s. The camera pans to a star lined hall, with various caricatures of Hollywood stars from the 1930s. Noticeable are Fred Astaire in the lower right corner, Bette Davis(left side, 2nd table from the bottom), Lionel Barrymore (right side, 3rd from the bottom) and Jean Harlow, 2nd table from the bottom.

Master of Ceremonies Ben Birdie (bandleader Ben Bernie, voiced by Tedd Pierce) is accosted by Walter Windpipe (Walter Winchell, voiced by Danny Webb), and proceeds to blow Windpipe out of the tuba he emerges from. Winchell and Bernie had a mock feud at the time of creation.[5] The short then proceeds to showcase many Hollywood stars in the form of Ralph Barton-esque caricatures, starting with Hugh Herbert, W.C Fields as a pig (voiced by Tedd Pierce), speaking with Katharine Hepburn (as a horse named Miss Heartburn), Ned Sparks (voiced by Dave Barry) stating "I go everywhere, I do everything, and I never have any fun'. Following this, the camera pans up the tree to where Tarzan and Jane are sitting on a table, played by Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Weissmuller proceeds to give Tarzan's signature call, wearing a leopard skin suit.

The camera cuts back to Birdie, who calls to the 'profile of profilers', John Barrymore, who refuses to turn his head to display his signature profile. A woman in a yellow dress with purple flowers and a purple hat runs with her face away from the camera. She is being chased by Harpo Marx, one of the Marx Brothers, who is drawn as a bird honking a horn. He skids to a stop, without talking, a call to his silent roles.

Birdie suggests the club members start dancing, all depicted as birds. Many of the male birds are wearing turtlenecks and smoking. A blonde bird with a large black hat dances with an old turtle, the bird being Mae West (voiced by Verna Deane), the turtle George Arliss. There is no seemingly no reason for the caricatures; the fun is in the animation.[2] Laurel and Hardy appear as a pig (Hardy) and a monkey (Laurel), watching the dancing.

There is then a shot of the caricatures at their tables. Clockwise from the top we see Laurel and Hardy, John Barrymore, still facing profile, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable (with his ears prominently shown, a joke on his large ears[6]), W. C. Fields, and Katharine Hepburn. The lights dim, and Edna May Oliver takes the centre of the room (as the 'Lady in Red'), with a spotlight shining on her. Gable claps his ears instead of his hands. The camera flips between Oliver, and Gary Cooper. Three monkeys comment on Cooper, a reference to the three old women in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, before turning to Oliver one last time. She leaves, and a curtain rises, depicting the Dionne quintuplets (voiced by Bernice Hansen), who sing a song. The quintuplets finish their number, and Tarzan and Jane are clapping atop their tree. A mouse scares Tarzan enough that he faints, Jane taking on his signature scream and flying through the treetops, a joke on Tarzan swinging on the vine. The same woman in the yellow dress is once again chased by Harpo Marx, though this time he catches her. She turns to face the camera, and it is revealed to be Groucho Marx, before Harpo runs away, fading to black.

The screen then opens with drops of water falling against the ground, and a singer sings a sad song. The camera pans up to a woman in a black dress crying as she sings a Torch Song. This woman is Helen Morgan (voiced by Verna Deane). Wallace Beery squeezes something onto a knife, eating it while crying. The camera shows Morgan crying again, before switching to Harpo crying. Actors Edward G. Robinson (in green, on the left) and George Raft (in red, on the right), continue with their 'straight man' persona before giving up and crying as well.

The closing shots have Morgan on the piano, while the Marx Brothers, Hepburn, Fields, Beery, Laurel and Hardy float away on their tables, the CooCoo Nut Grove flooded with tears. Arliss as a turtle paddles away with oars. Ben Birdie closes the cartoon with his signature 'cheerio, pip-pip, and good night'.

Production notes

  • The title is sometimes mis-labeled as The Coo-Coo Nut Groove. This cartoon was followed by The Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos (1937) and Have You Got Any Castles? (1938), both parodying Hollywood personalities.
  • The 1935 song “Rhythm Steps” by Herbie Kay and his orchestra is heard after the Ben Bernie caricature says, “Now we’ll indulge in a bit of the light fantastical, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”
  • T. Hee, the cartoonist hired for this picture, was hired by to do caricatures after Frank Tashlin (or Tash) saw his drawings in the Examiner (particularly of Clark Gable and Greta Garbo). Taking the opening at Warner Brothers, he was then selected by Isadore 'Friz' Freleng to work on the 'CooCoo Nut Grove'. Hee was then so sought after he left Warner Bros to work for Disney, noteably Mother Goose Goes Hollywood[2]

References

  1. ^ Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, 1930-70. BearManor Media. p. 21. ISBN 979-8-88771-010-5.
  2. ^ a b c Warner Bro. (2005). Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3. Burbank California: Warner Hom Video. Disc 2, Short 3 "The CooCoo Nut Grove" Commentary by Michael Barrier, T. Hee.
  3. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 51. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  4. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. ^ 20th Century Fox (1937-08-23), Wake Up and Live (1937), retrieved 2024-04-02{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Clark Gable - Movies, Death & Spouse". Biography. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2024-04-02.

External links

  • The CooCoo Nut Grove at IMDb
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