Animal Crackers (1930 film)

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 eponymous musical by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, and features Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo Marx alongside Margaret Dumont and Lillian Roth. The story centers on a Long Island society party honoring eccentric African explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding (Groucho), where multiple schemes involving a valuable painting lead to conflict.

Produced by Paramount Pictures at their Astoria Studios in Queens, Animal Crackers was the Marx Brothers' second feature film, following The Cocoanuts (1929). The production faced significant challenges in adapting the stage musical to early sound cinema. The studio made extensive cuts to musical numbers and restructured the original material. Director Victor Heerman was brought in specifically to manage the disruptive behavior of the Marx Brothers on set.

The film was both a critical and commercial success upon its August 1930 release, earning $3.1 million worldwide and establishing several of the Marx Brothers' most famous comedic routines. Following the film's release, Groucho's songs "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" and "Hello, I Must Be Going" became signature pieces, with the former serving as the theme for his television quiz show, You Bet Your Life. The film's humor and surrealist elements influenced later comedy filmmaking and earned recognition from avant-garde critics like Antonin Artaud, as well as filmmakers like François Truffaut and Jim Jarmusch.

Issues over distribution rights led Animal Crackers to be withdrawn from circulation in the 1950s. Following a fan campaign led by UCLA students and supported by Groucho, Universal Pictures secured new rights and re-released the film to theaters and television. The film was restored in 2016 based on a print found in the British Film Institute, which included some previously censored material.