In a (2010 blog post) I lamented that the Donny and Marie film Goin' Coconuts only existed in an 80 minute version on YouTube. However I recently discovered a complete copy on YouTube so I can finally finish viewing this musical comedy epic. This film doesn't compare to the searching that has gone on for the uncut versions of Greed and The Magnificent Ambersons but in many ways it's an important cinematic find.
The viewer should prepare themselves for comedy, action, music, romance and perhaps at times a tear or two, as we watch the adventures of very clean cut brother and sister entertainers Donnie and Marie Osmond in their exciting adventure in Hawaii. Donny was a breakout performer from The Osmond Brothers act who teamed with his sister Marie for The Donny and Marie Show a very wholesome, healthy and lets face it insipid variety series that incredibly ran for three years on Friday nights. This was before the days of cable television when frankly there wasn't a whole lot to watch.
Goin' Coconuts was a critical and box office failure unsurprisingly. The film is an excellent example of how not to make a film. The camera angles, editing and staging of the various scenes show an amazing ineptness. The director was Howard Morris a comedian and crony of Sid Caesar and Mel Brooks. Morris had directed a lot of TV shows but for some reason he seemed to forget everything he learned when he came to make this movie. Morris appears at the end in a small cameo.
Goin' Coconuts was produced by the Osmond family and had songs written by The Osmond Brothers, a real "auteur" family affair. Incredibly these two singing sensations passed on the opportunity to appear in Grease in order to make this film. Marie Osmond might have had a very different career had she taken on the role of Sandy which Olivia Newton John appeared in. Who can say, and who wants to say.
The cast of comedians that Morris put together shamelessly mugged throughout the film probably trying to make something funny out of a very unfunny script. A further review of the cast turns up the actor Crystin Sinclaire in the role of Donny's potential love interest, Sinclaire had appeared in Caged Heat, Portrait of a Stripper, Eaten Alive and Hustler Squad. A very strange casting choice to play with the very clean cut and very Caucasian Donny Osmond. I wonder what happened to her?
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