''Goin' Coconuts'' is a 1978 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Howard Morris Howard Jerome Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in ''The Andy Griffith Show'' as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid C ...

and starring Donny and

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and pop ...

. The feature film was released in theaters on October 18, 1978. It was both a critical and commercial failure. Shooting took place in

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

, from March 31 to May 1978, during the annual production hiatus for the Osmonds' variety TV series. It was

Ted Cassidy Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor noted for his tall stature at and deep voice. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as ''Star Trek'' and ''I Dream of ...

's final film appearance before his death in January 1979 (although he continued to amass a number of animation-voiceover credits). Donny and Marie chose to film ''Goin' Coconuts'' instead of accepting roles in the film '' Grease'', which was being filmed at the same time (Marie was to play Sandy, and Donny the Teen Angel); they chose ''Goin' Coconuts'' mainly out of belief that the project was more

family-friendly A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...

.7 'Grease' Facts You May Not Have Known
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Synopsis

While performing in concert with Donny in

, Marie acquires a lovely necklace, unaware that it's coveted by a group of thieves and by a mysterious woman. Plenty of trouble soon follows, with Donny and Marie getting into one jam after another.

Cast

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...

as Donny *

as Marie *

Herb Edelman Herbert Edelman (November 5, 1933 – July 21, 1996) was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best-known roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of ...

as Sid *

Kenneth Mars Kenneth Mars (April 4, 1935 – February 12, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in '' The Producers'' (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in ''Youn ...

as Kruse *

as Mickey *

Marc Lawrence Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence. Early life Lawrence ...

as Webster *

Khigh Dhiegh Khigh Alx Dhiegh ( or ; born Kenneth Dickerson; August 25, 1910 – October 25, 1991) Includes short biographical summary of Khigh Dhiegh. was an American television and motion picture actor of Anglo-Egyptian Sudanese ancestry, noted for port ...

as Wong *

Harold Sakata , better known as Harold Sakata, was an American Olympic weightlifter, professional wrestler, and film actor of Japanese descent. He won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London in weightlifting, and later ...

as Ito * Jack Collins as Charlie *

Danny Wells Jack Westelman (April 7, 1941 – November 28, 2013), known as Danny Wells, was a Canadian actor. He was best known for his role as Charlie, the bartender on ''The Jeffersons'', as well as his role as Luigi in the live-action/animated series '' ...

as Al *Charles Walker as Jake *Tommy Fujiwara as Alecki

Soundtrack

The ''Goin' Coconuts'' soundtrack was released on LP, cassette tape and

8-track tape The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, whi ...

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

in October 1978. It earned platinum status, despite the film doing poorly at the box office. The first and only single release, "On the Shelf", was a U.S. Top 40 hit during November 1978 (Billboard #38, AC #25). The song also charted in Canada, reaching #60 on the pop singles chart and spending two weeks at #14 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The album also included "May Tomorrow Be a Perfect Day", which the Osmonds sang to close each episode of their TV series. The album was released by 7t / Cherry Red Records out of the UK on a two-for-one CD in 2014. It was paired with Donny & Marie's 1977 album "Winning Combination."

Track listing

Certifications

References

External links

* * * {{amg title, 20106, Goin' Coconuts 1978 films 1970s musical comedy films 1970s adventure films American musical comedy films American adventure comedy films American independent films Films directed by Howard Morris Films scored by Nelson Riddle 1978 comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films