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Goin' Coconuts (1978)

PG | 93 mins | Comedy | 4 October 1978

Director:

Howard Morris

Producer:

John Cutts

Cinematographer:

Frank Phillips

Editor:

Frank Bracht

Production Designer:

Gibson Holley

Production Company:

Osmond Films
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HISTORY

       Principal photography began 31 Mar 1978 on location in HI according to a 6 Mar 1978 DV news item, and a 10 May 1978 advertisement in Var announced that filming had been completed.
       The production cost $3.2 million. Osmond Entertainment matched that cost for the advertising campaign which included a companion book by Dell paperbacks and a soundtrack album, according to a 27 Mar 1978 HR article. As stated in a 5 Sep 1978 HR news item, promotions also included a television program titled Coconuts, Coconut, Coconuts. The half-hour special was syndicated in over 100 markets in mid-Sep 1978 ahead of the film’s 4 Oct 1978 U.S. release. The Osmond Brothers served as executive producers on the special, along with Dennis Johnson and Toby Martin; it was directed by Art Fisher.
       Goin’ Coconuts was the feature film debut of brother and sister act, Donny and Marie Osmond.
      The film’s end credits state: “The producers gracefully acknowledge the help and assistance given them in the making of this film by: Western Airlines and the people and state of Hawaii. Polynesian dance segment filmed at Spencecliff’s Hawaiian Hut Theatre Restaurant, Waikiki, Featuring Kalo’s South Seas Revue.”
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       Principal photography began 31 Mar 1978 on location in HI according to a 6 Mar 1978 DV news item, and a 10 May 1978 advertisement in Var announced that filming had been completed.
       The production cost $3.2 million. Osmond Entertainment matched that cost for the advertising campaign which included a companion book by Dell paperbacks and a soundtrack album, according to a 27 Mar 1978 HR article. As stated in a 5 Sep 1978 HR news item, promotions also included a television program titled Coconuts, Coconut, Coconuts. The half-hour special was syndicated in over 100 markets in mid-Sep 1978 ahead of the film’s 4 Oct 1978 U.S. release. The Osmond Brothers served as executive producers on the special, along with Dennis Johnson and Toby Martin; it was directed by Art Fisher.
       Goin’ Coconuts was the feature film debut of brother and sister act, Donny and Marie Osmond.
      The film’s end credits state: “The producers gracefully acknowledge the help and assistance given them in the making of this film by: Western Airlines and the people and state of Hawaii. Polynesian dance segment filmed at Spencecliff’s Hawaiian Hut Theatre Restaurant, Waikiki, Featuring Kalo’s South Seas Revue.”

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GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
30 Oct 1978
---
Daily Variety
6 Mar 1978
---
Daily Variety
7 Apr 1978
---
Daily Variety
6 Oct 1978
---
Hollywood Reporter
6 Mar 1978
---
Hollywood Reporter
10 Mar 1978
---
Hollywood Reporter
27 Mar 1978
---
Hollywood Reporter
10 Apr 1978
---
Hollywood Reporter
23 May 1978
---
Hollywood Reporter
5 Sep 1978
---
Hollywood Reporter
1 Oct 1978
---
Los Angeles Times
5 Oct 1978
p. 17
TV Guide
15 Apr 1978
---
Variety
15 Mar 1978
---
Variety
10 May 1978
---
Variety
11 Oct 1978
p. 31
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
PRODUCTION TEXTS
An Osmond Production
Released by Osmond Distribution Company
In Association with Inter Planetary Pictures, Inc.
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Prod mgr
1st asst dir
Joseph Nayfack
2d asst dir
2d unit dir
PRODUCERS
Prod
Assoc prod
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir of photog
Lloyd Ahern, Jr.
Cam op
Key grip
Gaffer
Still photog
2d unit cam
2d unit cam
Underwater photog
1st asst cam
2nd asst cam
Best boy
Best boy grip
Dolly grip
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
FILM EDITORS
Asst film ed
SET DECORATORS
Set dec
Prop master
Const co-ord
Asst prop master
COSTUMES
Cost supv
Women's ward
Cost co-ord
Marie's performance gowns des by
Donny's performance ward des by
MUSIC
Mus comp and cond
Mus ed
SOUND
Prod mixer
Boom op
Playback op
VISUAL EFFECTS
Spec eff
Main title des
Titles and opticals
DANCE
Choreog
MAKEUP
Make-up
Hairdresser
PRODUCTION MISC
Casting
Scr supv
Transportation co-ord
Loc casting
Asst to the dir and prod
Prod secy
Prod asst
Edward Forsyth
Post prod supv
Motorcycles and jet skis by courtesy of
Boats furnished by
Oconto, Wis.
First aid
Generator man
Auditor
Unit pub
STAND INS
Stunt co-ord
COLOR PERSONNEL
Color by
SOURCES
SONGS
"On the Shelf," words and music by Steve Voice and Peter Yellowstone, produced by Mike Curb and Michael Lloyd, published by A.T.V. Music Corp., sung by Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond.
PERFORMED BY
SONGWRITER/COMPOSER
DETAILS
Alternate Title:
Aloha Donny and Marie
Release Date:
4 October 1978
Premiere Information:
Los Angeles opening: 4 Oct 1978
Production Date:
31 Mar--early May 1978 in Hawaii
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Hawaiian Pictures, Inc.
5 January 1979
PA31947
Physical Properties:
Sound
Color
Duration(in mins):
93
Length(in reels):
6
MPAA Rating:
PG
Country:
United States
Language:
English
SYNOPSIS

As Donny and Marie perform on stage, their manager, Sid, anxiously waits for the show to end, because they have to catch a flight to Hawaii. At the airport, Charlie, dressed as a priest, occupies a phone booth as Donny waits his turn. Charlie calls his boss, Wong, and informs him he has retrieved the necklace Wong wanted. However, he warns that Webster, who works for Professor Kruse, is also after the necklace. As Donny and Marie wait for the phone, Tricia, a pretty blond approaches. Donny flirts with her but Tricia is not interested. Noticing that Webster is closing in on him, Charlie approaches Marie and gives her the necklace as a gift from his church. Tricia notices the exchange. Moments later, Webster corners Charlie about the necklace, and Charlie swears he doesn’t have it. Donny, Marie, Sid, Webster, Charlie and Tricia board the same flight to Hawaii. During the flight, Webster kills Charlie with a poisoned cup of water. After the plane lands, Wong’s henchmen, Mickey and J.L., find Charlie's corpse. Meanwhile, Webster calls Professor Kruse, saying he suspects that Charlie hid the necklace. When Tricia asks Marie about the necklace, Mickey, J.L. and Webster overhear and see that she's wearing it. Outside, Mickey and J.L. recognize Webster as he follows Donny and Marie. While Mickey and J.L. tail Donny and Marie's limo, Webster steals a car and follows suit. Although Mickey and J.L. force him off the road, Webster manages to jump out and steal a driving school’s car, resuming the chase. Meanwhile, Donny and Marie are oblivious to what is going ...

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As Donny and Marie perform on stage, their manager, Sid, anxiously waits for the show to end, because they have to catch a flight to Hawaii. At the airport, Charlie, dressed as a priest, occupies a phone booth as Donny waits his turn. Charlie calls his boss, Wong, and informs him he has retrieved the necklace Wong wanted. However, he warns that Webster, who works for Professor Kruse, is also after the necklace. As Donny and Marie wait for the phone, Tricia, a pretty blond approaches. Donny flirts with her but Tricia is not interested. Noticing that Webster is closing in on him, Charlie approaches Marie and gives her the necklace as a gift from his church. Tricia notices the exchange. Moments later, Webster corners Charlie about the necklace, and Charlie swears he doesn’t have it. Donny, Marie, Sid, Webster, Charlie and Tricia board the same flight to Hawaii. During the flight, Webster kills Charlie with a poisoned cup of water. After the plane lands, Wong’s henchmen, Mickey and J.L., find Charlie's corpse. Meanwhile, Webster calls Professor Kruse, saying he suspects that Charlie hid the necklace. When Tricia asks Marie about the necklace, Mickey, J.L. and Webster overhear and see that she's wearing it. Outside, Mickey and J.L. recognize Webster as he follows Donny and Marie. While Mickey and J.L. tail Donny and Marie's limo, Webster steals a car and follows suit. Although Mickey and J.L. force him off the road, Webster manages to jump out and steal a driving school’s car, resuming the chase. Meanwhile, Donny and Marie are oblivious to what is going on around them. Webster forces Mickey and J.L. to crash, but loses control of his own vehicle and flips it. Later, J.L. pretends to deliver flowers to Donny and Marie's hotel in order to get their room number. Tricia shows up in the hotel lounge, and Donny asks Marie to leave so he can be alone with her. However, when Donny asks Tricia out, she suggests that Marie come along. As Donny walks Tricia back to her room, Marie finds her hotel suite trashed, and screams when she runs into Mickey. Rushing to save her, Donny finds Marie fighting off Mickey and jumps in, chasing the intruder outside but losing him in a swarm of fans. Marie speculates that Mickey was after her necklace, but Donny thinks Marie is imagining things. However, Sid tells them he’s hiring extra security. When Wong arrives at the hotel, Mickey and J.L. update their boss on the situation. At the hospital, Kruse and his henchman, Ito, find Webster bandaged from head to toe. Webster can’t talk, so Kruse instructs him to wiggle his toes to answer yes or no questions regarding a picture of Donny and Marie. Ito turns on the television, and as Donny and Marie perform on a local show, Kruse sees Marie wearing the necklace. At the television studio, Sid introduces Donny and Marie to Al, their new security guard. Back onstage, Marie notices Wong staring at her in the audience and becomes flustered. At the hotel, Donny asks Marie what made her forget lyrics during the performance, and Marie reiterates that someone is after her necklace. Donny wants to get rid of the necklace, but Marie refuses and puts it in a jewelry box. Donny leaves the hotel suite, while Kruse and Ito check into the room next door. Moments later, Wong, Mickey and J.L. check into the room on the other side. Alone, Marie hears noises and notices Kruse and Ito peeking through her windows. Meanwhile, someone steals her necklace. In the hotel basement, Kruse sneaks up on Mickey, and Wong sneaks up on Kruse. Ito sneaks up on Wong, and, finally, J.L. sneaks up on Kruse. They accuse each other of having the necklace, but when they realize none of them have it, they assume another party has become involved and form a reluctant alliance. Back in the hotel room, Marie talks to Lt. Alecki, a policeman, about the theft of her necklace. Outside, Donny admits to Sid that he stole the necklace. He feels that Marie is imagining the gangsters and that it is distracting her from her work. Donny throws the necklace into the wishing well, and returns to the hotel room with Sid to find Marie with Lt. Alecki. Alecki tells Donny he found finger prints on the jewelry box and intends to identify the perpetrator. Donny gets nervous and comes up with a plan to have Al, the security guard, secretly return the necklace. Later, Tricia and Marie catch Al breaking in, and Tricia subdues him with surprising ease. Donny returns to convince Marie that it was Al who stole the necklace. Alecki calls and informs Marie there are no strange finger prints on the jewelry box – just hers and Donny’s. Marie realizes that Donny stole the necklace and is furious. Meanwhile, Kruse hears from his contact at the police lab about the fingerprints. Wong speculates that this was a clever ruse by Donny and Marie to throw him off the trail. The next day Alecki suggests Marie take the necklace to a local museum and have it appraised. Unbeknownst to Marie, the expert she’s meeting is Kruse. Kruse tells Marie the necklace is worthless and tries to convince her to give it to him, but she decides to keep it just as Donny shows up, and they leave the museum on a motorbike. Kruse, Wong and their henchmen give chase, and Donny recognizes Mickey as the guy who broke into their hotel room just as the henchmen start shooting. Donny and Marie narrowly escape, and back at the hotel, they tell Sid what happened. He wants to cancel the show, but they insist they go on. At the show, Alecki brings extra police to keep an eye on the situation. As Donny and Marie perform, they spot Mickey, J.L. and Ito, dressed as policemen, on both sides of the stage. As they flash their guns, Sid notices Ito wearing sandals and realizes he is not a real policeman. Sid notifies Alecki, who arrests Mickey, J.L. and Ito after the show. The next day, Alecki tells Donny and Marie that the three men are not talking, but he confiscated an old map from one of them. Marie notices that the necklace matches part of the map, pointing to a location out in the ocean. Alecki offers to take them out on his boat. At the location, Alecki and Donny SCUBA dive and find a World War II submarine filled with gold bars, retrieving the treasure as Kruse and Wong watch from another boat. Although Kruse and Wong attack, Donny and Alecki fight them off and speed away, accidentally knocking Sid into the water. Kruse and Wong send out a remote controlled jet ski. Unaware that it has been rigged with explosives, Sid climbs onto it. Donny realizes that Sid is in danger just as Tricia arrives in a rescue helicopter. Tricia throws down a ladder and Donny climbs on. They catch up with Sid and pull him off the jet ski just before it runs into Kruse and Wong’s boat and explodes. The next day, Tricia explains that she is with the Navy, and has been looking for the necklace and the submarine for over a year. Donny asks Tricia out on a date, but she informs him that she is married. Donny is depressed until another pretty girl approaches. Donny, Marie and Sid get on a plane to return home.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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