Monkey Business (1931 film) in Queens, New York City. Upon alighting from the ship, the Marx Brothers' real life father (Sam "Frenchie" Marx) is briefly seen in a cameo appearance, sitting on top of luggage behind the Brothers on the pier as they wave to the First Mate. Sam Marx was 72 at the time, and the appearance was his film debut. He was paid $12.50 each day for two days work. "Monkey Business" was Norman MacLeod's solo directorial debut. One of the sequences in this film involves the four brothers attempting to get off the ship using a passport stolen from famous singer
The Viking (1931 film) The Viking (1931 film) The Viking (a.k.a. White Thunder and Vikings of the Ice Field) is a 1931 Newfoundland/American adventure film about sealing directed by George Melford. This was "the first film to record sound and dialogue on location". It is best known for the explosion aboard the ship SS "Viking" (an actual sealing ship) during filming, in which many members of the crew, including producer Varick Frissell, were killed. It remains the incident with the largest loss of life in film history. Set on the coast of Newfoundland, a rivalry develops between Jed Nelson (Arthur Vinton), a seal hunter,