From the 1929 Marx Brothers film “Cocoanuts”, this iconic auction scene is a satirical take on the Florida land boom of the 1920s. During the auction scene, property salesmen are trying to sell plots of land to the hotel guests. However, the Marx Brothers repeatedly bid on the properties, causing chaos and confusion amongst the salesmen and guests, and driving over-inflated valuations on the undeveloped land. Although the scene is comedy, it accurately symbolizes the boom-bust phenomena seen in many market cycles throughout history.
