The Hudsucker Proxy

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The Hudsucker Proxy
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoel Coen
Written by
Produced byEthan Coen
Starring
CinematographyRoger Deakins
Edited byThom Noble
Music byCarter Burwell
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • January 27, 1994 (1994-01-27) (Sundance)
Running time
111 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[3]
Box office$11 million[4]

The Hudsucker Proxy is a 1994 screwball comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by the Coen brothers. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director. The film stars Tim Robbins as a naïve but ambitious business school graduate who is installed as president of a manufacturing company, Jennifer Jason Leigh as a newspaper reporter, and Paul Newman as a company director who hires the graduate as part of a stock scam.

The script was finished in 1985, but production did not start until 1991, when Joel Silver acquired the script for Silver Pictures. Warner Bros. subsequently agreed to distribute the film, with further financing from PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Working Title Films. Filming at Carolco Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina, lasted from November 1992 to March 1993. The New York City scale model set was designed by Michael J. McAlister and Mark Stetson, with further effects provided by The Computer Film Company.

Upon its release in March 1994, The Hudsucker Proxy received mixed reviews from critics and

bombed at the box office, but has since gained a cult following
.

Plot

In December 1958, Norville Barnes, a business college graduate from

jumping
out of a top-floor window.

Afterward, Sidney J. Mussburger, a ruthless member of the company's

bylaws
call for Hudsucker's stock shares to be sold to the public, suggests a scheme to buy the controlling interest in the company by temporarily depressing the stock price by hiring a clearly incompetent president to run the business.

In the mailroom, Norville is assigned to deliver a "Blue Letter" to Mussburger. The letter is a top-secret communication from Hudsucker, sent shortly before his death. However, Norville does not deliver the letter; instead, he

proxy
for Hudsucker.

Across town, Amy Archer, a brassy

personal secretary, pretending to be yet another desperate graduate from his alma mater
in Muncie.

One night, Amy searches the building for clues and meets Moses, who operates the tower's giant clock and knows "just about anything if it concerns Hudsucker". He tells her Mussburger's plot, and she takes the story back to her Chief, but he does not believe it.

The other executives at Hudsucker Industries decide to produce Norville's invention in hopes that it will flop and further depress the company's stock. However, the invention is the

hula-hoop
, which initially fails in obscurity but then becomes an enormous success.

Norville allows success to go to his head and becomes yet another uncaring tycoon. Amy, who had fallen for his naive charm, is infuriated over Norville's new attitude and leaves him. Buzz, the eager elevator operator, pitches a new invention: the bendy straw, which Buzz calls the "Buzz-sucker." Norville insults the idea and cruelly fires Buzz, ignoring his pleas that he needs the job.

Meanwhile, Aloysius, a Hudsucker janitor, discovers Amy's true identity and informs Mussburger. Mussburger reveals Amy's secret identity to Norville and tells him he will be dismissed as president after the new year. Mussburger also convinces the board that Norville is insane and must be sent to the local psychiatric hospital.

On New Year's Eve, Amy finds Norville drunk at a beatnik bar. She apologizes, but he storms out and is chased by an angry mob led by Buzz. Norville escapes to the top floor of the Hudsucker skyscraper and changes back into his mailroom uniform. He climbs out on the ledge, where Aloysius locks him out and watches as he slips and falls off the building at the stroke of midnight.

While Norville plummets, Moses stops the building's giant clock, which freezes time. Waring Hudsucker appears to Norville as an angel and tells him to read the Blue Letter (still in Norville's uniform pocket) that was supposed to be delivered to Mussburger: it contains Hudsucker's instructions to transfer his shares to his immediate successor as president, rather than to the public. This would have been Mussburger, but, unaware of this, he proceeded with his scheme to elect Norville.

Inside the building's giant clock, Moses fights Aloysius, defeating him. Norville descends safely to the ground. He and Amy reconcile. As 1959 progresses, Mussburger attempts suicide and is sent to an asylum, while Norville develops a new invention "for kids": another enigmatic circle on a folded sheet of paper that ultimately turns out to be a frisbee.

Cast

Development

Writing

The Coen brothers first met Sam Raimi when Joel Coen worked as an assistant editor on Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981). Together, they began writing the script for The Hudsucker Proxy in 1981,[5] and continued during the filming of Crimewave (1985),[6] and post-production on Blood Simple (1985), in which Joel and Ethan Coen shared a house with Raimi. The Coens and Raimi were inspired by the films of Preston Sturges, such as Christmas in July (1940) and the Hollywood satire Sullivan's Travels (1941).[7] The sentimental tone and decency of ordinary men as heroes was influenced by films of Frank Capra, like Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Meet John Doe (1941), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946).[8] The dialogue is an homage to Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday (1940), while Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance as fast-talking reporter Amy Archer is reminiscent of Rosalind Russell and Katharine Hepburn, in both the physical and vocal mannerisms.[7] Other movies that observers found references to include Executive Suite (1954) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957).[9] The brothers had no intention of commenting on or parodying such movies. Instead, as Ethan said, "It's the case where, having seen those movies, we say 'They're really fun - let's do one'; as opposed to 'They're really fun- let's comment upon them.'" Raimi describes the script as "big-business comedy. It's a return to the very large love story comedies they used to make in the forties and early fifties."[10] So the brothers started to pace around their apartment, taking turns on the typewriter, and when they found themselves stuck at a point, Raimi would do all sorts of tricks to get the boys back up. For example, while Ethan is pacing around, he would move things around the apartment so Ethan would be thrown off, he even said he threw firecrackers at them.[10]

One film critic described the numerous influences: "From his infelicitous name to his physical clumsiness, Norville Barnes is a Preston Sturges hero trapped in a Frank Capra story, and never should that twain meet, especially not in a world that seems to have been created by Fritz Lang – the mechanistic monstrousness of the mailroom contrasted with the Bauhaus gigantism of the corporate offices perfectly matches the boss-labour split in Metropolis (1927)."[11] An interviewer proposed that the characters represent capitalism versus labour economics. Joel Coen replied: "Maybe the characters do embody those grand themes you mentioned, but that question is independent of whether or not we're interested in them – and we're not."[3] The Hudsucker Proxy presents various narrative motifs pertaining to the Rota Fortunae and visual motifs concerning the shape of circles. This includes Moses' monologue at the beginning, the Hudsucker Clock, Mussburger's wristwatch, the inventions of both the hula hoop and frisbee, as well as Norville and Amy's conversation about Karma.[9]

The first image the Coens and Raimi conceived was of Norville Barnes about to jump from the window of a skyscraper and then they had to figure out how he got there and how to save him.

Big Business. The characters talk fast and wear sharp clothes."[11]

Despite having finished the script in 1985, Joel explained, "We couldn't make Hudsucker back then because we weren't that popular yet. Plus, the script was too expensive and we had just completed Blood Simple, which was an independent film."[13] After completing Barton Fink (1991), the Coens were looking forward to doing a more mainstream film.[14] The Hudsucker Proxy was revived and the Coens and Raimi performed a brief rewrite. Producer Joel Silver, a fan of the Coens' previous films, acquired the script for his production company, Silver Pictures, and pitched the project at Warner Bros. Pictures. Silver also allowed the Coens complete artistic control.[12]

Production

This was the first time the Coen brothers chose big stars to act in one of their films.[15] Joel Silver's first choice for Norville Barnes was Tom Cruise, but the Coens persisted in a desire to cast Tim Robbins.[16] Jon Cryer auditioned for the lead role of Norville Barnes.[17] Winona Ryder and Bridget Fonda were in competition for the role of Amy Archer, before Jennifer Jason Leigh was cast.[9] Leigh had previously auditioned for a role in the Coens's Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink; her failed auditions prompted the Coens to cast her in The Hudsucker Proxy.[13] To prepare for her role as Amy Archer, Leigh read the biographies of some of the most substantial ladies of the thirties and forties such as Rosalind Russell, Katharine Hepburn, and Jean Arthur.[10] When casting the role of Sidney Mussburger, "Warner Bros. suggested all sorts of names," remembered Joel. "A lot of them were comedians who were clearly wrong. Mussburger is the bad guy and Paul Newman brought that character to life."[13] However, the Coens first offered the role to Clint Eastwood, but he was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts.[18] The Coens also offered their longtime friend Bruce Campbell an audition, but he initially refused, writing that "My history with the Coens spanned more than a decade...I would gladly and willingly accept the role, but these fellows knew my work well enough to spare me the audition." The Coens agreed and Campbell was offered, sans audition, the role of Smitty. Campbell was later effusive in his praise for the professionalism of the production and the other cast members, as well as being in awe that he was chosen to help Paul Newman rehearse before filming began.[19]

Once Newman and Robbins signed on,

second unit director, shooting the hula hoop sequence and Waring Hudsucker's suicide.[13] Production designer Dennis Gassner was influenced by fascist architecture, particularly the work of Albert Speer, as well as Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985),[12] Frank Lloyd Wright and the Art Deco movement.[21] Gassner contemplated using five huge rooms needed to accommodate the sound stages. Gassner noted "You see, we wanted things to be big." He said that the huge 1950s-inspired table up in the boardroom was so long, it had to be built in five sections and later on assembled on the soundstage. The intention for the set sizes was to generate an oppressive feel.[15] Principal photography ended on March 18, 1993.[13]

In addition, numerous sequences were filmed in downtown Chicago, particularly in the Merchandise Mart building for the entrance and lobby to Hudsucker Industries and The Blackstone Hotel Christmas ballroom.[citation needed]

The

News & Observer building in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, appeared in the movie.[22]

Visual effects

The

steel armature with a lot of electric motors to time everything so he can fold up his wings, unfold them and flap them about. Then we covered them with real duck and turkey feathers," says Chesney. "We modeled them after photographs of a hovering dove landing in slow motion."[23] The buildings in the background (designed by McAlister and Stetson) were 1:24 scale models, shot separately and merged in post-production. To lengthen the sequence, the model of the Hudsucker building was the equivalent of 90 stories, not 45.[24]

Despite the New York City setting, additional skyscrapers in

One Wall Street, Manhattan. "We took all our favorite buildings in New York from where they actually stood and sort of put them into one neighborhood," Gassner continued, "a fantasy vision which adds to the atmosphere and flavor." First of all, a model had to be created based on the fantasy 1950s New York for the opening shot. So a miniature city was created, as McAlister mentioned that the Coens did not want a realistic reproduction of 1950s New York skyline, instead they wanted a more stylized version of it.[15] So Gassner used the book New York in The Forties as a reference to create the look for the cityscape. It took three months and 27 crew members to create the miniature city at the scale of 24:1. As for the Hudsucker building, they made it at the scale of 6:1 for closer shots including the long-zoom in of Norville at the beginning. For that scene to be created, it started off with a wide-angle shot, moving closer towards Tim Robbins, who was standing in a full sized set, which they inserted inside the shot of the model clock. "Marrying a live-action image with a painted or miniature element was, of course, nothing new, however, in the case of the zoom-in on Robbins from such a distance, keeping the full-size set locked in with the model building, that was state-of-the-art and the only way to do it was with computers," says McAlister.[15] Most of the buildings were created with two sides only, as they are seen from only the front and the side, and some needed only one side, as they were seen from only the front, while the Hudsucker building was made completely three-dimensional.[15][21] The work of The Computer Film Company (supervised by Janek Sirrs) included manipulations of the zoom-in shot of Norville at the beginning, as well as CGI snow and composites of the falling sequences.[21]

To create the two suicide falls, the miniature New York set was hung sideways to allow full movement along the heights of the buildings. McAlister calculated that such a drop would take seven seconds, but for dramatic purposes it was extended to around thirty. Problems occurred when the Coens and cinematographer Roger Deakins decided that these shots would be more effective with a wide-angle lens. "The buildings had been designed for an 18 mm lens, but as we tried a 14 mm lens, and then a 10 mm, we liked the shots more and more."[21] However, the wider amount of vision meant that the edges of the frame went beyond the fringes of the model city, leaving empty spaces with no buildings. In the end, extra buildings were created from putting the one-sided buildings together and placing them at the edges. Charles Durning's fall was shot conventionally, but because Tim Robbins had to stop abruptly at the camera, his was shot in reverse as he was pulled away from the camera.[21]

The skyscraper models created for The Hudsucker Proxy were re-used for The Shadow, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, and Godzilla.[25]

Inspirations

It is thought that the inspiration for the scene in which CEO Waring Hudsucker jumps to his death from the company's building was inspired by the real-life suicide of Eli Black, former chairman of United Brands, in 1975.[26]

Soundtrack

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Hudsucker Proxy
Coen Brothers
film soundtracks chronology
Barton Fink
(1991)
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Hudsucker Proxy
(1994)
Fargo
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link

The score to The Hudsucker Proxy was written by Carter Burwell, the fifth of his collaborations with the Coen Brothers. "Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia" from the ballet Spartacus by Khachaturian is the basis of the main theme and additional music from the ballet runs under the Hula-Hoop sequence. The popular music of the time is also reflected in the character of Vic Tenetta (played by Peter Gallagher), modeled after Dean Martin, who sings "Memories Are Made of This." Additional inspiration comes from Aram Khachaturian's Gayane suite. A section from the ballet is used by Burwell for the scene in which Norville and Amy meet for the first time. The composer's "Dance of the Young Mountaineers" is used when a young boy is the first to try the hula hoop, followed by "Sabre Dance" (both from Gayane).[21]

Release

Commercial reception

box office bomb. Joel Coen addressed the issue in an interview: "First of all, they weren't reshoots. They were a little bit of additional footage. We wanted to shoot a fight scene at the end of the movie. It was the product of something we discovered editing the movie, not previewing it. We've done additional shooting on every movie, so it's normal."[13]

The film premiered in January 1994 at the

Pulp Fiction.[29] The Hudsucker Proxy was released on March 11, 1994, and only grossed $2,816,518 in the United States and Canada.[30] Worldwide, it grossed $11.3 million.[4] The production budget was officially set at $25 million,[13] although, it was reported to have increased to $40 million for marketing and promotion purposes. The film was a box office bomb.[7]

Critical response

In addition to the film under-performing at the box office, The Hudsucker Proxy opened to mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 63% of reviews from 52 critics were positive, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The consensus states, "Intriguingly strange and visually distinctive, The Hudsucker Proxy is ultimately almost – but not quite – as smart and absorbing as it needs to be."[31]

production design, scale model work, matte paintings, cinematography, and characters. "But the problem with the movie is that it's all surface and no substance," Ebert wrote. "Not even the slightest attempt is made to suggest that the film takes its own story seriously. Everything is style. The performances seem deliberately angled as satire."[32] Desson Thomson of The Washington Post described The Hudsucker Proxy as being "pointlessly flashy and compulsively overloaded with references to films of the 1930s. Missing in this film's performances is a sense of humanity, the crucial ingredient in the movies Hudsucker is clearly trying to evoke. Hudsucker isn't the real thing at all. It's just a proxy."[33]

John Simon of National Review described The Hudsucker Proxy as "asinine and insufferable".[34]

Todd McCarthy, writing in Variety, called the film "one of the most inspired and technically stunning pastiches of

Big Business on the same shaft that Robert Altman ran Hollywood through with The Player. From the Brazil-like scenes in the cavernous mail room to the convoluted machinations in the board room, this film is pure satire of the nastiest and most enjoyable sort. In this surreal world of 1958 can be found many of the issues confronting large corporations in the 1990s, all twisted to match the filmmakers' vision."[36]

Blu-ray Disc titles released through the Warner Archive Collection on February 26, 2013, but it still lacked any featurettes.[38]

Two decades after the film's release, Scout Tafoya of RogerEbert.com praised the film for its stylistic adventurousness and expansion upon the themes and concepts of the films that inspired it. "Whereas the comedies of the 1930s and '40s could talk quickly and move quickly, they couldn't run at a full gallop like the Coen Brothers. Their camera soars, traveling at the speed of progress, gossip, capitalism itself. Everything races at top speed. The production design, the one thing everyone felt comfortable praising, is a marvel. Every frame doubles as a survey of early modern art, from Art Deco to Futurism."[39]

Year-end lists

See also

References

Citations

  1. BBFC
    . Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  2. ^ "The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)". Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2012 – via bfi.org.uk.
  3. ^ a b Bergan, pp. 24, 36
  4. ^ a b "World's Champs & Chumps". Variety. February 13, 1995. p. 7.
  5. ^ Muir, p. 77
  6. ^ Warren, pp. 101–102
  7. ^ a b c Levin, pp. 103–118
  8. ^ Agostinelli, Alessandro. Un mondo perfetto. I comandamenti dei fratelli Coen (in Italian). Controluce. p. 111.
  9. ^ a b c Mottram, pp. 93–113
  10. ^ .
  11. ^ a b c d e Woods, pp. 125–135
  12. ^ a b c Bergan, pp. 148–162
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Woods, pp. 9–10, 122–124
  14. ^ Juliann Garey (1993-02-05). "Coen to Extremes". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  15. ^ a b c d e Robson, Eddie (2007). Coen Brothers. Virgin Book.
  16. Anne Thompson (2007-11-15). "Coen brothers keep it real". Variety
    . Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  17. .
  18. ^ Leonard Klady (1993-07-13). "DeVito looking to get 'Shorty' into production". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  19. ^ Campbell, Bruce. If Chins Could Kill (pp. 311-312). St. Martin's Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
  20. ^ Nisid Hajari (1994-04-01). "Beavis and Egghead". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  21. ^ a b c d e f Robson, pp. 139–142
  22. News & Observer. Archived from the original
    on 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
  23. ^ Staff (1993-01-18). "Hollywood's still playing for effect". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  24. ^ George Mannes (1994-04-15). "The 'Hud' Thud". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  25. ^ Cinefex Magazine, issues 63 (Sept 1995), 71 (Sept 1997), and 74 (July 1998).
  26. ^ Kihss, Peter (February 4, 1975). "44‐Story Plunge Kills Head of United Brands". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  27. ^ Caryn James (1994-01-25). "Critic's Notebook; For Sundance, Struggle to Survive Success". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  28. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Hudsucker Proxy". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  29. ^ Staff (1994-04-21). "Euro pix man Cannes". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  30. ^ "The Hudsucker Proxy". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  31. ^ "The Hudsucker Proxy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  32. ^ Roger Ebert (1994-05-25). "The Hudsucker Proxy". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  33. ^ Desson Thomson (1994-03-25). "The Hudsucker Proxy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  34. ^ Simon, John (2005). John Simon on Film: Criticism 1982-2001. Applause Books. p. 493.
  35. ^ Todd McCarthy (1994-01-31). "The Hudsucker Proxy". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  36. ^ James Berardinelli. "The Hudsucker Proxy". ReelViews.net. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  37. Amazon.com
    . 18 May 1999. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  38. ^ "The Warner Archives Collection Announces First MOD Blu-rays". High-Def Digest. November 16, 2012. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  39. ^ The Unloved, Part 3 : "The Hudsucker Proxy" Tofoya, Scout. 1 February 2014.
  40. ^ Hunter, Stephen (December 25, 1994). "Films worthy of the title 'best' in short supply MOVIES". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  41. ^ Davis, Sandi (January 1, 1995). "Oklahoman Movie Critics Rank Their Favorites for the Year "Forrest Gump" The Very Best, Sandi Declares". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  42. ^ P. Means, Sean (January 1, 1995). "'Pulp and Circumstance' After the Rise of Quentin Tarantino, Hollywood Would Never Be the Same". The Salt Lake Tribune (Final ed.). p. E1.
  43. ^ Arnold, William (December 30, 1994). "'94 Movies: Best and Worst". Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Final ed.). p. 20.
  44. ^ Clark, Mike (December 28, 1994). "Scoring with true life, 'True Lies' and 'Fiction.'". USA Today (Final ed.). p. 5D.
  45. San Jose Mercury News
    (Morning Final ed.). p. 3.

General bibliography

Further reading

External links