The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

A naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam.

Directors:

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (uncredited)

Writers:

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Stars:

Tim Robbins, Paul Newman, Jennifer Jason Leigh

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Robbins	...	Norville Barnes
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Amy Archer
Paul Newman	...	Sidney J. Mussburger
Charles Durning	...	Waring Hudsucker
John Mahoney	...	Chief
Jim True-Frost	...	Buzz (as Jim True)
Bill Cobbs	...	Moses
Bruce Campbell	...	Smitty
Harry Bugin	...	Aloysius
John Seitz	...	Benny
Joe Grifasi	...	Lou
Roy Brocksmith	...	Board Member
John Wylie	...	Board Member
I.M. Hobson	...	Board Member
Gary Allen	...	Board Member

Storyline

When Waring Hudsucker, head of hugely successful Hudsucker Industries, commits suicide, his board of directors, led by Sidney Mussberger, comes up with a brilliant plan to make a lot of money: appoint a moron to run the company. When the stock falls low enough, Sidney and friends can buy it up for pennies on the dollar, take over the company, and restore its fortunes. They choose idealistic Norville Barnes, who just started in the mail room. Norville is whacky enough to drive any company to ruin, but soon, tough reporter Amy Archer smells a rat and begins an undercover investigation of Hudsucker Industries.

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Plot Keywords:

art deco | reference to oklahoma the stage musical | neo screwball comedy | comics page | coffeeshop | 

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Taglines:

A Comedy of Invention.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and thematic elements

Did You Know?

Trivia

Among the listed jobs that Norville realizes he is underqualified for are: Cat's Meats Man, Goal Tender, Goat Herd, Gutter Sweep, and Rope Braider.

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Goofs

At the start of the film, the coffee-stain-encircled help wanted newspaper classified ad for Hudsucker Industries has a typo with "Personel Department" misspelled with one "n". Yet one minute later when Norville picks it up in the street and looks at it, "Personnel" is spelled correctly.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Moses the Clock Man: That's right. New York. Nineteen fifty eight.

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Crazy Credits

The foregoing was a fictional account of the development of the HULA HOOP® and the characters bear no resemblance to any real person or business concern. The HULA HOOP® was actually developed by the founders of the toy company WHAM-O®, a true American success story. WHAM-O® was subsequently responsible for the development of the FRISBEE® and numerous other toy products.

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Connections

Referenced in Men in Black 3 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Minuet (String Quintet in E, Op. 11, No. 5, G 275)
(uncredited)
Written by Luigi Boccherini

User Reviews

A small masterpiece

I don`t think that I`ve enjoyed a movie so much for years. The film is beautifully shot ( the opening pan over a snow laden New York skyline is breathtaking). The acting is uniformly excellent (Jennifer Jason Lee gives one of the best female comedy performances of the last decade. She`s outstanding!) and the film is directed in that warm but sharp-eyed manner of previous US social comedy directors such as Frank Capra and Preston Sturgess. I first saw the film in the cinema. I`ve since seen it again on television, and the photography doesn`t impress so much on the small screen.

If you haven`t already seen it, try to see it on a big screen. Sadly the movie got a very small release in the UK and is almost unknown over here.I am so very glad I caught it. It`s terrific.

Details

Country:

UK Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 1994 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Opération Hudsucker

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$104,490, 13 March 1994

Gross USA:

$2,816,518

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,816,518

Company Credits

Production Co:

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, PolyGram Filmproduktion, Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1