The Hudsucker Proxy
Joel Coen / US, 1994 / 111 min.
Deliriously stylised homage to the screwball comedies of the 1930s, it is set in 1950s New York, where the naive and inexperienced Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins) suddenly finds himself at the helm of the powerful Hudsucker Industries.
At one minute to midnight on the 31st of December 1958, Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins) is about to jump off the 44th floor of the Hudsucker Industries building on Fifth Avenue. Flashback to the cunning businessman Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) who set all this in motion. Mussburger – another of those amazing Coen names – hopes to take over Hudsucker Industries, but needs to devalue its shares beforehand. To do so, he convinces the board to promote the gullible, recent graduate Barnes from the post room to director; after all creating a naive puppet or proxy is sure to make the shares drop. However, Barnes’ latest invention – a plastic hoop: 'You know, for kids' – proves a massive success. In the meantime, undercover reporter Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) hopes to get the scoop about Mussburger’s shifty dealings.
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Special screenings
Details
Director
Joel Coen
Production year
1994
Country
US
Original title
The Hudsucker Proxy
Length
111 min.
Language
English
Subtitles
NLD
Format
35mm
Part of
The Coen Brothers Complete
This summer will be dedicated to the films of Joel and Ethan Coen, Hollywood’s most famous oddballs. Eye will screen most of their feature films as well as their short films and their solo output.
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