The Hudsucker Proxy
Movie, 1994, The '90s, Set in New York, 1958
The Hudsucker Proxy is #5 of 21 in release order and #5 of 21 in chronological order in the The Coen Brothers.
The story
A naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam.
The Hudsucker Proxy recap
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) follows a naive mailroom clerk installed as president of a giant company by a board member who expects him to sink its stock. Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins), fresh from business college in Muncie, starts in the Hudsucker Industries mailroom in late 1958, the day founder Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning) jumps from the top floor. Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) plans to buy control cheaply and picks Norville as a fool to scare off investors. Reporter Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) goes undercover as his secretary to expose him. Norville's one idea, a drawing of a circle he describes as for kids, becomes the hula hoop, and its success turns him arrogant. Clock keeper Moses (Bill Cobbs) narrates. The Coens wrote it with Sam Raimi, who also ran the second unit. Their fifth feature, it follows Barton Fink.
The Hudsucker Proxy ending explained
The Hudsucker Proxy ends with time stopped as Norville falls from the skyscraper on New Year's Eve. Mussburger has him declared insane, and a janitor locks him out on the ledge. Moses jams the great clock, and Hudsucker appears as an angel and tells Norville to read the Blue Letter in his pocket, which leaves the founder's shares to his successor as president: Norville. He lands safely and makes up with Amy. Mussburger ends up in an asylum, and Norville shows a new circle for kids, the frisbee.
Post-credits scenes
No. The Hudsucker Proxy has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Hudsucker Proxy
The Hudsucker Proxy is streaming on Kanopy and Tubi in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes 61%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Barton Fink, before Fargo.
- Chronological order: after Barton Fink, before Fargo.
Cast
- Tim Robbins as Norville Barnes
- Jennifer Jason Leigh as Amy Archer
- Paul Newman as Sidney J. Mussburger
- Charles Durning as Waring Hudsucker
- Jim True-Frost as Buzz
- John Mahoney as Chief
- Bill Cobbs as Moses
- Bruce Campbell as Smitty
- Harry Bugin as Aloysius
- John Seitz as Benny
- Joe Grifasi as Lou
- Roy Brocksmith as Board Member
Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen.