Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove

Just watched this Technicolor musical short from M-G-M on The Gay Divorcée DVD. With Leo Carrillo as master of ceremonies and Ted Fio Rito leading his orchestra, many of Hollywood's most popular stars of the time are seen in the audience like Gary Cooper or a now forgotten comedian named El Brendel. Also on stage was Mary Pickford-a silent star who made her last talkie just the year before. She then introduces Bing Crosby who, of course, then sings his latest hit. Also on stage was a strange guy who sang both in high and low pitch, dancer Raquel Torres, a dance couple, and...that's all I seem to remember. In summary, Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove was a fascinating find to me.

Louis Lewyn produced and directed this "look at the stars" short for MGM. He had been doing this sort of work since 1920, starting out with Columbia's SCREEN SNAPSHOTS. Now he was doing this for MGM, so money was spent, including springing for Technicolor. The print that runs on Turner Classic Movies is not among their best; the elements show imperfect matches, a problem with early three-strip, caused by the three separate elements, each carrying a different color, shrinking at microscopically different rates.

However, while the color isn't the best, people looked at these movies to see the stars out of their usual movie roles. Listening to Leo Carillo speak as the elegant, educated man he actually was is a particular treat for me.

Back in the mid-1930s, MGM made several Technicolor shorts just like this one. All highlighted a variety of MGM stars and were set at a strange sort of nightclub where a wide variety of acts performed. The acts were only okay and the biggest reason to watch was to catch a glimpse of stars supposedly in their off hours. Of course, however, it was all very staged and clearly these are promotional films. Are they any good? Not really...but they are interesting for fans.

Like the other films, this one also features a star as an emcee. However, despite it being Leo Carillo, it sounded NOTHING like the movie star. I knew that his harsh Mexican was a put on...but apparently in real life he hadn't a trace of such an accent!

The film is supposedly part fashion show, part floor show. The only interesting thing about all this is that one of the models is Ann Sheridan before she was a star. And, at this odd show are LOTS of MINOR MGM stars. Oddly, the three big stars, Mary Pickford, Bing Crosby and Gary Cooper all had contracts with other studios (United Artists, Paramount and Paramount respectively).

The bottom line is that the entertainment is only passable and the stars of importance to crazed film buffs like me. Otherwise, not a lot about this stands out apart from the lovely Technicolor.

Star Night At The Cocoanut Grove is a sumptuous look at the most posh nightclub in Los Angeles, the Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. You could see more stars on a given day at the Grove than on a studio tour if you could afford the cover charge.

Even after swing came in the Cocoanut Grove was a hallowed place for sweet music. I'm sure Ted Fio Rito appeared there many times as he does here with a variety of specialty acts as you see here. Fio Rito was a leader of one of the best of the bands with the sweet sound.

Doing the honors as master of ceremonies is that suave Californio, Leo Carrillo and he points out several movie names in attendance, among them Gary Cooper, Richard Cromwell, Arleen Judge, El Brendel. Any and all of them and more could be found at the Grove on any given night.

But what got me and I'm sure it must have been some kind of deal that Adolph Zukor had with Louis B. Mayer had Paramount's number one star not only appearing in the audience, but taking the microphone and doing a song from his latest film from Paramount. Bing Crosby engaged in a little banter with guests Mary Pickford and Johnny Mack Brown with Pickford and Brown talking about doing a radio version of their film Coquette and then Bing doing With Every Breath I Take from his Here Is My Heart. This was a real treat because as it happens Bing's Decca recording of it is one of my favorite movie songs of his.

This was like a homecoming for Bing Crosby. In 1930-31 first with the Rhythm Boys and later as a solo act, he headlined and broadcast from the Grove and it was a broadcast from there that prompted William Paley to sign him with CBS for his own radio show.

Other studios just did not give publicity to rival studio's product so there must have been a deal somewhere there. But we the audience are definitely the better for it.

The Ambassador Hotel where the Cocoanut Grove was located was the premier spot in Los Angeles for travelers. Sadly it's most noted now for being the sight of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. During the late seventies it finally closed its doors and the Cocoanut Grove closed along with it.

This short is a wonderful opportunity to see old Hollywood decked out in her finest. And in early color as well.

One of the most interesting things about this Technicolor short is that Gary Cooper and Richard Cromwell, co-stars in "Lives of a Bengal Lancer," and both looking ravishingly handsome, appear to be on a date with one another. There have long been rumors that Cromwell, well-known to be gay, had a fling with Cooper at exactly the time this short was made. The two "bachelors" certainly look extremely happy while sharing a table together.

Cooper's relationship (in the late twenties) with another boyish-looking, openly-gay actor named Anderson Lawler (they shared a house and were termed "best friends" by movie columnists), is well-documented in the fascinating book "Behind the Screen - How Gays and Lesbians shaped Hollywood 1910 - 1969" by William J. Mann.