Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove

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.

This glorious short, similar to STARLIT DAYS AT THE LIDO, also from 1934 are Technicolor tests to see how the three-color YCM processing of sets and clothes with patterns overlaps and registrations has succeeded. It is a night in the Cocoanut grove with stars at tables, the orchestras and guests... but wow, how visually gorgeous is it...! To see any modern Hollywood life times of 1934 in full color is a treat... this one has Leo Carillo introducing various stars (see other comment) in this glamor palace.... but for me the sight and presence of hilarious handsome comedy- voice artist Johnny Candido (only 21 here) in a tux singing 'She's Up thar' with an octave range more than any piano I know is utterly charming and delicious... as is Mary Pickford in a gold dress and afterwards,a jawdropping fashion parade of absolutely spectacular Cleopatra palace gowns. Orchestra leader Ted Fio Rio plays as well. He went to Monogram in the 40s for their biggest musicals SILVER SKATES and LADY LETS DANCE. Johnny Candido was also seen in ROBERTA and SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT. He is just charming. You can find this treasure on the Warner DVD for The Gay Divorcée. This disc also contains a delightful kiddie vaudeville short also in fantastic Technicolor... as Vitaphone treat called SHOWKIDS. Get this disc. It is a completely perfect art deco musical thrill.

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.

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.

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.