''Cocoanut Grove'' is a 1938 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Alfred Santell Alfred Allen Santell (1895–1981), was an American film director and film producer. Santell directed over 60 films, beginning in 1917, most of which were two-reel comedy short subjects for Hal Roach and other productions companies. Taking up f ...

, and written by

Sy Bartlett Sidney Bartlett (July 10, 1900 – May 29, 1978, born Sacha Baraniev) was a Ukrainian-American author and screenwriter and producer of Hollywood films. Early life Sy Bartlett was born Sacha Baraniev on July 10, 1900, in the Black Sea seaport o ...

and

Olive Cooper Olivette "Olive" Cooper (1892–1987) was a prolific American screenwriter known for movies like '' Cocoanut Grove'', ''Bandit King of Texas'' and ''Three Little Sisters''. She wrote many of the screenplays for Roy Rogers and Gene Autry vehicles. ...

. The film stars

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

Harriet Hilliard Harriet Nelson (formerly Hilliard; born Peggy Lou Snyder; July 18, 1909 – October 2, 1994) was an American actress. Nelson is best known for her role on the sitcom ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. Early life and career Nelson was b ...

Ben Blue Ben Blue (born Benjamin Bernstein; 9 December 1901 – 7 March 1975) was a Canadian-American actor and comedian whose varied career on stage, in movies, and in television appearances, spanned nearly 50 years. Early life Benjamin Bernste ...

Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 an ...

Rufe Davis Rufus Davidson (December 2, 1908 – December 13, 1974), known as Rufe Davis, was an American actor. He appeared in over 30 films between 1937 and 1969, including 14 of the Three Mesquiteers titles. Davis played railroad conductor Floyd Smo ...

, Billy Lee and George Walcott. The film was released on May 20, 1938, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

Johnny Prentice, a bandleader in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

with a bad temper, alienates some of his musicians and is in danger of losing custody of Half Pint, his son. He hires Linda Rogers to be the boy's tutor. After being encouraged by Linda to pursue his dream of playing at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, they pack up friend Dixie's new trailer and head west. At a trailer park, they run into Hula Harry and hear a song he's composed. To his amazement, Johnny discovers that not only is Harry very talented, Linda is, too. The trailer breaks down in Kansas, but the good news is that garage owner Bibb Tucker is a talented fellow as well. He is invited to tag along. When the group reaches L.A., the club date has mistakenly gone to another band. Worse yet, Johnny's apparent flirtation with Hazel De Vore leads to Linda boarding a bus and leaving for home. Discovering the mistake, Johnny's musicians take matters into their own hands and keep the other band captive, Johnny goes after Linda and gets her back in time for that night's show.

Cast

as Johnny Prentice *

as Linda Rogers *

as Joe De Lemma *

as Sophie De Lemma *

as Bibb Tucker * Billy Lee as Half Pint *

George Walcott George Walcott (October 15, 1914 – August 18, 1964), also known as The Most Stylish Man in Hollywood, was an American actor. He was best known for playing the role of Tom in the 1936 film '' Fury''. Early life Born in Los Angeles, Califo ...

as Tony Wonder * Virginia Vale as Hazel De Vore *Red Stanley as Dixie *

Harry Owens Harry Robert Owens (18 April 1902 – 12 December 1986) was an American composer, bandleader and songwriter best known for his song " Sweet Leilani". Biography Harry Robert Owens was born April 18, 1902, in O'Neill, Nebraska. He learned to ...

as Hula Harry *

Ellen Drew Ellen Drew (born Esther Loretta Ray; November 23, 1914 – December 3, 2003) was an American film actress. Early life Drew, born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1914, was the daughter of an Irish-born barber. She had a younger brother, Arden. Her ...

as Radio Station Receptionist *Randy Oness as Band Singer *Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiians as Royal Hawaiian Orchestra *The Yacht Club Boys as Singing Quartette

References

External links

* 1938 films 1930s English-language films American comedy films 1938 comedy films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Alfred Santell American black-and-white films 1930s American films Films scored by John Leipold Films scored by Leo Shuken Films with songs by Burton Lane English-language comedy films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub