Copacabana (1947 film)
| Copacabana | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Alfred E. Green |
| Produced by | Sam Coslow |
| Written by |
Allen Boretz Howard Harris László Vadnay (story and screenplay) |
| Starring |
Groucho Marx Carmen Miranda |
| Music by | Edward Ward |
| Cinematography | Bert Glennon |
| Edited by | Philip Cahn |
|
Production
company |
Beacon Productions
|
| Distributed by | United Artists |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,300,000 |
| Box office | $1,250,000 |
Copacabana is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green starring Groucho Marx and Carmen Miranda.
The film is a showcase for Miranda, who performs several numbers in her usual style, including a high-energy rendition of "Tico-Tico". Groucho, as Lionel, her fiance and agent, also sings a musical number, "Go West, Young Man", wearing his traditional greasepaint brows, mustache, and baggy suit. This was Groucho's first significant film appearance as a solo act, minus Harpo and Chico.
Anne (Gloria Jean), at the urging of Andy (Andy Russell), sings a song called "Stranger Things Have Happened", admitting her unrequited love for her employer, Steve (Steve Cochran).
Lionel Q. Devereaux and his alluring girlfriend, Brazilian singer Carmen Navarro, have been engaged for ten years. They are highly unsuccessful nightclub performers, due to Lionel's total lack of talent. They stay at an upscale hotel in New York. One day they get a twenty-four-hour notice to pay their bill, but needless to say they lack the funds to oblige. They hurriedly try to convince the big shot producer Steve Hunt to give Carmen a job at the Club Copacabana, and with the help of the easily convinced, gullible singer Andy Russell, posing as an agent, they achieve their goal to get her an audition.
When the producer asks Lionel and Russell whom else they represent, they invent out of thin air a veiled mysterious beauty from Paris and call her Fifi. They persuade Carmen to play the part of Fifi. The producer hires both ladies for the job, but Fifi is the new big sensation who gets mentioned in the press. Steve is very attracted to the girls, and to protect Carmen from the producer, Lionel tells him that he is engaged to be married to Carmen. Steve then turns to Fifi and asks her out instead. Desperate to solve the troublesome situation, Lionel asks Andy to play Fifi and go on a date with the producer, veiled as usual. Another complication to add to the plot is that Anne, Steve's secretary, is in love with the producer, and not very keen on him going on a date with Fifi.
Andy tries to fix up Steve and Anne, to save both himself and Carmen from discovery. He gets Anne to sing her feelings towards Steve, in an attempt to make him more attracted to and aware of her. The plan doesn't work, as Steve shows no interest in Anne.
...
Wikipedia