...And in walks Olsen and Johnson.
Two years have passed since Universal underwent the torment of making the film version of the hit Broadway musical revue "Hellzapoppin'" and the memory of Oles Olsen and Chic Johnson has not left the back lot. Having spent two years on Broadway in "Sons O' Fun", they are back in Hollywood, prepared to start the next movie on their contract, but Universal wants no part of it. This doesn't stop Olsen and Johnson from unintentionally wrecking the studio, sending every contract player current on the lot from heading into a bomb shelter, including Pepe Le Pew (probably on loan from Warner Brothers) whom the players would rather take their chance with than this wacky duo and their assortment of macadamia pals. Left on their own, they must find their own star and producer, and after agreeing to try and get Cass Daley, they get the money they need from wealthy Percy Kilbride. But unknowingly, they sign her double, an equally wacky female named Sadie Silverfish and that means that they are in for legal trouble as they prepare to break her contract. Other factors get in the way of them trying to get the film made and sent out for a preview, but the boys are filled with zany ideas which sets into motion 90 minutes of shear nuttiness that I'm sure had audiences in stitches. Audiences today might be of another matter, however.
Musically, this film is a treat, with so many great musical groups and specialties that listing them would take forever. There are also cameos by Universal's contract players, either as themselves or in character, such as Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce's Dr. Watson, a special treat for fans of that long series. Portly Andy Devine is on his scooter to announce the arrival of Olsen and Johnson, while Alan Curtis is interrupted by the team while shooting a fight scene during the making of "Gung Ho!" Then there's a specialty list of comical character actors who bring additional laughs including Franklin Pangborn in his usual part of irritated hotel clerk, Edgar Kennedy as a tough judge, Billy Gilbert (in the same scene as Kennedy) as a beleaguered attorney for clients trying to stop the film from going through, along with Shemp Howard and Fred Sanborn as a duo of comics named Mumbo and Jumbo. Martha O'Driscoll and Patric Knowles provide a romantic subplot as the young lovers on screen and the film within the film, but ultimately, it is Olsen and Johnson (along with the deliciously funny bucktoothed Daley) who steal the show.
Going for more laughs than they had in "Hellzapoppin'", they also take a jab at their screen rivals Abbott and Costello in several scenes, probably the only two Universal contract players outside of Deanna Durbin, Karloff and Lugosi, who do not appear. (The later two were no longer exclusively under contract to Universal, but were both on the lot around this time.) There's time to rest from the chortles of this frenetic comedy team through performances by such musical notables as Count Basie and his orchestra, the Delta Rhythm Boys, dancers Sally and Tony DeMarco, and Marion Hutton along with the Glenn Miller singers. The last reel is devoted to a "live" preview that occurs when only the first reel of the completed film is received in working order, and this brings the film to a similar conclusion that "Hellzapoppin'" had just two years before. They go out of their way with the ending to be completely unique and indeed it is very funny. Depending on your style of humor, you may or may not like this overall, but it certainly comes down to an artifact of 1940's American culture that had audiences jivin' and jumpin' and has influenced much of what remains popular today.
Two years have passed since Universal underwent the torment of making the film version of the hit Broadway musical revue "Hellzapoppin'" and the memory of Oles Olsen and Chic Johnson has not left the back lot. Having spent two years on Broadway in "Sons O' Fun", they are back in Hollywood, prepared to start the next movie on their contract, but Universal wants no part of it. This doesn't stop Olsen and Johnson from unintentionally wrecking the studio, sending every contract player current on the lot from heading into a bomb shelter, including Pepe Le Pew (probably on loan from Warner Brothers) whom the players would rather take their chance with than this wacky duo and their assortment of macadamia pals. Left on their own, they must find their own star and producer, and after agreeing to try and get Cass Daley, they get the money they need from wealthy Percy Kilbride. But unknowingly, they sign her double, an equally wacky female named Sadie Silverfish and that means that they are in for legal trouble as they prepare to break her contract. Other factors get in the way of them trying to get the film made and sent out for a preview, but the boys are filled with zany ideas which sets into motion 90 minutes of shear nuttiness that I'm sure had audiences in stitches. Audiences today might be of another matter, however.
Musically, this film is a treat, with so many great musical groups and specialties that listing them would take forever. There are also cameos by Universal's contract players, either as themselves or in character, such as Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce's Dr. Watson, a special treat for fans of that long series. Portly Andy Devine is on his scooter to announce the arrival of Olsen and Johnson, while Alan Curtis is interrupted by the team while shooting a fight scene during the making of "Gung Ho!" Then there's a specialty list of comical character actors who bring additional laughs including Franklin Pangborn in his usual part of irritated hotel clerk, Edgar Kennedy as a tough judge, Billy Gilbert (in the same scene as Kennedy) as a beleaguered attorney for clients trying to stop the film from going through, along with Shemp Howard and Fred Sanborn as a duo of comics named Mumbo and Jumbo. Martha O'Driscoll and Patric Knowles provide a romantic subplot as the young lovers on screen and the film within the film, but ultimately, it is Olsen and Johnson (along with the deliciously funny bucktoothed Daley) who steal the show.
Going for more laughs than they had in "Hellzapoppin'", they also take a jab at their screen rivals Abbott and Costello in several scenes, probably the only two Universal contract players outside of Deanna Durbin, Karloff and Lugosi, who do not appear. (The later two were no longer exclusively under contract to Universal, but were both on the lot around this time.) There's time to rest from the chortles of this frenetic comedy team through performances by such musical notables as Count Basie and his orchestra, the Delta Rhythm Boys, dancers Sally and Tony DeMarco, and Marion Hutton along with the Glenn Miller singers. The last reel is devoted to a "live" preview that occurs when only the first reel of the completed film is received in working order, and this brings the film to a similar conclusion that "Hellzapoppin'" had just two years before. They go out of their way with the ending to be completely unique and indeed it is very funny. Depending on your style of humor, you may or may not like this overall, but it certainly comes down to an artifact of 1940's American culture that had audiences jivin' and jumpin' and has influenced much of what remains popular today.