''Cracked Nuts'' is a 1941 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Erna Lazarus and Scott Darling. The film stars Stuart Erwin,

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

, Mischa Auer,

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy ser ...

Shemp Howard Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent. He is best known as the ...

and Astrid Allwyn. It was released on August 1, 1941, by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. The film is unrelated

Wheeler & Woolsey Wheeler & Woolsey were an American vaudeville comedy double act who performed together in comedy films from the late 1920s. The team comprised Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) of New Jersey and Robert Woolsey (1888–1938) of Illinois. Collaboration a ...

film of 1931 by the same title, although Cline directed both films.

Plot

Lawrence Trent is a small-town goofball who wins $5,000 in a radio contest. He plans to use the money to marry his sweetheart, but is instead conned into investing it in a phony robot scheme by Boris Kabikoff, whose prototype is actually his partner in a robot suit. When he discovers that he has been swindled, Lawrence tries to recover his money.

Cast

* Stuart Erwin as Lawrence Trent *

as Sharon Knight * Mischa Auer as Boris Kabikoff *

as James Mitchell *

as Eddie / Ivan * Astrid Allwyn as Ethel Mitchell *Ernie Stanton as Ivan the Robot *

Mantan Moreland Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 – September 28, 1973) was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actress in several films. E ...

as Burgess *Hattie Noel as Chloe *

Francis Pierlot Francis Pierlot (July 15, 1875 – May 11, 1955) was a stage and film actor with over 90 film credits between 1914 and 1953. The Massachusetts-born actor's first film credit was in 1914, but he did not begin appearing in films full-time until ...

as Mayor Wilfred Smun * Will Wright as Sylvanus Boogle *

Emmett Vogan Charles Emmett Vogan (September 27, 1893 – October 6, 1969) was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934 to 1954, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time. In 1913, Vogan ...

as Mr. McAneny *Tom Hanlon as Dixon * Pat O'Malley as Officer #1

References

External links

* {{Edward F. Cline 1941 films 1940s English-language films American comedy films 1941 comedy films Universal Pictures films Films directed by Edward F. Cline American black-and-white films 1940s American films