''Crazy House'' is a

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

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 ...

starring Ole Olsen and

Chic Johnson Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson (March 15, 1891 – February 28, 1962) was the barrel-chested half of the American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his strangely infectious, high-pitched "Woo-Woo" laugh. Background Johnson was born of S ...

. ''Crazy House'' is notable for its impressive cast of supporting comedians (Percy Kilbride,

Cass Daley Cass Daley (born Catherine Dailey; July 17, 1915 – March 22, 1975) was an American actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of an Irish streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at night clubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in ...

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 Lithuanian Yiddish, Litvak accent. He is ...

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Interna ...

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects ...

, Richard Lane,

Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...

Chester Clute Chester Lamont Clute (February 18, 1891 – April 2, 1956) was an American actor familiar in scores of Hollywood films from his debut in 1930. Diminutive, bald-pated with a bristling moustache, he appeared in mostly unbilled roles, consi ...

, and

Hans Conried Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan'' (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's ''Dudle ...

) and guest stars under contract to Universal at the time ( Allan Jones,

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

and

Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series ''The New Adventures of Sherlock H ...

Robert Paige Robert Paige (born John Arthur Paige, December 2, 1911 – December 21, 1987) was an actor and a TV newscaster and political correspondent and Universal Pictures leading man who made 65 films in his lifetime: he was the only actor ever allowed t ...

Leo Carrillo Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo (; August 6, 1880 – September 10, 1961), known professionally as Leo Carrillo, was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist. He was best known for playing Pancho in the television ...

Johnny Mack Brown John Brown (September 1, 1904 – November 14, 1974) was an American college football player and film actor billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career. He acted and starred mainly in Western (genre), Western films. Early lif ...

, and

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature fil ...

Plot

Two

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stars return to

Universal Studios 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 ...

to make another movie. The mere mention of Olsen and Johnson's names evacuates the studio and terrorizes the management and personnel. Undaunted, the comedians hire an assistant director and unknown talent, and set out to make their own movie. Financed by an eccentric "angel", the completed feature is set to premiere when angry creditors confiscate most of the film. Olsen and Johnson keep the preview going, anyway, and their venture is a success.

Cast

* Ole Olsen as himself *

as himself *

as herself and her stand-in, Sadie Silverfish *

Martha O'Driscoll Martha O'Driscoll (March 4, 1922 – November 3, 1998) was an American film actress from 1937 until 1947. She retired from the screen in 1947 after marrying her second husband, Arthur I. Appleton, president of Appleton Electric Company in Chic ...

as Marjorie Nelson, alias Marjorie Wyndingham *

Patric Knowles Reginald Lawrence Knowles (11 November 1911 – 23 December 1995), better known as Patric Knowles, was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he made his film debut in 1932, and played either first or second fi ...

as Edmund "Mac" MacLean *

Percy Kilbride Percy William Kilbride (July 16, 1888 – December 11, 1964) was an American character actor. He made a career of playing country hicks, most memorably as Pa Kettle in the ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series of feature films. Early life Kilbride was ...

as Col. Cornelius Merriweather *

as Roco, set designer *

Leighton Noble Leighton Noble, born Faye Leighton Jepson (December 25, 1912 – March 5, 1994) was an American vocalist and bandleader active during the swing era. He was also an actor and television presenter. Noble's parents divorced when he was young, and h ...

as himself, bandleader * Richard Lane as Hanley, production broker *

Thomas Gomez Thomas Gomez (July 10, 1905 – June 18, 1971) was an American actor. Life and career Born Sabino Tomás Gómez, Jr., in New York City, Gomez began his acting career in theater in 1923, studying under actor Walter Hampden in a production of Cy ...

as N. G. Wagstaff, Universal executive *

as Sid Drake, offering camera rentals *

as Judge *

as Horace L. Gregory, offering laboratory services *

as Mr. Fud, offering costume rentals *

as hotel clerk *

as Mumbo *

Fred Sanborn Fred Sanborn (November 23, 1899March 9, 1961) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and musician. He was most notable as a member of Ted Healy's comedy troupe ''Ted Healy and his Southern Gentlemen'' (a group which included the trio that ...

as Jumbo *

Joseph Crehan Joseph A. Creaghan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in ''Union Paci ...

as Wagstaff's doctor *

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

with

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...

and

Thelma Carpenter Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was an American jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie ''The Wiz''. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Fred and Mary C ...

The Delta Rhythm Boys The Delta Rhythm Boys was an American vocal group active from 1934 to 1987. The group was formed at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, in 1934 by Carl Jones, Traverse Crawford, Otha Lee Gaines, and Kelsey Pharr. They moved to Dillard U ...

* Ray Walker as radio host at drive-in *

James Dime James Dime (December 19, 1897 – May 11, 1981), nicknamed ''Sheik of Spring Street'', was a Yugoslavian-American professional boxer and actor known for ''The Last Hurrah'' (1958), '' So Big'' (1953), '' Steel Town'' (1952), ''Anne of the Indi ...

as dead end character *Cameo appearances by Allan Jones, Leo Carrillo, Andy Devine, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Johnny Mack Brown, Robert Paige, Ramsay Ames

Reception

''Crazy House'' was the first of three Olsen & Johnson vehicles following up the success of their 1941 film '' Hellzapoppin'''. The team's wild style of comedy had always been a matter of taste, more for "plain folks" than sophisticates, and contemporary exhibitor reports ran the gamut: "Just made for small towns. Some people said it was the best picture we had shown in months." (F. R. Crist, Crist Theatre, Loveland, Ohio.) "These boys are not appreciated here. However, it was played to average business and drew many laughs from those who came in." (C. A. Smith, Regent Theatre, Chapleau, Ontario.) "This picture is just what the name implies. We did below average business and I received no favorable comments from my patrons." (Charles A. Brooks, Ritz Theatre, Marshfield, Missouri.) "This is the first Olsen and Johnson I've ever played and it's the last. This feature is terrible." (O. E. Simon, Roxy Theatre, Menno, South Dakota.) The film did well in first-run engagements, grossing more than one million dollars. However, the high budget cut into the profit margin, so Universal economized on Olsen & Johnson's next two features, ''

Ghost Catchers ''Ghost Catchers'' is a 1944 American comedy horror film. Ole Olson and Chic Johnson are nightclub owners, helping their neighbors rid an old house of ghosts. Their club's headwaiter Jerry (Leo Carrillo) is really a gangster trying to scare off th ...

'' and ''

See My Lawyer ''See My Lawyer'' is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Edmund Hartmann and Stanley Davis. It is based on the 1939 musical ''See My Lawyer'' by Richard Maibaum and Harry Clork. The film stars Ole Olsen, Chi ...

''.

Scott MacGillivray Scott MacGillivray (born June 29, 1957) is an American non-fiction author specializing in motion picture history. His book ''Laurel & Hardy: From the Forties Forward,'' revised and expanded in 2009, chronicles the later films of Stan Laurel and Ol ...

and Jan MacGillivray, ''Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven'', iUniverse, Bloomington, IN, 2005, p. 146. ISBN 978-0-595-67454-1.

References

External links

* * * {{Edward F. Cline 1943 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Edward F. Cline 1943 comedy films Universal Pictures films American comedy films Self-reflexive films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films