''Diplomaniacs'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

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

Wheeler and 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 ...

. The film in noted for its absurdist political satire, somewhat in the manner of '' Million Dollar Legs'' or '' Duck Soup'', both of which were released within a year of ''Diplomaniacs''.

Plot

The film concerns the adventures of two men who have set up a failing business as barbers on an Indian reservation. When they are sent by the tribe as representatives to a peace conference in Europe, unbeknownst to them, they face constant threats from other attendees. In particular, several armaments manufacturers want to ensure that the peace conference is a failure, and do everything they can to sabotage it.

Cast

Bert Wheeler Albert Jerome Wheeler (April 7, 1895 – January 18, 1968) was an American comedian who performed in Broadway theatre, American comedy feature films, and vaudeville acts. He was the comedy partner of Robert Woolsey, and together they formed ...

as Willy Nilly *

Robert Woolsey Robert Rollie Woolsey (August 14, 1888 – October 31, 1938) was an American stage and screen comedian and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey. Early life Robert Rollie (sometimes spelled Rolla or even Raleigh) was born on Augu ...

as Hercules Glub *

Marjorie White Marjorie White (born Marjorie Ann Guthrie, July 22, 1904 – August 21, 1935) was a Canadian-born actress of stage and film. Career Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, she was the first-born child of a grain merchant, Robert Guthrie, and his wif ...

as Dolores *

Phyllis Barry Phyllis Barry (born Gertrude Phyllis Hillyard; 7 December 1908 – 1 July 1954) was an English film actress. Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Seth Henry and Bertha (née Giles) Hillyard, Barry appeared in over 40 films b ...

as Fifi *

Louis Calhern Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known professionally as Louis Calhern, was an American stage and screen actor. Well known to film noir fans for his role as the pivotal villain in 1950's ''The Asphalt Jungle'', he was n ...

as Winklereid *

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

as Chow-Chow, the China Man *

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 ...

as Chairman of the Peace Conference *

Richard Carle Richard Carle (born Charles Nicholas Carleton, July 7, 1871 – June 28, 1941) was an American stage and film actor as well as a playwright and stage director. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1915 and 1941. Carle was born in Som ...

as Ship's Captain * William Irving as Schmerzenpuppen *

Neely Edwards Neely Edwards (born Cornelius Limbach; September 16, 1883 – July 10, 1965) was an American vaudeville performer and film actor. Biography Edwards appeared in 174 films between 1915 and 1959. The first was as an unbilled player in a Haro ...

as Puppenschmerzen *

Billy Bletcher William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disney' ...

as Schmerzenschmerzen * Ted Hart as Puppenpuppen * Edward Cooper as Indian Chief

Box office

According to RKO records, the film made a profit of $65,000.

References

External links

*
''Diplomaniacs''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

1933 films 1933 comedy films American comedy films Films with screenplays by Joseph L. Mankiewicz Films scored by Max Steiner Films scored by Roy Webb American black-and-white films RKO Pictures films Films directed by William A. Seiter 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub