musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

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 Stre ...

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

Chic Johnson Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson (March 15, 1891 – February 26, 1962) was the barrel-chested half of the American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his attitud Background Johnson was born of Swedish descent in Chicago to John M. and Mat ...

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of exceptional swing dancers that was first organized in the late 1920s by Herbert "Whitey" White in the Savoy Ballroom and disbanded in 1942 after its male members were drafted into Worl ...

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including on Broadway. She was hono ...

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 ...

Jane Frazee Mary Jane Frehse (July 18, 1915 – September 6, 1985), was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Professional life Jane, age six, and her 12-year-old sister Ruth formed a singing vaudeville act known as The Frazee Sisters.Robert Paige,

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky, ; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russian-American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in film in 1928. Auer had a long career playing in many of the era's ...

,

Shemp Howard Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz; March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955) was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while i ...

, and the musical duo Slim & Slam. The film is deliberately nonsensical, with the comedians stopping the film to address both the movie audience and the projection booth (breaking the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...

); trick photography embellishing the visual gags; and the traditional romantic subplot ridiculed as it unfolds.

Plot

Louie (

Shemp Howard Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz; March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955) was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while i ...

), the

projectionist A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector, particularly as an employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators". Historical background N.B. The dates given in the subject headings are approximate. Early ...

of the Universal Theatre, starts showing a musical pageant of chorus girls promenading down a staircase. The staircase collapses and turns into a slide, conveying the dancers straight to

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

, where they are tortured by demons. Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson (playing themselves) arrive in the midst of the mayhem by taxi and after a series of pranks, step back to reveal that they are on a movie soundstage. They are hounded by the film's director ( Richard Lane), who tries to explain that their wild comedy won't work in movies. Mousy screenwriter Harry Selby ( Elisha Cook, Jr.) outlines his adaptation of the play; the rest of the movie’s “plot” depicts Selby’s proposed script, a romance. In it, theater producer-composer Jeff Hunter ( Robert Paige) wants to marry wealthy ingenue Kitty Rand (

Jane Frazee Mary Jane Frehse (July 18, 1915 – September 6, 1985), was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Professional life Jane, age six, and her 12-year-old sister Ruth formed a singing vaudeville act known as The Frazee Sisters.Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including on Broadway. She was hono ...

) pursues Pepi (

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky, ; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russian-American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in film in 1928. Auer had a long career playing in many of the era's ...

), the revue's leading man and a former Russian nobleman. After a series of mishaps and adventures—including frequent run-ins with magician/detective Quimby (

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 ...

) and constant technical problems while the film is being projected—Jeff's revue is finally performed for a society audience. Olsen and Johnson repeatedly sabotage and undermine the revue's musical ensembles. The revue is a success anyway, and Jeff wins Kitty for a happy ending. Screenwriter Selby finishes narrating his script, and Olsen and Johnson take their leave of the studio. The director, frustrated, shoots the screenwriter—who is uninjured and pays scant attention, but leaks like a sieve when he drinks a glass of water.

Cast

* Ole Olsen as Himself *

Chic Johnson Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson (March 15, 1891 – February 26, 1962) was the barrel-chested half of the American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his attitud Background Johnson was born of Swedish descent in Chicago to John M. and Mat ...

as Himself *

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including on Broadway. She was hono ...

as Betty Johnson *

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 Quimby *

Jane Frazee Mary Jane Frehse (July 18, 1915 – September 6, 1985), was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Professional life Jane, age six, and her 12-year-old sister Ruth formed a singing vaudeville act known as The Frazee Sisters.Robert Paige as Jeff Hunter *

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky, ; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russian-American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in film in 1928. Auer had a long career playing in many of the era's ...

as Pepi * Dick Lane as Director *

Shemp Howard Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz; March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955) was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while i ...

as Louie, the Projectionist * Elisha Cook Jr. as Harry Selby * Lewis Howard as Woody Taylor *

Clarence Kolb Clarence William Kolb, sometimes given as C. William Kolb, (July 31, 1874 – November 25, 1964) was an American vaudeville performer and actor known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect. Biography Kolb started out as one hal ...

as Andrew Rand *

Nella Walker Nella Walker (March 6, 1886 – March 22, 1971) was an American actress and vaudeville performer of the 1920s through the 1950s. Biography The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Walker, she was born and raised in Chicago. In 1910, she marrie ...

as Mrs. Rand *

Frank Darien Frank Darien (March 18, 1876 – October 20, 1955) was an American actor. He appeared in 225 films and between 1915 and 1951. Filmography References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darien, Frank 1876 births 1955 deaths American ...

as Man calling for Mrs. Jones * Katherine Johnson as Lena, lady looking for Oscar *

Gus Schilling August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 – June 16, 1957) was an American film actor who started in burlesque comedy and usually played nervous comic roles, often unbilled. A friend of Orson Welles, he appeared in five of the director's films � ...

as Orchestra Conductor * Jody Gilbert as Shemp's Girlfriend *

Slim Gaillard Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 9, 1911 – February 26, 1991), also known as McVouty, was an American jazz singer and songwriter who played piano, guitar, vibraphone, and tenor saxophone. Gaillard was noted for his comedic vocalese singing ...

and

Slam Stewart Leroy Eliot "Slam" Stewart (September 21, 1914December 10, 1987) was an American jazz double-bass player whose trademark style was his ability to bow the bass (arco) and simultaneously hum or sing an octave higher. He was a violinist before swit ...

as themselves, Slim and Slam *

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of exceptional swing dancers that was first organized in the late 1920s by Herbert "Whitey" White in the Savoy Ballroom and disbanded in 1942 after its male members were drafted into Worl ...

(including

Norma Miller Norma Adele Miller (December 2, 1919 – May 5, 2019) was an American Lindy hop dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian known as the "Queen of Swing". Early life Miller was born in 1919 in Harlem, New York City, to mother Alma, a c ...

as a cook and

Frankie Manning Frank Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009) was an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founders of Lindy Hop, an energetic form of the jazz dance style known as swing. Biography Manning was b ...

) as the Harlem Congaroos, in order of appearance: William Downes & Francis 'Mickey' Jones, Billy Ricker &

Norma Miller Norma Adele Miller (December 2, 1919 – May 5, 2019) was an American Lindy hop dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian known as the "Queen of Swing". Early life Miller was born in 1919 in Harlem, New York City, to mother Alma, a c ...

, Al Minns & Willa Mae Ricker,

Frankie Manning Frank Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009) was an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founders of Lindy Hop, an energetic form of the jazz dance style known as swing. Biography Manning was b ...

& Ann Johnson. *

Gil Perkins Gilbert Vincent Perkins (24 August 1907 – 28 March 1999) was an Australian film and television actor. Early life As a teenager, Perkins was a trackman and an athlete. He ran away from home at a young age and joined the crew of a Norw ...

as Butler in Pool (uncredited) *

Dale Van Sickel Dale Harris Van Sickel (November 29, 1907 – January 25, 1977) was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years. Van ...

as

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...

(uncredited)

Music

The 1942 Academy Awards nomination for Best Song of "Pig Foot Pete" (which lost to " White Christmas"), was attributed to ''Hellzapoppin''; however, the song never appears in the film—it was actually performed in the

Abbott and Costello Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in t ...

film ''

Keep 'Em Flying ''Keep 'Em Flying'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin starring the team of Abbott and Costello alongside Martha Raye and Carol Bruce. The film was their third service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The come ...

'', another

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

production from 1941. The official Academy Awards database credits ''Hellzapoppin'' with the Best Song nomination but comments in a note, "This nomination is a mystery. Both the nominations list and the program from the Awards dinner list the song as being from ''Hellzapoppin'', a 1942 release for Awards purposes."

Post-production

H. C. Potter directed the film and paid close attention to new camera tricks and comedy effects. As originally conceived by Potter, there wasn't any movie projectionist as played by Shemp Howard. Potter conveyed the illusion that Olsen and Johnson were speaking to the ''actual'' projectionist, personally running the picture in each individual theater, and the frequent technical problems were attributed to the unseen projectionist. Potter staged an elaborate finale, where Olsen and Johnson attend the opening of their film at

Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre, known as the Chinese colloquially and officially billed as TCL Chinese Theatre for sponsorship reasons, is a movie palace on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Unite ...

and plant their footprints in the movie palace's famous celebrity courtyard. Unfortunately for Ole and Chic, the wet cement acts like quicksand and sinks the comedians underground as the end title appears. Universal executives thought audiences might be confused by some of Potter's scenes. Potter was no longer on the lot, so producer Alex Gottlieb assigned director Eddie Cline to shoot new scenes with Shemp Howard as the new, fictitious projectionist; Jody Gilbert as Shemp's girlfriend; Richard Lane; and Elisha Cook, Jr. Olsen and Johnson were not present for the retakes. Film editor Milton Carruth inserted a quick clip of Olsen and Johnson into the new ending, which has director Richard Lane expressing his disgust with the script and shooting Elisha Cook, Jr., repeatedly. Cook is uninjured ("I always wear a bulletproof vest around the studio"), but when he drinks a glass of water, the liquid bursts from his chest. H. C. Potter was upset when he saw the finished film: "A lot of things that I had worked very hard on -- innovations -- were, after I had left Universal, gone completely. I screamed and yelled bloody hell, but there was nothing I could do about it."

Reception

Some reviewers had been skeptical that ''Hellzapoppin'' would work as a motion picture, and were surprised that the film version was every bit as funny. ''Film Bulletin'' commented, "It did not seem possible that the type of hilarity which went into the making of the legitimate show could be transplanted successfully to the screen. Yet here it is for all to see... he gags areplenty good and stack up as ace high comedy material." ''Motion Picture Reviews'' was both amused and amazed: "It follows no known formula, and its noisy, spectacular, and hilarious progress is like nothing ever seen on the screen before." The reviewer for ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' wrote, in August 1942: "Sections of its extraordinary pattern materialise with uproarious unexpectedness, while hilarious development of some ridiculously funny incident adds to the farcical, burlesque, and slapstick appeal of a production astounding in its originality and verve. It has to be seen to be believed. If there is nothing memorable to take away after the show it is at any rate enjoyable while it lasts." In ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' in 1942, critic

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. His autob ...

wrote, "On celluloid ''Hellzapoppin loses the frenetic quality it achieved on the stage... some skits succeed, more fail. But Olsen and Johnson's ability to exude a kind of ectoplasm which engulfs the audience and makes it participate in the show is necessarily cut off when the show is confined to the screen... Stripped of its unsurpassable insanity, the name for it is ham vaudeville." ''Hellzapoppin'' had its premiere at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City on Christmas Day, 1941. The first performance at 10 a.m. was for 2,000 orphans and a further showing was held at 2 p.m. for 2,000 soldiers and sailors, with the official premiere in the evening. The Rivoli run was relatively short, indicating a flop, but columnist Gilbert Fraunhar explained that the Rivoli was near the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current des ...

: "Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers passing the Rivoli were deceived into thinking that they were passing the Winter Garden... Many of them had seen the play, and therefore passed up a theatre where they thought it was still playing." The Rivoli engagement notwithstanding, ''Hellzapoppin'' became a smash hit. Universal's top boxoffice attraction at the time was

Abbott and Costello Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in t ...

; ''Hellzapoppin'' exceeded even those returns. "Universal executives admit that the picture is outgrossing the Abbott and Costello films. And when a Universal exec makes an admission like that, the picture has to be doing terrific business," reported Fraunhar. "More specifically, ''Hellzapoppin'', in the bunch of openings it has had to date, has outgrossed every A & C, we are told, except ''

Keep 'Em Flying ''Keep 'Em Flying'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin starring the team of Abbott and Costello alongside Martha Raye and Carol Bruce. The film was their third service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The come ...

'', which had the benefit of Thanksgiving week openings. And as time rolls on... "Hellz" promises to outdo its only A & C rival."

Aftermath

Realart Pictures reissued ''Hellzapoppin'' to theaters in 1948. In 1956

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...

, then Universal's television distributor, syndicated it to broadcasting stations. MCA, Universal's next TV distributor, withdrew ''Hellzapoppin'' in 1968 after theatrical producer Alexander H. Cohen purchased the rights to ''Hellzapoppin'' from the Olsen & Johnson estate.''Newsday'', "New Version of 'Hellzapoppin' Planned for Broadway in '67", July 7, 1966, p. 2-A. Universal/16, the studio's film-rental agency, likewise withdrew all 16mm prints from its library. Cohen did mount revivals of ''Hellzapoppin'' for television (1972) and the stage (1977).

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

in his song "Waltz darling" references to the film in the chorus.

References

External links

* {{H. C. Potter 1941 films 1941 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by H. C. Potter American self-reflexive films Surreal comedy films Universal Pictures films Films based on musicals Films scored by Frank Skinner 1940s American films