HELLZAPOPPIN' (1941) - A Forgotten Foundation For Film Farce | Olsen & Johnson

Let's talk about Olsen & Johnson, vaudeville comedy, and Hellzapoppin'.
LEVITY LIGHT CLASSICS
Hellzapoppin' Film Review, History, and Commentary.

[@plazasta]

I recently heard of this film through another essay and watched it. My mind was blown, not just because of how hilarious the comedy is, but also, as you showed, how influential it was. I grew up watching the Looney Tunes (and a few years ago I restarted watching them and went "so this is where I got my sense of humour from!"), and watching this felt like finding the foundation of Looney Tunes' humour, basically a live action full-length Looney Tunes skit. It instantly became one of my favourite comedies of all time (Edited for spelling)

[@Nick-ty9us]

This is one of the craziest comedies I ever seen

[@ad-sd-vids5332]

This is the only film to be accidentally nominated for an Oscar, on the 1942 ballot it was nominated for best original song for “pig foot Pete”, even though that song wasn’t from Hellzapoppin, it’s from keep ‘em flying, written by the same guys and also starring Martha raye

[@catfightjoe4658]

Thanks for the show. So much comedic energy. Loved it!

[@SirSmoldham]

"Hellzapoppin'" is the pride of my DVD collection and a gift from a close friend. As someone who cherishes meta humor, this goes beyond Bob and Bing's "Road" pictures garnished with "Marx Brothers", "Abbott and Costello vaudeville brashness along with the Lindy Hoppers and comedienne Martha Raye showing some sex appeal. I love this flick. BTW, John P. Fulton is the greatest SPFX artist who ever lived.

[@LevityLightClassics]

It's true! Nothing quite hits like Hellzapoppin' does.

[@user-po3ut5xi7o]

You will enjoy this.

One of my favorite movies. I love the songs in it. "Watch the Birdie" is my favorite. I tried watching the sequel film and it definetly isn't as good, which is really sad. I wish they had more chances into making another movie as good and crazy as this one

[@deeproff981]

Nice. I wish you’ll also review”Merton of the Movies” 1947. A great forgotten Red Skeleton movie.

Just found out your channel. It's really interesting what you're trying to bring to KZbin. We don't have many channels here that do video essays on classic films. I'm subscribed. I would love if you did a video about Busby Berkeley

[@LevityLightClassics]

Welcome aboard!

[@Nick-ty9us]

This was written by Pat Perrin who had written several Marx brothers films in the early 1930s so he was perfect for olson and Johnsons control chaos

[@stevetheduck1425]

Have seen this back when it was on British TV about every year, usually shortly before Christmas. It fits well with the kind of TV comedy back then: look up Spike Milligan, his radio show 'The Goon Show', his always-mutating stage show 'The Bed-Sitting Room' (also a rarely-seen movie) and TV series 'There's a Lot of it About', and the 'Q' series, 'Q6', 'Q7' etc. often anarchic, even making fun of the need to have and end or punchline being spoofed, considered mildly racist today, it's usually actually spoofing things considered normal at the time of his serving in WWII, when he nearly died, nearly went mad and he suffered from bipolar periods all his life post-WWII.

[@davegreenlaw5654]

Thanks. Decades ago I recall seeing a film that had something like 10 straight minutes of zanyness before getting to the actual 'story'. The shot of the white horse with the tic-tac-toe on its hindquarter and the reference to Rosebud has now given me the name of that movie... ...or maybe not, as it might have even been a knock-off from later on. Question...did this duo open up their other films in such a manner?

[@LevityLightClassics]

I'd confidently say it must have been Hellzapoppin' you saw. BUT there is a possibility that it could have been an episode of 'Fireball Fun-For-All', a short lived and similarly off-the-wall variety series Olsen & Johnson carried for a season. Unfortunately, most of it seems to be lost media at the moment, but I would think it likely that some Hellzapoppin' bits and style could have been cleverly recycled there.