Hellzapoppin'

Some of the musical numbers left me unimpressed, but overall this was a fascinating and entertaining movie, full of meta humor and 4th wall breaking. I really enjoyed it!

It took awhile for me to obtain Ole Olsen & Chic Johnson's zany masterpiece "Hellzapoppin'" on DVD, as it's been in high demand and the price has been ridiculously high. Their first film for Universal was the film adaptation of their notoriously crazy stage show, which has been known to be so wildly improvisational that it was never the same show twice. The adaptation's results? Well, if you were around to actually see O & J's show, you would know it was pure insanity. The film version seems to be a compromise in form between the boys & Universal, as they must make room for the conventional "romantic plot" and "musical numbers". But don't worry; there's plenty of room for wild sight gags, props, surprises and the boys simply running amok. It certainly didn't hurt to add the boisterous talents of Martha Raye, who fits quite well into the boys' "anything goes" sensibility, as she's adept at both music and comedy. The opening scene with the boys going to hell in a taxicab breaks the "fourth wall" of conventions. The random gags of the woman shouting "Oscar!" and the man with the growing tree paging "Mrs. Jones!" are smartly worked in from the stage show. And well, there's just so many wildly funny moments to mention here; see it for yourself.Definitely a sorely underrated classic that's gotten lost in the shuffle over the years. I'm glad it's finally getting noticed!

HELLZAPOPPIN' started as a stage play (if you can call it that) put on by a comedy team, Ole Olson and Chic Johnson. It was a bizarre, completely disconnected series of skits and gags - think of the Zucker/Abrams/Zucker movie AIRPLANE! and you'll get a fraction of an idea of how crazy the play was - brought to the screen by Hollywood, who screwed it up as much as they usually do by insisting on shoehorning a love story and extra musical numbers into it. At the beginning of the movie, Olsen and Johnson actually get into an argument with the director about this, saying that the stage play was a success without all that Hollywood junk in it. They even sit down with the director and watch the film in an MST 3K style for a few minutes before the movie proper begins. Although it's true that the gags are dated, this is still an entertaining, insane movie that, if you look at it with the right eyes, is WAY ahead of its time. If you're interested, I suggest you Google the stage play so you can get an idea of just how crazy the original show was. A fascinating, funny movie that deserves to be rediscovered.

The quality is good, and it came in a timely manner.

I purchased HELLZAPOPPIN' based on a couple of reviews which suggested it was one of the craziest movies of all-time. I'm pleased to report they weren't far off. The first ten minutes alone is worth the price of this budget disc. If you have a pulse, I'm confident you'll find something to enjoy in this show within a show within a show show that foreshadows everything from Mel Brooks and Month Python's Flying Circus to the Zucker's Airplane.Regarding the dvd quality- while I'll admit the packaging gave me pause, I'm also pleased to report the picture quality and sound of the disc I received is overall very good to excellent.

Hollywood, unfortunately, imposed a love story (of sorts) on an otherwise zany film escapade. Fortunately, it is not too serious, and lends itself to many comic devices. While not capturing the madness that abounded in the duo's Broadway smash hit, the film does reflect its stars' non-sequitorial views of life's linearity. Generally fast-paced, except for a couple of uninspiring musical numbers. "Hellzapoppin" is a very funny movie! The "Laugh-In" comedic style one viewer commented on is, in actuality, the oldest of vaudeville gimmicks...the "blackout." From a historical perspective, one of the most interesting devices in the film is the "Mystery Science Theatre 3000"-esque scene where they are sitting around a movie screen and...well, buy the movie and see for yourself!

I‘m pushing 60 and watched this movie with my Mom when I was a small child. My only recollection was that we laughed out loud nonstop from start to finish.An unparalleled absurdist, fourth-wall breaking comedy with zainy gags galore, great special effects considering it was 1941 and this show-stopping, breathtaking, arguably most iconic Lindy hop choreography in history.Just bought the DVD and finally watched it again twice in a row today, on my late Mom’s would be 95th Birthday.Merci Maman <3July 8, 2020

This is a movie version of the Hellzapoppin Broadway show. It’s in B/W and an excellent video and audio rendition considering the age of the movie. You either love this type of humor or you don’t but it was certainly innovative at the time and opened up comedy to a new level. I enjoyed seeing it and would recommend it for its historical place in motion picture history.

A friend lent us her copy and said 'we must watch it'. Weeks later we decided to give it a try as there was nothing else on. We were bounced between WTF moments and laugh-out loud comedy. THIS is where the Carry On team & films like Airplane The Movie, etc. Got all their gags/inspiration from. There is also a dance scene with stage-hands that blows any TV dance show out of the water, ever. Totally amazing. I ended-up spending two hours on IMDB afterwards looking-up the film and the actors. Facinating stuff. Hence buying my own copy! I cannot belive i've never heard of this Gem. If you like the above mentioned humour and serious weird stuff then this is for you. Apparently this was originally an audience participation stage show, which inspired the film. Take my money! I would love to go back in time & see that. Secret Cinema should do this!

It was about time that I looked into this film as it had been on my backburner to do so for about 3 decades...! Here's where I am - my ultimate film comedy heroes are Buster Keaton, Roscoe Arbuckle, The Marx Brothers and Jerry Lewis - and comedy 'legends' that leave me totally cold include Chaplin, Three Stooges and Abbott & Costello... so Hellzapoppin was going to fall into one camp or another, and actually it kind of went both ways...I'm so glad I watched, there are moments of genius, genuine innovative comedy, laugh out loud moments but also plenty of dull labouring scenes that grind horribly. I was expecting it to be 'darker' than it actually is and I wasn't expecting (more or less) straight musical numbers which in actual fact are much better than the Marx Brothers musical interludes because at least they are totally over the top. And then of course the jaw-dropping jazz dance sequence which I had read about but it still left me astonished, and I had to re-watch 3 times. Hellzapoppin reminds me a great deal of The Villain Still Pursued Her which is probably most well known for Buster Keaton being in the cast...a parody of melodramatic films from an earlier age, still hit and miss, but actually very funny and well executed, it was much darker than Hellzapoppin but also notable for a female lead performing wildly, as Martha Raye does in Hellzappopin', and totally in the spirit of the story, some good support, but some cast members really aren't sure what to do and just walk through it. I enjoyed the film very much all in all, despite the uneven-ness, some truly great moments.

Supposedly one of the inspirations for the 1960s anarchic comedy show "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In" . This is still quite fun in parts - though some of the targets of the humour are unknown to us now, thus the gags are lost. Not unusual for comedies of this era to break the fourth wall with comments to camera, but this one not only breaks it, it stomps it into fragments, playing havoc with time and place as it does so!An example of the humour herein... In an early scene an autograph hunter wanders onto the set and asks Olsen and Johnson for their autographs, upon examining their signatures she pulls a face "Olsen and Johnson!!??...... urghhhhh" and rips out the page! That's the kind of gag in which this film is rich....If you can watch it with sympathy for the period in which it was made, I think you'll find things to enjoy. However, those with a more modern sensibility of comedy need not apply! 4 stars cos it's not for everyone...

A little known but excellent “zany movie“ very much in the style of the Marx Bros. Deserves to be better known And also use that as a masterclass for anyone who enjoys or wishes to take up comedy writing

I grew up knowing about Hellzapoppin' from my Dad, a big film fan, but it was ages before I actually saw it, and then over the years I managed to catch it on TV at odd hours a few times. A little while back, I was staying with a friend, and one day I squealed with delight when I read the TV guide: "Hellzapoppin's on this afternoon - brilliant!" And she, quite understandably, said "Never heard of it. What's that about then?" And I was completely flummoxed. How on earth do you describe Hellzapoppin'? "Trust me", I said, "just sit down and watch". And she did, and at the end she turned to me and said "Blimey". On the off chance that you're reading this review, but haven't yet seen the film, just buy it. Buy it and watch and and enjoy it. And wish you could dance like that too. I wish there were more films like this.