Wheeler & Woolsey - The RKO Comedy Classics Collection Vol. 2

I was delighted to discover that the seldom-seen comedy team of Bert Wheeler & Robert Woolsey finally get their due on DVD. Here was a comedy team who were popular with the masses in the 1930's (although not so much with critics), yet you rarely see their movies on TV (compared to, say, Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello). I had heard of them, but never seen their work, much less knew what they looked like. I'm happy to say, that's all changed with this dandy compilation that includes nine of their film classics (they made roughly two dozen during their teaming). Both men did the same vaudeville patter, yet they were quite different. Bert was the naive, wavy-haired one, who often wooed the girl; Bob was the slender, bespectacled, cigar-brandishing (he adapted that as a prop because he didn't know what to do with his hands) one with the wiseguy attitude and trademark cry of "WHOA-OH!" For a while, they had a regular leading lady: Dorothy Lee, whose charming, amusing demeanor and Betty Boop-like voice made her a natural for W&W's nonsense. Here's the lineup..."Half Shot at Sunrise" (1930) was the boys' first starring feature, and it proved they could carry one without being relegated to supporting comedy roles in musicals. While it's an unevenly paced--and familiar--army vehicle about two AWOL soldiers making trouble wherever they go, it's quite enjoyable. "Hook, Line and Sinker" (1930) is a fine early effort about two bicyclists helping out a young heiress revive a rundown hotel (which includes an odd house detective & aging bellboy). Clever publicity makes the place a popular spot, but also attracts the attention of gangsters who use it to stash stolen loot. "Cracked Nuts" (1931) could be a blueprint for their later hit "Diplomaniacs" as rivals for the throne of a mythical kingdom. Naturally, they're used as patsies by the corrupt officials of the country. There's a funny routine about the towns of "Which" and "What" that predates Abbott & Costello's famed "Who's On First". Look for a smarmy Boris Karloff and silent screen comic Ben Turpin (as a cross-eyed aerial bomber!) here. "Caught Plastered" (1931) is a real gem with a breezy story about two stranded vaudevillians who come to the rescue of a lady's pharmacy store. "Hold 'Em Jail" (1932) is a kooky prison comedy that benefits from the comic presence of Edgar Kennedy (as the warden) and Edna Mae Oliver (as his sister). Its climactic football game has probably been spoofed better by others (Harold Lloyd, the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges). But they do enough damage to make it amusing. "Hips Hips Hooray" (1934) rates as one of the boys' best. RKO really invested the bucks in this one, a glittering musical comedy about the world of cosmetics. Even W&W perform what is arguably their best song ever, "Keep On Doing What You're Doing" with Lee & Thelma Todd. Its climaxed by a zany gag-filled auto race. "The Nitwits" (1935) is a murder mystery comedy climaxed by a high-energy fight. Best highlight: The boys trying to outsmart a watchful cop. Two of their lesser efforts round out the collection. "Mummy's Boys" (1936) is familiar territory done better by other comedians. The problem seems to be an uninspired script (with the usual cliches of curses, murder & spooky tombs) that generates few laughs. Their last film together, "High Flyers" (1937), is at least slightly better, especially compared to the disappointing "On Again Off Again". This high society caper about planes and jewel smuggling is at least brightened by some delightful musical comedy moments (Bert's impression of Charlie Chaplin is a real show-stopper) which are more like intermissions from the plot. Lupe Velez, Jack Carson and Margaret Dumont (taking a break from the Marx Brothers) offer fine support. But it's a scene (and jewel) stealing dog who gets the last laugh.Who knows what the team could have accomplished in the 40's, had it not been for Woolsey's untimely death in 1938. They had a gift for loopy one-liners and musical comedy moments. OK Warner Brothers, let's see some more of their movies get released!

The first Wheeler & Woolsey movie I saw was "Kentucky Kernels", which is far from their best; in fact, it put me off W&W for a long time. But then I became interested in Thelma Todd, sexy & doomed star of the Thirties, and bought this collection to get "Hips, Hips, Hooray". It turned out to be a lot of fun, and so I'm gradually watching all the movies in this collection.It's tempting to compare W&W slightingly to the Marx Brothers because their comedy tends to be anarchic like the Marxs'; but you have to let go of that and accept them for what they are. They aren't second-rate Marx imitators (in fact, they were on the scene first); they have their own consistent personas and their own comic style. Woolsey is a fast talker, and Wheeler, surprisingly, is a romantic lead, albeit a rather childish one; and the pair generally have good-guy roles--helping destitute widows, and the like.So far, I've really enjoyed "Hips, Hips, Hooray" and "Half Shot at Sunrise". In fact, "Half Shot" seems to have had quite a large budget, with lots of special effects, elaborate sets, and a large cast of extras. The others have been enjoyable, too, if on a slightly lesser level.Oh, and Thelma Todd is very appealing in "Hips".Edit: I should mention that I have had some problems with playback on these discs. A couple times the action froze, then started up again, and last night "Half Shot at Sunrise" stopped (twice) just before the finale (although a few days earlier, it had played perfectly well). I am returning the set to the vendor, and have ordered another copy. Hopefully second time's the charm!

As a writer, I am jealous of the artistic freedom they had in these older movies. If you are woke or politically correct you're NOT going to like these movies. On the other hand, for most people they are completely hilarious. Obviously, some are better than others. I like them all, but my two favorites were "Half Shot at Sunrise" and "Hips Hips Hooray"In Hips Hips Hooray the boys invent flavored lipstick. So what do they do? They get a bunch of gorgeous, eager, women very scantily clad and test their products by kissing them. This would not be allowed in our modern world.My ONLY disappointment are the physical discs. They are burned, purple dye type DVD-R. I would've gladly paid more money to have the discs on 1000 year lifetime M-Disc, or a pressed disc.All the movies are a bit short, as it was common at that time. They run from about 70 min. to 85 min. Buy these movies on disc before they are banned. I'm happy to have this collection in my 3000 DVD/Blu-ray collection. In the past, I enjoyed reading comments to reviews, sadly this is no longer allowed.

This is an excellent set of rare films!

This DVD set contains two of my favourite Wheeler and Woolsey films, The Cuckoos and Cockeyed Cavaliers. I've rated the set five stars due to the inclusion of these two alone which I feel are worth the price of the whole set. The rest of the films included are (in my opinion) not the team's finest, but they do help complete out a collection if you are trying to fill out your film library.Wheeler and Woolsey were a popular comedy duo in the 1930's, although they are not well-remembered today. This is in part because their pre-code films were notorious for containing a large amount of risque humour, and Cockeyed Cavaliers is a fine example of this.W&W were also known for their dance numbers, frequently featuring regular co-star Dorothy Lee. Lee was the unofficial third member of the team is featured in five of the six films in this set. It's always a pleasure to see Lee and Wheeler together, especially when they share musical numbers.This set also contains two rare solo films; one from Wheeler and one from Woolsey. These films prove that the two definitely work best as a partnership, but may be of interest to a die-hard fan.For a collector or a fan of classic comedy, this set is a great addition to a collection. For a newcomer to the group, however, I would recommend checking out Volume 1 of the movie set or the Peach O' Reno/Girl Crazy double pack first as they offer more 'bang for your buck'. Modern viewers should note also that W&W's films were definitely a product of their time and often contain stereotypes that would not be considered politically correct today, but if you can get past that then the films are cute little time capsules waiting to be opened!

this series is especially suited for the family

Very nice movie

I couldn't be more pleased with the set, I've read some reviews which are less than positive of some of the films in this compilation but I found them all great; I laughed out loud lots of times, and that's not something I get to do all the time