Moviecut—Hook Line and Sinker

source: Hook Line and Sinker

Hook Line and Sinker

This is another in the long series of wacky slapstick comedies made by this pair of comic geniuses.

I ran across this duo on TCM. I watched several of his films. After awhile I found them very funny. It is sad that they are basically forgotten nowadays. If you can watch their films. You will be pleasantly surprised.

This is a dated, but funny piece of 1930s Markeiing and Advertising. It is not highlighted as such in its description, but the bottom line of this film, and the primary reason it is funny, is that the advertising and marketing of a run-down hotel frequented by the rich makes for a fairly amusing premise. Wheeler and Woolsey, a moderately successful comedy team of the early 30s, are the protagonist in the film, even though they are scheming to make money off of the hapless woman who happens to have money from a rich family. Depression audiences loved films about people who had money, because they had none themselves. So these films were the stuff of dreams. Enjoy the silliness.

Wheeler and Woolsey were an American comedy duo team like Abbot & Costello or Laurel & Hardy during the 1930s. This film is slapstick comedy about these con-men who travel with a girl who has inherited a hotel. Unfortunately for her, the hotel is a dump. But luckily, Wheeler and Woolsey are there for support. They turn the hotel into a social hot spot. There is just a few problems. The girl is in love with sweet guy but her mother wants her to marry for money to a sour guy. The dumpy hotel is a place for the shady characters. Anyway, there is a lot of slapstick humor, silly romances, and comedy to allow this film to grow on you after awhile. I never heard of Wheeler and Woolsey and it's too bad. Maybe they air these old black and white films to late at night for me. Anyway, it's probably when the talkies became huge.

An Absurdist comedy with Wheeler, Woolsey and Natalie Moorhead, it has all the luridness of a farce, funny dialog and a lavish shootout, made in an age when the right idea of humor didn't even seem extraordinary, but usual, customary. From a sociological standpoint, this defines a healthier society. Shows like this are as characteristic and as endearing as 18th century stage plays. The two entrepreneurs, Mary, the Duchess offer fun to every scene they play. Likewise, the blasé receptionist, and the detective is a running gag. The comedy's sense of fun is endearing: always harmless, without ever being tasteless or offensive. Music hall, variety, vaudeville, revue, these are the school of this knowledge of how to be keen and gentle in an unassuming craft. I cherish this comedy. And maybe so do others. It was a good idea to top a comedy with an extravaganza: efficient, here (the machine-gun and the shootout), less so, in a comedy with O'Brien (the boxing match).

While this comedy falls off a little towards the end, it's still a great repository for the Funny Stuff that W and W did best. You might call Bert and Bob "Dumb and Smarter", with Wheeler's sweet-natured shlub a perfect match for Woolsey's sly, Groucho-esque wisecracker. The story shell is pure silliness, and the double-entendres come fast and furious. This certainly isn't their best vehicle, but anytime you see these guys in the cable schedule(which, alas, is not often), WATCH 'EM!!

This comedy starts out very well with a promising set-up, and although it cannot maintain the same standard throughout, it's mostly entertaining, if rather silly. Wheeler and Woolsey make a pretty good comic team, and the complicated, deliberately implausible plot provides them with some good moments. Director Eddie Cline, better known for the comedies he made with Buster Keaton and W.C. Fields, keeps things on track. We are first introduced to the two leads in a funny scene where they try to talk a policeman out of giving them a ticket. Shortly afterwards, they are involved in all kinds of complications at a run-down hotel, involving a large cast of dubious characters. While the pace is a little uneven, it keeps your attention, and there are also a couple of clever lines of dialogue. While it doesn't quite fulfill its early promise, this is definitely worth a look if you enjoy comedies from the 30's.