Hellzapoppin'

It seems a lot of reviewers have branded this movie as "dated but good"...when in fact it's incredibly ahead of its time.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the surrealists cried tears of jealousy when it premiered; the neverending, irreverent gags and complete disregard for time and space leaves avant-garde films like Un Chien Andalou in the dust.

The humour of Hellzapoppin' is not dumb or childish but incredibly smart.

A beautiful, fun, hilarious movie and arguably a proto-postmodern classic

that deserves a reevaluation and wider circulation.

This chaotic, self-reflexive romp about the translation of a stage play into a film production and finally into a film screening is packed with fun: Olson and Johnson crack one-liners, Martha Raye belts out some terrific songs, and Mischa Auer offers his most elegant clowning. The dance sequence, by the incredible Harlem Congeroo dancers, is unbeatable: energetic, explosive, and exhausting. The routine romance between Robert Paige (as a would be writer/director) and Jane Frazee (a wealthy amateur actor) provides some welcome quiet in the midst of the almost ceaseless camera tricks and sight gags.

A really crazy, fun ride through a Broadway show, there are moving sets, one liners and all around comic mayhem. The irrepressible Martha Raye is all over this film, being a bit obnoxious, overbearing and, eventually, kind of humiliated. But she is just one person in a seemingly endless array of actors who walk in and out of scenes. I loved the film'special effects, they were actually fairly impressive for a film from the early 1940's. There is lots of music, lots of dancing, slapstick, drama and..well, you get the idea. The film whizzes along quickly, and its this pace that makes it never boring. As a matter of fact, blink your eyes and you'll miss something. Enjoy this, it really was a lot of fun.

This movie pops up regularly on TV or at revue cinemas and I'm always surprised at how many youngsters are familiar with it.

Olsen and Johnson never had the following of Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello but they were capable vaudeville comics who made a few movies, Hellzapoppin and Crazy House are the best remembered. Hellzapoppin is the a much sanitized film version of Nat Perrin's famous stage revue.

The jokes come fast and furious, some of them are very dated now and some were never very funny to begin with, but you don't have time to analyze, you're into the next before you know it. There are some familiar faces Misha Auer, who had a long career playing the same character (a Russian aristocrat with dubious credentials), the loud and brassy Martha Raye and the very funny Hugh Herbert with his "yoo-hoo's" and mumbled asides the audience. The special effects were innovative for their time.

As brief respites from the madness there are a number of variety acts, synchronized swimming, crazy diving, a few pleasant songs with the corny lyrics typical of the period and the fantastic dancing of the Harlem Congeroo Dancers which even today is greeted by gasps of amazement and applause.

Well you can't say the maker's of this movie weren't trying to entertain.

This movie was one of my childhood favorites. I had not seen this movie during the last 20 years. I attempted to contact the production studio and even the motion picture academy. The academy infomed me that there was a long-standing legal dispute about the writing credits. Because of the legal dispute the film has not been shown in the US (TV & Video) for over 20 years.

Good news, I was able to purchase a VHS tape from a video distributor in Ireland. The tape was in PAL format and not viewable in VCRs made in the US. I had the tape transferred to US format. Now I can enjoy this wonderful movie anytime I want.