Cracked Nuts

Getting there first, exploring grounds that the Marx Brothers covered so thoroughly in Duck Soup are the RKO team of Wheeler&Woolsey who get themselves mixed up in the politics of some backwater country in South America in Cracked Nuts. Bob Woolsey wins the throne of El Dorania in a crap game and spends the rest of the film trying to avoid assassination plots cooked up by disgruntled general Stanley Fields.

Woolsey's partner Bert Wheeler has his own problems in the romance area. He's in love with Dorothy Lee, but he's got to deal with her formidable aunt, Edna May Oliver. Wheeler is the schnook of the team, playing parts that Eddie Cantor and later Danny Kaye would do with far more acclaim.

Cracked Nuts might not be all its cracked up to be. I'd certainly rate Duck Soup over it. Yet it does have its moments, particularly the last attempt at Woolsey's life by Ben Turpin, dropping bombs during a ceremony.

It's a film that can stand on its own merits. But I wish Edna May Oliver had more screen time. She's a favorite of mine and I've never been disappointed with her in any performance. She's reason enough to see Cracked Nuts.

Wheeler and Woolsey made this romp about revolutions, assassinations, and romantic shenanigans, with a supporting cast including Dorothy Lee (who doesn't have much to do), Edna May Oliver (funny in fits and starts but not on screen enough), Boris Karloff (unmemorable), and Ben Turpin (cross-eyed as ever).

There are some cute and funny bits - the opening sequence with Wheeler and the elevator; the 'What' and 'Which' sequence with the map; the flying bombs; the aunt and the shower; and so on.

The one musical number for Wheeler and Lee is awful, nowhere near their usual standard, and actually becomes tedious and irritating very quickly.

'Cracked Nuts' is mildly diverting but not particularly good as a whole; it is one of the team's weaker efforts. Although W&W are always good value and entertaining, their co-stars have a poor script to work with and not much of a plot.

Mild-mannered millionaire Bert Wheeler sails for the fictional kingdom of El Dorania. On the ship over, he romances fellow American traveler Dorothy Lee, and while Lee reciprocates, her aunt Edna May Oliver most decidedly does not approve. Wheeler hopes to find a way to win the aunt's approval.

Meanwhile, fast talking con man Robert Woolsey unexpectedly finds himself crowned king of El Dorania. When Wheeler and company arrive in port, the plot thickens:

Wheeler is approached by some revolutionaries who would like to make him king; Woolsey discovers that the average life span of a king in these parts is very short; and Wheeler and Woolsey bump into each other down on the docks and it turns out that they are old buddies from back in the States.

The plot is kind of wild and of course completely fantastic. The romantic subplot between Wheeler and Dorothy Lee is silly but cute. The cast includes Boris Karloff as a henchman named Boris.

The best bits are a couple of extended scenes in which Wheeler and Woolsey engage in the sort of rapid-fire pun-filled banter that they clearly perfected back in their vaudeville days. The jokes are not that fresh, even for 1931, but the delivery is perfect.

Lots of fun even if it leaves you wondering what you just saw.

Cracked Nuts is a Wheeler and Woolsey vaudeville-type comedy made during the downward spiral of the depression. The patter, jokes, and non-stop puns come out quickly, with pauses for audience laughter (in the first half of the film). The jokes start right from the beginning, even during the opening credits. Look for Boris Karloff, who had already made 60 movies by 1931. Director Ed Cline had been directing comedies since 1916, so he certainly knew his business. He had also directed most of the W C Fields movies, which explains the great comedic timing. Character actress Edna May Oliver is Aunt Minnie, who always played the disapproving, prim & proper matriarch in Tale of Two Cities, Little Women, and tons of other movies. Beautiful Dorothy Lee, with her big expressive eyes, plays Betty Harrington, and had already made several movies with Wheeler & Woolsey, so she knew their timing. German actress Leni Stengel plays Carlotta. Fun, if a little dated, (note the blocks of ice being delivered at the start of the movie) it has the feel of an Abbott & Costello film. Although the plot and jokes are the stars here, unlike in an A & C movie, where it was more about the stars. It was made prior to the Hays Code, and except for a gay reference at about 23 minutes in, it is not at all sexual or naughty, although there are opportunities, since the king wears a kilt... This 1931 version does not seem to be related to the 1941 film of same name, which was also directed by Ed Cline. For an even funnier Wheeler and Woolsey film, watch Peach O Reno...

Cracked Nuts (1931)

* (out of 4)

This was my second Wheeler and Woosley flick and it'll probably be my last for a while. This film has pretty much been forgotten except it does feature Boris Karloff is one of his non-monster 1931 roles. In the film, Woosley wins the throne of a small country in a dice game but gives it to Wheeler who wants it to impress the aunt of his girlfriend. I somewhat enjoyed the duo's Mummy's Boys but this film here was just dreadful. There were a few funny lines but the rest of the film was rather hard to get through. Karloff is wasted as is Dorothy Lee. One interesting aspect is Lee who does some voice effects, which would later be used by Curly of The Three Stooges.