Hellzapoppin the movie - pass the corn

I've been familiar with the 1941 movie "Hellzapoppin" for some time, not because I'd actually seen the movie, but because I'd seen the fast dance swing scene about 8 million times on YouTube.

Featuring the famous Frankie Manning and the rest of the Harlem Congaroo Dancers (aka Whitey's Lindy Hoppers), the Hellzapoppin fast dance routine is widely regarded to be the best example of authentic lindy hop ever recorded.

Hellzapoppin - the famous lindy hop scene

For that reason alone, the movie has acheived a huge cult status with lindyhoppers worldwide. It was a fellow dancer who loaned me a DVD of Hellzapoppin this week and told me I should check out the rest of the movie.

This is, without a doubt, one of the corniest movies I've ever seen. And also one of the strangest.

There is some semblance of a plot, but the plot is only really there to (very) loosely tie together a lot of sight gags and slapstick. The words 'zany' and 'wacky' spring to mind. The DVD case promised it would be "hysterical", but I'm not sure I'd go that far. It's funny, but it's more yuk yuk yuk than ha ha ha.

It's similar in feel to a Marx Bros movie, but without so much witty repartee. When we see a goldfish bowl sitting precariously on the edge of a second storey balcony we KNOW it's only a matter of time before it gets knocked off and humourously lands upside-down on someone's head.

The movie starts out with a truly bizarre opening sequence of what appears to be utter random gags and jokes taking place in 'hell' (yes there are guys with pointy tails and pitchforks), before the camera pans back to reveal what we've just seen is a movie being filmed on the set of 'Miracle Studios' (company slogan: "If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle!")

This kicks off the 'story within a story' framework that shapes the rest of the film, and sets up further gags like actors looking directly to camera and having a conversation with 'the projectionist' (which probably works better if you're watching the movie in a cinema and not at home on TV).

Hellzapoppin is really just a vehicle for comedy stars Ole Olson and Chic Johnson, a duo from vaudeville who also produced and starred in the original Broadway version:

"The original production was part musical comedy, part "blackout" revue, with wild sight gags, zany props, audience participation sequences, dirty jokes, and never-ending gunshots.

There was no plot, and in fact no two performances were exactly alike. When Hellzapoppin was optioned by Universal, the original intention was to film the play as it stood (minus the more ribald one-liners), but the studio got cold feet and grafted on a conventional plot and romantic interest." – The New York Times

Ole and Chic with Martha Raye - this picture pretty much sums up the style of the movie in a 'wacky costume, elbow to the ribs, waka waka waka' kind of way

The (more sanitised) movie version features a romantic love story: Rich Guy wants to marry Rich Girl, but Rich Girl wants to marry Poor Guy - an aspiring theatre director - but due to Poor Guy's morals he won't marry Rich Girl until he 'proves himself' by making a big hit on Broadway. So everything hinges on Poor Guy's new play being a big success. However, due to a 'wacky' misunderstanding, Ole and Chic think that Rich Girl is a two-timing harlot and they set out to sabotage the play to make it a flop, ensuring Poor Guy doesn't marry Rich Girl.

Comedy hijinks ensue...

The non-stop gags are, for the most part, pretty groan-worthy, and a lot of them I found familiar from watching Bugs Bunny cartoons. Somehow I find Bugs' delivery a lot funnier.

There is an entertaining sub-plot with the lovely Martha Raye, who was my favourite person in the film. She plays a less-than-glamourous girl who is trying to snare a man but of course all the men run a mile when they see her coming. She has a great singing number called 'Watch the Birdie' - she's got a fantastic voice - in which she even does a short dance with the famous swing dancer Dean Collins.


Martha Raye sings Watch the Birdie

All in all I can't say this film was fantastic, but it's a great example of the kind of wacky, nonsensical vaudeville humour that was popular at the time. I'll go out on a limb to say this is probably one of Fozzie Bear's favourite films. It's definitely worth a watch, but just be prepared for some pretty corny material and for a lot of things to just make no sense at all.