Hips, Hips, Hooray!

. . . the dudes who dream of racing across America in their Maiden Form balloons. Rather than investing in silicone, these gents go high with helium. Andy and Bob prove to be masters at multitasking, using the auto competition as an opportunity to fast-track tadpoles into harvest-ripe frogs (whose legs taste like chicken, of course). Most film buffs still lament the fact that the planned sequel to HIPS, HIPS, HOORAY! (that is, BUSTING OUT OVER COLUMBUS), in which the boys dream that they set down their hot air balloon on the fifty amidst the Michigan at Ohio State halftime show wearing nothing but their Maiden Forms, was killed by the advent of more stringent American movie censorship codes.

Con artists Dr. Dudley and his naive partner Andy Williams decide to team up w/ the Frisby cosmetic company to save that company with the Dr.'s invention of flavored lipsticks. The boys get in trouble when they mistake a satchel of securities for their supply of lipsticks and are hunted down by a pair of detectives, while Ms. Frisby's manager is planning to ruin the boys by turning over the securities as well as Ms. Frisby by sabotaging her entry in the transcontinental race. The film has its moments but it is just the same plot devices in all of the other Wheeler & Woolsey films. Wheeler falls for Dorothy Lee, Woolsey for the woman he thinks has money. The opening scene of the musical number featuring many unclad bathing beauties probably marks this film from other W&W films. Funniest scene for me is the pool game w/ the two detectives, barely ahead of an overzealous girl wanting to test her lipstick. Rating, 4.

Being a fan of comedians such as Laurel and Hardy, Marx Brothers, and various other comics from that era...I watched this film wanting to give Wheeler and Woolsey a chance to prove to me they belong among the aforementioned. I found their style of humor very dull, the jokes were lame and the accompanied antics similar to that seen from a hyperactive pre-teen. The storyline was somewhat inventive, and would have worked much better with a more talented duo. The sole reason to watch this film would be to see Thelma Todd, and Dorothy Lee. Perhaps I need to watch a couple more Wheeler and Woolsey films before I cast them aside, but I can almost bet the other offerings would be simply more of the same.

This Wheeler&Woolsey film finds the guys selling flavored lipsticks on the street corner to make a buck. People did that sort of stuff in the Depression. They get noticed, first by cops but then by Thelma Todd and one of her salesgirls Dorothy Lee. As usual Lee pairs with Bert while Thelma Todd does some of her best vamping with Bob. George Meeker works for Todd, but is secretly working for a rival to sabotage her store. When the boys lift some valuable securities accidentally he finds them and sics the cops on them. The finale is a kind of Grand Prix marathon and Bert and Bob are quite inventive in their methods of overcoming obstacles. Ruth Etting makes a guest appearance with one song in the beginning, always a treat. The race and a sequence where they play a on by stealing an office on the fly is similar to what was done in The Sting. Maybe George Roy Hill got the idea from seeing this. Good fun from W&W.