Hook, Line and Sinker (1930)

Nice effects though.

I'll tell you why so serious

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Director: EDWARD CLINE. Screenplay: Tim Whelan, Ralph Spence. Story: Tim Whelan. Additional dialogue: Bobby Clark, Robert Woolsey, Myles Connolly. Photography: Nick Musuraca. Film editor: Archie Marshek. Art director and costumes for Misses Lee, Howland and Moorhead: Max Rée. Music director: Max Steiner. Assistant director: Fred Fleck. Sound recording: Hugh McDowell. RCA Sound System. Associate producer: Myles Connolly. Producer: William LeBaron. Copyright 15 December 1930 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Mayfair: 24 December 1930. U.S. release: 26 December 1930. 75 minutes. SYNOPSIS: With an eye to the carriage trade, two sharpies re-open a rundown resort hotel in Florida. COMMENT: Although hampered both by director Eddie Cline's rather static early talkies' technique and a rather unevenly paced script with gags flying thick and fast being suddenly replaced by ho-hum turns of the straight and narrow plot, this is still a highly watchable Wheeler and Woolsey. The biggest disappointment is the complete absence of musical numbers (aside from the welcome intrusion of an orchestral dance band). On the other hand, the comic capers are splendidly re-inforced by Hugh Herbert and George F. Marion (of all people!), with a nice assist from both Jobyna Howland and Natalie Moorhead when they finally get into stride. A minor problem is the complete absence of background music which often gives the effect that the comedians are playing in an echo chamber. Production values are top-drawer. Rée's vast hotel set is a wonder to behold. AVAILABLE on DVD through Alpha. Quality rating: Nine out of ten.

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).

You better be careful if you're ever around anybody like Robert Woolsey. Everything you say can be the set-up for a wisecrack. "I'm not as big a fool as I used to be", George F. Marion says. "Why? Have you been dieting?", Woolsey replies. I could spend my entire review quoting this script of burlesque jokes older than Methuselah, but you're simply better off just watching the film and discovering each delightfully sardonic retort he gives, whether it be partner Bert Wheeler, matronly Jobyna Howland or elderly bellman Marion.The basic story is a rip-off of the Marxx Brothers' "The Cocoanuts", a 1929 musical farce about a jewelry heist at a posh hotel. Here, Wheeler and Woolsey volunteer to assist pretty Dorothy Lee in running the run-down hotel she has inherited, and in the process, become involved with a gang of thieves who have been utilizing the hotel's basement as a warehouse for their stash. While it is easy to criticize the film on its unrealistic treatment of human relationships (the initial Wheeler/Lee exchange is quite awkward), once you get past those quibbles and bits, you can find a lot to amuse yourself with here. The exchange between Woolsey and Howland is pure Groucho Marxx/Margaret Dumont, and it is hysterical to see the Amazonian Howland dancing with Woolsey standing on her feet to guide him around the room. Natalie Moorehead plays basically the same character that Kay Francis played in "The Cocoanuts" with a rather uncanny resemblance to "Bullwinkle's" Natasha (with a platinum dye job). The shoot-out at the finale is also very funny. While this may be one of Wheeler and Woolsey's weaker films (it definitely creaks as loudly as the hotel stairs), it has many amusing moments. This is one time where you just throw the plot out and go for the gags.

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.