Hips, Hips, Hooray! is a 1934 American pre-Code slapstick comedy starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Ruth Etting, Thelma Todd and Dorothy Lee. During its initial theatrical run, it was preceded by the two-color Technicolor short Not Tonight, Josephine, directed by Edward F. Cline.
Wheeler & Woolsey were an American vaudeville comedy double act who performed together in comedy films from the late 1920s. The team comprised Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) of New Jersey and Robert Woolsey (1888–1938) of Illinois.
Albert Jerome Wheeler was an American comedian who performed in Broadway theatre, American comedy feature films, and vaudeville acts. He was teamed with Broadway comic Robert Woolsey, and they went on to fame as Wheeler & Woolsey.
Dixiana (1930) is a lavish American pre-Code comedy, musical film directed by Luther Reed and produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The final twenty minutes of the picture were photographed in Technicolor. The film stars Bebe Daniels, Everett Marshall, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Joseph Cawthorn, Jobyna Howland, Ralf Harolde, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Dorothy Lee. The script was adapted by Luther Reed from a story by Anne Caldwell.
Rio Rita is a 1929 American pre-Code RKO musical comedy starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles along with the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey. The film is based on the 1927 stage musical produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, which originally united Wheeler and Woolsey as a team and made them famous. The film was the biggest and most expensive RKO production of 1929 as well as the studio's biggest box office hit until King Kong (1933). Its finale was photographed in two-color Technicolor. Rio Rita was chosen as one of the 10 best films of 1929 by Film Daily.
Hook, Line and Sinker is a 1930 American pre-Code slapstick comedy directed by Edward F. Cline from a screenplay by Ralph Spence and Tim Whelan. It was the third starring vehicle for the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey, and also featured Dorothy Lee. It would be one of the largest financial successes for RKO Pictures in 1930.
Marjorie White was a Canadian-born actress of stage and film.
The Stolen Jools is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy short produced by the Masquers Club of Hollywood, featuring many cameo appearances by film stars of the day. The stars appeared in the film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, to raise funds for the National Vaudeville Artists Tuberculosis Sanitarium. The UCLA Film and Television Archive entry for this film says—as do the credits—that the film was co-sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes to support the "fine work" of the NVA sanitarium.
Cracked Nuts is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline, from an original screenplay written by Al Boasberg and Ralph Spence. The film stars the comedy duo Wheeler & Woolsey as well as Dorothy Lee. It also features Boris Karloff in a small supporting role. The film was one of RKO's only financial successes of the year, with a profit of just over $150,000.
Phyllis Barry was an English film actress. Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Seth Henry and Bertha Hillyard, Barry appeared in over 40 films between 1925 and 1947.
Girl Crazy is a 1932 American pre-Code musical film adaptation of the 1930 stage play of the same name. The film was very unlike the stage play except for its score. It was tailored for the comic talents of Wheeler & Woolsey, a popular comedy team of the time. Three songs written by George and Ira Gershwin for the play were retained: "Bidin' My Time", "I Got Rhythm", and "But Not for Me". According to RKO records, the film lost $150,000. Lon Chaney Jr. appears in the film (uncredited) as a dancer in the chorus.
The Cuckoos is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical comedy film released by RKO Radio Pictures and partially filmed in two-strip Technicolor. Directed by Paul Sloane, the screenplay was adapted by Cyrus Wood from the 1926 Broadway musical The Ramblers by Guy Bolton, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. The film stars Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, and while they had appeared on Broadway and in other films together, this was their first time starring as a team. The success of this picture, combined with Rio Rita being their most successful film of 1929, convinced the studio to headline them as the comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey, through 1937.
High Flyers is a 1937 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Cline and starring the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey in their final film together. Robert Woolsey died less than a year after the film was released. The supporting cast includes Lupe Vélez, Margaret Dumont, Marjorie Lord, Paul Harvey and Jack Carson. The film was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures.
Everything's Rosie is a 1931 American Pre-Code slapstick comedy film directed by Clyde Bruckman, from a screenplay by Ralph Spence, Tim Whelan, and Al Boasberg, based on a story by Boasberg. Although the screenplay was credited as original, it bore a striking resemblance to a 1923 play, Poppy, which had starred W. C. Fields.
Caught Plastered is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film, released by RKO Radio Pictures and starring the comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey.
On Again-Off Again is a 1937 American musical comedy film released by RKO Radio Pictures and starring the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey.
Peach-O-Reno is a 1931 pre-Production Code comedy film starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, and Zelma O'Neal. It was released on Christmas Day of 1931. The title is a pun on "peacherino," then-popular slang for something more desirable or intense than just a simple peach, itself a complimentary term.
Hold 'Em Jail is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film starring Wheeler and Woolsey. They play a couple of boobs who are wrongfully convicted for firearm possession and sent to prison, where they somehow end up playing on the warden's football team.
Cockeyed Cavaliers is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy film starring the comedy duo of Wheeler & Woolsey. Directed by Mark Sandrich from a screenplay by Edward Kaufman, Grant Garrett, Ralph Spence and Ben Holmes. Also featured in the cast were Dorothy Lee and Thelma Todd.
Silly Billies is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Fred Guiol from a screenplay by Al Boasberg and Jack Townley, based on a story by Guiol and Thomas Lennon. The film was the twentieth feature for the comedy duo of Wheeler and Woolsey, and also stars Dorothy Lee, who had been in a number of their films. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures on March 20, 1936.
