Crazy House

This is the third Olsen & Johnson vehicle I have watched; in a way, it is a direct follow-up to their most notable outing i.e. HELLZAPOPPIN' (1941) since the latter is mentioned a number of times throughout. Like that film, this one has only a wisp of plot: turned down by Universal after their zany antics in the earlier title, the duo here try to finance their own movie – helped by producer wannabe Patric Knowles and Percy (Pa Kettle) Kilbride as a man suffering from delusions of being a millionaire! The rest is taken up by typically surreal gags (funny while they are on but not exactly memorable, except for the opening which sees the entire studio personnel bolting at the comics' arrival at the studio gates…including Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in character as Holmes and Watson, then appearing in a series of films for Universal!) and numerous specialty – and boring – musical numbers (the most irritating of which being that of Cass Daley who not only shouts her lyrics but even plays dual roles!). In pure Hollywood terms, Knowles discovers – and falls for – a female singing 'sensation'; also, when the film is finally completed and the backers see no remuneration coming their way, they decide to sabotage the premiere…only that, when most of the reels go 'missing', Olsen & Johnson have the brilliant idea of enacting the situations live (since most of it is revue-style material anyway)! For the record, director Cline was a comedy expert and, while producer Erle C. Kenton directing films in this genre himself, is perhaps best-known for his horror output at Universal itself and other studios.

When the news spreads around Universal Studios that Olsen and Johnson are back, panic breaks out and everybody runs away as fast as they can - because they can still remember the making of "Hellzapoppin'" (and who of us doesn't remember "Hellzapoppin'"? If there was such a thing as an award for 'the looniest picture', it would CERTAINLY go to this one!)... So, when they're thrown right over the studio walls out on the street, Ole and Chic just try to look for an 'angel' to finance the movie they're planning to make, and a director and cast of course! And as the title clearly suggests to us, "Crazy House" will be very little less loony than "Hellzapoppin'"...

Only this time, there's more emphasis put on the many music numbers, some of which are really wonderful (especially the exotic 'Tropicana') - and besides the musical entertainment and the - as always - hilarious humor of the crazy duo, we can spot a lot of Universal regulars in cameo appearances, from Franklin Pangborn (distressed-looking as ever) to Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson!

Of course, the movie's filled to the brim with surprises and jokes - nothing highbrow or ambitious, just REAL good, plain entertainment to make us laugh and forget all our problems for just a while... And that wasn't only VITAL back in 1943 during the War, but it's still a GREAT thing today - and always will be!

A strange concoction. Some of the Olsen and Johnson visual routines are incredible and some are painfully corny (and I like corny routines). Their standup routine in a nightclub is really bad. The sight gags seem to be inspired by animated cartoons as the two pull out all sorts of weird items at a moments notice. The hotel scene is a standout example.

There are way too many standard 1940's musical numbers for my taste. But the other acts were sometimes entertaining. The harp and violin hobos were funny.

This was shown on the TRIO network as part of Quentin Tarantino's favorite movie month. I think he likes it because of the "shocking" ending, that's it. I wouldn't suggest go out of your way to see it although.

The frantic and anarchic style of Olsen And Johnson was never put to better use than in Crazy House. The boys have Universal Pictures in a state of siege at the thought of their returning to the lot after the success of Hellzapoppin'. Great success, but no one wants to work with them again. A whole lot of familiar faces show up to tell them just that.

When they do get to see producer Thomas Gomez he dismisses them, but aspiring director Patric Knowles sticks up for them. So Ole, Chic, and Pat decide to make their own film and when name stars refuse them, they hire unknowns like carhop Martha O'Driscoll as a singer.

The big problem is when they mistake Percy Kilbride for a wealthy backer. Percy is a refugee from a rubber room who only thinks he has great wealth. So when the creditors don't get paid, they hatch a plot to steal Olsen and Johnson's labor of love and laughs.

Just about everyone who was working on the Universal lot with the exception of Abbott&Costello and Deanna Durbin got into Crazy House even for only a walk on. And I did love the fact that a whole slew of second banana comics got a bit in this film and that would include Billy Gilbert, Shemp Howard, and Edgar Kennedy as a sorely tried judge. And Cass Daley gets a dual role as Cass Daley and her lookalike cousin Sadie whom the boys sign for the film.

Add Allan Jones singing The Donkey Serenade and you have a great comic film. Jones does this as part of a stall during the premiere of their masterpiece. Why they are stalling is for you to see. And still more musical guest stars that I can't name all of them. In fact this is the only all star extravaganza that was filmed from 1941-45 without a single reference to the war.

Ole and Chic were not really at their best on screen. Like Al Jolson you had to see them live to get the full effect of their zany comedy. Rowan&Martin were the closest to them with their anarchic Laugh-In show. Still Crazy House and Hellzapoppin' are the best examples of their work.

I recently saw this film with Quentin Tarantino's introduction to this film on video tape from Trio. Quentin goes on about how Mel Brooks lifted a good chunk of the premise of this movie for Silent Movie. While the basic idea is the same, down on their luck film makers try to sign big stars for their up coming film, the results are decidedly different. Brooks played it pretty much as a straight film, while Olsen and Johnson used it as an excuse to do silly things with famous people. I prefer the pure insanity of Olsen and Johnson's take.

This is one of the best films that Olsen and Johnson ever made, even if it has one really big problem (which I'll get to in a minute). This is pure Olsen and Johnson insanity. Its a film where anything can happen, usually the silliest of all possible options. Its wild and wacky with Olsen and Johnson acting as steam rollers over Hollywood and the studio system. When the comedy is happening its a rapid fire collection of jokes and gags that never seem to stop.

Or rather stop a bit too often. The one really big problem I was talking about is that the comedy and the madness stops every couple of minutes for a musical interlude. These interludes pretty much stop the movie dead since any of the momentum thats been built up comes crashing to a halt. Most of the numbers are played straight so its a radical shift in tone that really annoyed the heck out of me. (Actually the numbers aren't bad they just belong in a different film) I know that the numbers are the result of this being one of those "studio" films where everyone in the studio appears partly as part of the story, but also as an advertisement for themselves and what ever movie they are currently promoting. (Hollywood turned these out every now and again often to mixed results)

Music aside I really like this movie. If you want to see Olsen and Johnson in great form this is a good choice to make.