Cockeyed Cavaliers

"Cockeyed Cavaliers" is one of the best of the Wheeler and Woolsey comedy films. Set in medieval England, Bert and Bob are a couple of characters who are frequently in trouble with the law because of Bert's habit of "lifting" things. Some of the humor in this one is when odd and unusual things disappear right under people's noses, due to kleptomaniac, Bert Winstanley. For instance, a team of horses from in front of a carriage, then the carriage, etc. The musical aspects are okay, but don't add much to the comedy.

The boys are put in stocks in public where the public has a field day tossing vegetables at them. Later, they take over the identities of the king's physician and assistant, and make a call on The Duke of Weskit to cure his illness. Oh, yes, the females in the story are Thelma Todd as Lady Genevieve and Dorothy Lee as Mary Ann Dale. One of the best supporting actor butlers of the golden age of Hollywood is in this film - Robert Greig as The Duke. Some other familiar faces are Noah Beery, Billy Gilbert, and Franklin Pangborn.

The best of the humor here is in the situations and antics, although the dialog is peppered with one-liners, mostly by Woolsey. The latter was much funnier in its day than in modern times because of its delivery. Some actors - especially comedians, had carried a vaudeville habit of speaking to the audience into films. Woolsey isn't as obvious as Groucho Marx or Red Skelton, for instance, but one can still see it in his tongue-in-cheek one-liners that are usually accompanied by raised eyebrows or darting side-glances. Two great entertainers later made films in which one or both of them would speak to the audience directly. In the Road Show films and some others of the 1950s, Bing Crosby ad Bob Hope would step aside in a scene to make a comment to the audience, looking directly into the camera. It may have been a little extra funny to some back then, but it was a characteristic that I think hampered the appeal of such films for audiences in the future.

Anyway, this is a funny film with Bert and Bob looking even more hilarious when they don the fancy English costumers. Here are some favorite lines from this film.

Robert Waltravers (Bob Woolsey), "She's liable to have us beheaded." Bert Winstanley (Bert Wheeler), "Beheaded? Can she d that?" Bob, "Sure, she can be had." (sic)

Bert, "You know, the doctor says I'm a kleptomaniac." Bob, "Yeah, well why don't you take something for it?" Bert, "I've taken everything."

Bert, "Do you think we ought a send for a lawyer?" Bob, "Certainly not. We're in enough trouble as it is."

One of the funniest films ever made, Cockeyed Cavaliers is an absolute riot of side-splitting mayhem from its inventively sung-dialogue start to its wild boar wow of a finish. For once, Woolsey is not over-shadowed by his partner. In fact, here he is by far the dominant figure. Not only does he get to romance glorious Hot Toddy (of all people), but he's equally hilarious in song and dance. And the way he cleverly appropriates Garret and Spence's additional dialogue to make it seem like an inspired series of ad libs (maybe it actually is) made me roll in the aisle. Oddly, whilst he shares many wonderful slapstick routines with Wheeler, the main stooge for his verbal jousts is Noah Beery, who enjoys the grandest time of his life as a buffoonish heavy. I never dreamed that Noah Beery (who spent most of his career playing the sort of roles brother Wallace rejected) had the makings of a such a splendid clown. The rest of the players led by the vibrant pocket Venus, Dorothy Lee, and rounded out by Robert Greig doing full justice to his dyspeptic duke, are a credit to RKO's unsung genius of a casting director. And as for the work of Mark Sandrich, take your choice of superb, sensitive, skillful and smooth. Other credits (special bows for the photographer and editor) are equally adept, while production values rate as literally out of this world.

Wheeler and Woolsey find themselves in the era of kings and castles, but that won't stop them. Wheeler can't help but steal everything he sees from jewelry to horses to carriages. It's a disease, after all, and the trance-like state that carries him away causes giggles among viewers. The two men impersonate two noble men including a doctor and go to the Baron (Noah Beery) to diagnose him. The Baron is gone for the time being, but the beautiful Lady Genevieve (Thelma Todd) is home. Marital bliss-- hooey! You'd find yourself calling "Yoo-hoo" too.

The beginning of the film is perhaps the funniest, which can feel a bit disappointing by the end, but really, there are great moments throughout. The music provides a great many laughs, and even though the transition into song is a bit awkward, the use of musical numbers illustrates the absurdity of the film. It is pure fun and nothing else. Fans of early comedy will delight. Now why aren't Wheeler and Woolsey better known?

Similar to Laurel and Hardy, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a (lesser known) comedy team of the 1930's. "Cockeyed Cavaliers" is the only one of their movies I've ever seen. It's a lively, fun little movie, full of obviously deliberate anachronisms featuring Wheeler and Woolsey as a couple of ne'er do wells in 17th century (?) England, who get mistaken for the King's physicians.

The movie has an imaginative musical opening, and several musical numbers scattered throughout (The Big, Bad Wolf was great fun.) Wheeler and Woolsey get to join in the song and dance routines, and they even find romance along the way. There are also a fair number of laughs around Woolsey's character being a kleptomaniac who steals - literally - anything and everything, up to and including horses and carriages. It's a little difficult to accept that Dorothy Lee (who played Woolsey's love interest) could have been mistaken for a boy - but I guess that's just part of the movie's quirky charm.

I'm just not much of a fan of the comedy teams of this era unfortunately. (No - not even Laurel & Hardy.) But, still, this is an enjoyable enough movie to pass some time with. Fans of the genre if this era would rate this much higher than I do. (6/10)

A Duke's fleeing fiancée & a brutal Baron's wayward wife find unexpected help from two COCKEYED CAVALIERS.

This was the most lavish film to star the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey (Bert Wheeler is the short fellow with the curly hair; Robert Woolsey is the skinny guy with the cigar) and it is a funny, frantic farce from start to finish. With a plot full of mistaken identities, distressed damsels, ferocious boars & goofy chases, Director Mark Sandrich never allows the pace to slow down for long.

Pert Dorothy Lee & beautiful, doomed Thelma Todd more than hold their own with the Boys and their antics. Robert Greig, as the Duke, is the perfect picture of a very obese sensualist. Noah Beery, as the Baron, is wonderful, as usual, as a beefy bully.

Movie mavens will spot Franklin Pangborn as a harmonious town crier and Billy Gilbert as a jolly innkeeper, both unbilled.

The Boys introduce the boisterous tavern song 'And The Big Bad Wolf Was Dead' - during which Beery gets to unleash his impressive basso profundo. Miss Lee & Hot Toddy join the Boys in trilling 'Dilly Dally.'