Cracked Nuts

1931's "Cracked Nuts" (shooting title "Assorted Nuts") was the 6th (out of 21) feature comedy from the extremely popular team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, first paired in the stage and screen versions of "Rio Rita" in 1929 serving up the prototype for the films of Abbott and Costello. The duo should perhaps be considered a trio since adorable Dorothy Lee was Wheeler's regular dancing/singing partner in 13 of their vehicles, 6 for 6 with her appearance here as Betty Harrington, Edna May Oliver typically cast as her disapproving Aunt Minnie, sending Bert's Wendell Graham away from the Venus De Milo Arms Hotel to seek fame to go with his fortune in the far off land of (fictitious) El Dorania. This is the point where Boris Karloff enters at the 8 minute mark, conveniently named Boris, an anarchist required to lure in suckers to finance various revolutions on behalf of corrupt General Bogardus (Stanley Fields). As it happens, the new monarch of El Dorania is Zander Ulysses Parkhurst (Woolsey), an old friend of Wendell's, who won his position in a crap game, only meeting each other by the midway mark. Wendell has to earn his keep by assassinating his pal, but in his reluctance to do so a bomber pilot is hired to do the job, played by Mack Sennett veteran Ben Turpin minus his familiar mustache, in a rare talkie appearance. RKO obviously had plans to split up W&W in an attempt to double their profits, and while they spend the first half working apart, both would earn a solo vehicle in due course, Wheeler's "Too Many Cooks" (with Dorothy Lee) doing as poorly as Woolsey's "Everything's Rosie," after which they remained a team until Robert Woolsey's death in 1938. Boris Karloff had only just completed Howard Hawks' "The Criminal Code" when he started work on this comedy, 5 minutes screen time essentially playing it straight without going for laughs, a decent showing with his star on the rise. Bert and Bob enjoy a few good moments, especially a bit featuring the towns of What and Which ("that's the town where General Diddy died" "Diddy?" "yes he did!"), and they even refer to the pilot as 'Cross Eyed Ben' for the benefit of audience members who may not recall Turpin, who actually took out an insurance policy with Lloyds of London against his eyes uncrossing!

Wheeler and Woolsey made this romp about revolutions, assassinations, and romantic shenanigans, with a supporting cast including Dorothy Lee (who doesn't have much to do), Edna May Oliver (funny in fits and starts but not on screen enough), Boris Karloff (unmemorable), and Ben Turpin (cross-eyed as ever).

There are some cute and funny bits - the opening sequence with Wheeler and the elevator; the 'What' and 'Which' sequence with the map; the flying bombs; the aunt and the shower; and so on.

The one musical number for Wheeler and Lee is awful, nowhere near their usual standard, and actually becomes tedious and irritating very quickly.

'Cracked Nuts' is mildly diverting but not particularly good as a whole; it is one of the team's weaker efforts. Although W&W are always good value and entertaining, their co-stars have a poor script to work with and not much of a plot.

Wheeler and Woolsey were a first-rate comic team, now forgotten by most, who churned out a great number of money-making comedies for RKO in a brief period from 1930-1937. Until Fred and Ginger came along, they were the top earners for the studio. Sadly, they were often saddled (as they are here) with second-rate material. In this one, they don't get together until almost half an hour into the story, and even when they do, the jokes are pretty bad. They are surrounded with a top cast of players who would go on to better things-Boris Karloff and Edna Mae Oliver, as well as excellent comic support from Stanley Fields as the heavy and Leni Stengel as the vamp. Bert Wheeler's partner here, as she was to be in many of their films to come is the adorable ingenue Dorothy Lee, who doesn't get much to do. The only song she and Wheeler do is badly staged. There are some excellent Ruritanian sets by the studio's art director Max Rée, and a few spirited marches by Max Steiner in his pre-Warner Bros. days. Most of the fault beyond the script belongs to one of the Keystone Cops, Eddie Klein, who directed with a heavy hand. W&W would get better direction and better scripts in the years to come.

Getting there first, exploring grounds that the Marx Brothers covered so thoroughly in Duck Soup are the RKO team of Wheeler&Woolsey who get themselves mixed up in the politics of some backwater country in South America in Cracked Nuts. Bob Woolsey wins the throne of El Dorania in a crap game and spends the rest of the film trying to avoid assassination plots cooked up by disgruntled general Stanley Fields.

Woolsey's partner Bert Wheeler has his own problems in the romance area. He's in love with Dorothy Lee, but he's got to deal with her formidable aunt, Edna May Oliver. Wheeler is the schnook of the team, playing parts that Eddie Cantor and later Danny Kaye would do with far more acclaim.

Cracked Nuts might not be all its cracked up to be. I'd certainly rate Duck Soup over it. Yet it does have its moments, particularly the last attempt at Woolsey's life by Ben Turpin, dropping bombs during a ceremony.

It's a film that can stand on its own merits. But I wish Edna May Oliver had more screen time. She's a favorite of mine and I've never been disappointed with her in any performance. She's reason enough to see Cracked Nuts.

Cracked Nuts (1931)

* (out of 4)

This was my second Wheeler and Woosley flick and it'll probably be my last for a while. This film has pretty much been forgotten except it does feature Boris Karloff is one of his non-monster 1931 roles. In the film, Woosley wins the throne of a small country in a dice game but gives it to Wheeler who wants it to impress the aunt of his girlfriend. I somewhat enjoyed the duo's Mummy's Boys but this film here was just dreadful. There were a few funny lines but the rest of the film was rather hard to get through. Karloff is wasted as is Dorothy Lee. One interesting aspect is Lee who does some voice effects, which would later be used by Curly of The Three Stooges.