Hold 'Em Jail

The humour of Wheeler and Woolsey takes some getting used to. As a comedy team, they are like the proverbial marmite: you either love them or loathe them. I'm split between the two. "Hold 'Em Jail" has a few mildly amusing moments and it's good to see comic Edgar Kennedy. He plays the decidedly cantankerous prison warden, which makes him a sympathetic character when you think about it. Wheeler and Woolsey are sentenced to his prison, where they undermine Kennedy's authority, cause general chaos and somehow are made trustees. I'm glad the film is brief. 60 to 75 minutes goes a long way with this particular comedy team! The climactic football scene is quite a lively affair, featuring some impressive stuntwork. From the same year, "Horse Feathers" with the Marx Brothers also featured a football sequence for their climax. It is far superior to that of "Hold 'Em Jail." Another plus for the film, is the absence of any musical interludes.

In the 1930s, football comedies were pretty common. The Marx Brothers made their brilliant "Horsefeathers" and the Three Stooges and Joe E. Brown also took a stab at the genre--not to mention all the cartoons about the subject. So it's not at all surprising that Wheeler & Woolsey would make a football film...though the locale for this game is pretty unique!! This film is about a football game...in prison! So is it any good? Well, for Wheeler & Woolsey it is.

So how do Wheeler & Woolsey end up in jail anyway? Well, they have some fake guns that look very realistic...and a crook switches them with the real thing. The boys are naturally arrested and end up in prison-- where the warden (Edgar Kennedy) and his family (Edna May Oliver and Betty Grable) are on hand for laughs. The film is VERY unusual because there are no song and dance numbers and the big football game at the end is about as stupid and nonsensical as most football games in 1930s comedies! None of it is brilliant or will make you prefer it to "Horsefeathers" but it is harmless and entertaining.

This film really displays the differences in style between Wheeler and Woolsey and Laurel and Hardy. In "Pardon Us", Stan and Oliver are sent to prison, and in every situation where they try to be helpful, they end up with the short end of the stick. When Bert and Bob are sent to prison, they end up running the place after a short time. Wheeler and Woolsey certainly did not possess Stan Laurel's comic genius, but they are optimistic and make us feel that the underdog can triumph. We do not sympathize with Bert and Bob the way we do with Stan and Oliver. Bert and Bob are too arrogant and too aggressive for our sympathy, but we do get a special delight in seeing them triumph.

Edgar Kennedy is very funny as the warden and teen-age Betty Grable is as cute as can be as the warden's daughter. The football sequence is not as funny as the Marx Brothers' "Horse Feathers", but it is amusing. Edna May Oliver and Roscoe Ates add their brands of insanity to the mixture. I only wish there were some musical numbers to spotlight the abilities of Bert, Bob, and Betty Grable. For low comedy fans, this film is certainly worth viewing.

Hold 'Em Jail (1932)

*** (out of 4)

Curley (Bert Wheeler) and Spider (Robert Woolsey) are framed for a crime and thrown into prison where they are constantly annoying the warden (Edgar Kennedy). The warden eventually needs to two on their football team as the prison goes up against a rival.

HOLD 'EM JAIL isn't going to make you fall in love with Wheeler & Woolsey if you're not already a fan but if you do enjoy their films then you'll probably enjoy this because there are some nice laughs along the way. At just 66 minutes the film is quite fast-paced and it's rather fun seeing them spoof not only the prison sub-genre but also the football one. Football and prison played a big part in films from this era so obviously RKO was wanting to take their duo and smash both of them.

There are several funny scenes scattered throughout the film but one of the highlights has to be the football game where chloroform is used to give the team an advantage. Another funny moment happens early on when Wheeler and Woolsey are framed and not realizing that they are using real guns on their robbery prank. Both Wheeler and Woolsey are at the top of their game and really help sell the laughs. The supporting cast includes a good turn by Kennedy as the warden as well as Edna May Oliver, Roscoe Ates and Robert Armstrong.

In this Wheeler & Woolsey comedy from RKO and director Norman Taurog, the duo play novelty salesmen who get sent to prison just in time to participate in the big inter-prison football match. But before game day arrives, they cause all sorts of mayhem, especially for the harried warden (Edgar Kennedy). Also featuring Edna May Oliver, Betty Grable, Robert Armstrong, Paul Hurst, Roscoe Ates, Warren Hymer, G. Pat Collins, Jed Prouty, Spencer Charters, Jim Thorpe, and Ward Bond.

There are a few cute moments in this, but not enough. I enjoyed Hymer's role as a dim-witted convict always trying and failing to escape. Oliver is always good, but seeing Grable as a pseudo love interest for Wheeler was a tad uncomfortable, seeing as he was 37 and she was 15 at the time. The title was apparently a play on "Hold 'Em, Yale", a well-known college football chant. I guess I at least learned something new.