Half Shot at Sunrise

Wheeler and Woolsey play two service men during the First World War and go AWOL in Paris changing identities as they go to avoid being captured. How good they are at not being caught is best summed up early in the film when the steal their image off a photograph. Its lunacy from an earlier era and at times its quite funny. The duo made numerous film through the mid 1930's stopping only when Woolsey died of kidney failure.

This is a film thats not quite on par with the duos later films. Thats not to say its not funny, it is; its just that films were still feeling their way around sound and so the cameras often had limited motion and set ups which make them feel stiff. If you can get past that feeling and want to see an under appreciated comedy duo then rent this or any of the other Wheeler and Woolsey films.

Always say "Dorothy Lee" in the same breath as "Wheeler and Woolsey". Here our favorite pert, loose-limbed ingénue has a grand time singing and dancing and trading quips with the two comedians who are on the loose in Paris in 1918. The script by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Ralph ("Five Dollars-A-Word") Spence, James Ashmore Creelman (who will always be remembered for King Kong) and the famous Broadway librettist Anne Caldwell represents a deliciously zany parade of visual and verbal nonsense which the performers endeavor to keep moving at an admirably fast pace despite the well-meaning efforts of stodgy director Paul Sloane to slow it down. A special pat on the back (if "back" is the right word) for Leni Stengel who makes quite an impression in a whole crowd of lovely Parisians. Production values are remarkably extensive. RKO were obviously expecting to clean up on this one.

A few years before Radio Pictures became RKO and started making big money with Fred and Ginger and King Kong, the studio churned out a series of outrageous Wheeler and Woolsey comedies, none sillier than this one made in 1930. The jokes come fast and furious, most terrible, but every once in awhile a good one lands. The delightful Dorothy Lee (who was to become a staple of many a W & W film in the future) sings and dances with Bert. The big surprise here is the performance of Berlin-born Leni Stengel as the French vamp Olga; she is not only sexy and vivacious but wonderfully funny. Why she never went on to a brilliant career as a comic actress is a mystery. The Paris street scenes designed by Max Ree and shot on the Hollywood backlot are particularly realistic, demonstrating how well-made even lesser Hollywood films were in the years when sound had just come in and everyone was experimenting. Wheeler and Woolsey are an acquired taste. Their bad jokes have a way of getting to you if you don't watch yourself.

Sure it seems more than a bit stale in this day and age, but consider the state of film when this was made. The audio is a bit weak, but sound in films was still a cutting edge concept. Much of the dialog regarding these two soldiers attempting to pick up women seems sanitized, but this was made a decade before Clark Gable uttered the word damn and caused an uproar. When you look back at it, Half Shot at Sunrise was probably well ahead of its time.

The thin plot involves two US army privates stationed in Paris during WWI who are constantly AWOL and looking to score with any and all ladies they encounter. One of the most pointless and destructive conflicts in history was happening all around them, but these two only care about scoring with women! At least they have their priorities straight! On their trail are a couple tough-talking MPs, a two-timing Colonel, his amorous daughter, and..... well there just isn't a lot of plot here. Some of the dialog is just too parsed to be taken seriously. "These men make love to every woman they meet," an MP warns the colonel's pretty young daughter after he learns she may be smitten by one of these two. Some of the jokes provide more than a few chuckles. In one scene, Woolsey and Wheeler are disguising themselves as officers to impress a table of French ladies. "Why don't you want to play a general?" one asks the other. "Because then there's no chance of promotion!" the other replies. Probably the biggest laugh I had was after one of them whispers a proposition into the ear of a French girl. She replies with a long angry response in her native language. "What did she say?" asks one of our heroes. "She said no," the other replies. Ha! If you want to see one of the earliest and tamest sex comedies imaginable, then check this film out. I think youtube has the entire thing available. See where some of our more contemporary filmmakers may have gotten some inspiration. One of these two main characters is named Tommy Turner. Just like the most raunchy member of the gang in Porkys! 6 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Two soldiers go AWOL in Paris during World War 1. An enjoyable comedy made by RKO. Dorothy Lee, a favorite of Wheeler and Woolsey is delightful in this film, especially the musical number "Whistling the Blues Away." Edna Mae Oliver has a small but effective role as the snooty wife of a general. Leni Stengel is also very effective as the beautifully dressed and elusive Olga.