Half Shot at Sunrise

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tommy (Bert Wheeler) and Gilbert (Robert Woolsey) have gone AWOL from the army in Paris and are running around chasing girls. Col. Marshall (George MacFarlane) wants them arrested. However, his daughter Annette (Dorothy Lee) bumps into Tommy and they fall in love. Olga (Leni Stengel) meets with Gilbert and they also fall in love. Annette has a plan that will make heroes out of Tommy and Gilbert..............

Wheeler and Woolsey (the one with the glasses) act out various set-piece scenes, most of which are crammed with obvious one-liners and aren't very funny. Dorothy Lee is good in her scenes even if a little wooden at times - but she is not bad as the actors who play the military police. They are terrible! Mrs Marshall (Edna May Oliver) is the best of the cast.

There are 3 good bits in the film - the first dance with Wheeler and Lee (she is very good to watch); the 2nd dance with Wheeler, Wooster and Lee (watch her final landing and subsequent explanation as she jumps off a truck); and there is a funny moment at the restaurant where Tommy, disguised as a waiter, serves the food to the Colonel and his wife. That's your lot for entertainment - it's not a catastrophe but the film mostly drags.