Yawnzapoppin’ with Olsen and Johnson

We’re two-thirds of the way through Gold Dust Gertie, our first Olsen and Johnson movie, and we have to admit we’re underwhelmed. We’d been led to believe they were an over-the-top duo of the same school as the Marx Brothers, but from what we’ve seen, it’s difficult to believe they could ever have been featured in a long-running Broadway revue called Hellzapoppin’. Nothing’s popping in this 1931 feature.

Without prior knowledge, one would be hard-pressed to even recognize Ole and Chic as a comedy team; they come off as mere middling actors cast as a pair of put-upon husbands.

Here’s hoping this is their weakest effort, and that we’ve better things to look forward to from these two, if ever we can convince ourselves to give them another try.

Update: In the picture’s final ten minutes, we’re finally presented with some wackiness: A chase scene featuring motorboats, but unfortunately, it relies on speeded-up film, an effect that is never, ever funny.

sigh…

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