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 1941, Directed by H.C. Potter, 84 mins IMDb, Letterboxd  The entire movie is available on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2TOriWWSLE Hellzapoppin' is a film adapation of the Olsen and Johnson revue of the same name, produced by Universal Pictures and probably the best of the movies by vaudevillians. One of those movies that feels like it shouldn't exist. It's a meta-film with a relentless comedic pace, a skewering of the studio musical of the time, a sex comedy, and a loving blast. I'm not going to say every joke lands, but the ratio of hits to misses is great and every single line is a joke. It reminds me a bit of Airplane! in that way. And I'm not going to say it's the most progressive thing, even for the time, but when Whitey's Lindy Hoppers arrive for the famous dance scene (which is five minutes of pure joy and perfection) you can see it has at least one serious thing to say. As far as I can tell, neither H.C. Potter or Olsen and Johnson did anything especially notable in the movies after this, but for me Hellzapoppin' is an endlessly rewatchable masterpiece. It's impossible for me to discuss the movie without pulling up the video and watching at least the opening ten minutes. I can't think of a movie that is more fun, please give it a shot. Previous Movies of the Month 
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Jun 3, 2019 17:31
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[CENSORED]
Egbert Souse fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Jun 10, 2019 |
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Jun 3, 2019 23:54
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Joe Dante mentions this in like every interview he's given for 15 years and the unfortunate rights hell that keeps it from getting a proper release. (He even snuck in a "check YouTube" in an interview with TCM.) I've been waiting in vain for such a day but I guess I'll just finally watch the bloody thing! Also, Shemp Howard is in it, if that moves the needle for anyone.
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Jun 4, 2019 03:31
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I don't know anything about the rights situation, but it's hosed up there's a problem with that the movie is 80 years old anything that old should have been in the public domain for a long time imo. I have this dvd and the quality is pretty good. The video on the youtube is just fine though, plenty watchable.
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Jun 4, 2019 04:02
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Faaaaawkin’ sick, this movie rules
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Jun 4, 2019 05:04
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Hellzapoppin' is loads of fun. AFAIK, the main reason it flopped back in the day is that it premiered a scant two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Not the best time for an irreverent comedy.
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Jun 4, 2019 11:29
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I had a great time with this. I especially love the frantic first act where they threw in every joke imaginable. I was laughing through the whole thing. I've already told my friend, who's a huge Marx Bros fan, that we have a new comedy to watch together.
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Jun 4, 2019 12:23
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Are any other H. C. Potter films worth checking out?
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Jun 4, 2019 12:32
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Franchescanado posted:Are any other H. C. Potter films worth checking out? Not that I've heard of, and going through the list nothing is looking too interesting to me but maybe someone else has seen any of them. Looks like a few c/d-tier Cary Grant and Astaire/Rogers pictures. I do want to watch the Olsen and Johnson movie Crazy House at some point. Looks like archive.org has it, which is convenient. Will try and get that done this month, though everything I've heard so far is that they never came close to matching Hellzapoppin'. Samuel Clemens posted:Hellzapoppin' is loads of fun. AFAIK, the main reason it flopped back in the day is that it premiered a scant two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Not the best time for an irreverent comedy. Never thought about that when looking at the release date. And there's even a joke about the draft right at the beginning.
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Jun 4, 2019 16:00
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Victory Through Air Power is worth watching if you're interested in animation or WW2 history, but the interesting segments aren't the ones Potter directed.
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Jun 7, 2019 22:59
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Samuel Clemens posted:Victory Through Air Power is worth watching if you're interested in animation or WW2 history, but the interesting segments aren't the ones Potter directed. It's a hell of a movie. I got a DVD set that had it and some war cartoons Disney did. It's interesting to watch a Disney animated guide to the anti-tank rifle, or Donald Duck about to kill himself because he thinks he lost his legs in a training accident.
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Jun 8, 2019 00:19
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I saw this for the first time last week (I had heard the title before but I think I confused it with a cartoon) and loved it so much I've showed it to 2 others since then. The scene with the arrows is such a great gag.
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Jun 12, 2019 09:37
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I love the dance sequence so much. It's so full of energy, it really doesn't feel like it belongs in a film from the 40s.
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Jun 15, 2019 02:51
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My friend, have you heard of our Lord and Saviour, Fred Astaire?
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Jun 15, 2019 03:25
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Complete and total anarchy, what a loving movie. Top to bottom one of the most ridiculous and fun movies I’ve seen in a long time. I can’t think of much to say other than “holy poo poo.”Discount Viscount posted:Joe Dante mentions this in like every interview he's given for 15 years and the unfortunate rights hell that keeps it from getting a proper release. (He even snuck in a "check YouTube" in an interview with TCM.) I've been waiting in vain for such a day but I guess I'll just finally watch the bloody thing! While watching, I kept thinking Joe Dante HAD to be a big fan, between the style of jokes, goofy physical comedy, and all the Louie business that was ground zero for the famous Hulk Hogan Gremlins 2 scene (the home video version was probably an even more direct reference to Hellzapoppin’) Samuel Clemens posted:Hellzapoppin' is loads of fun. AFAIK, the main reason it flopped back in the day is that it premiered a scant two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Not the best time for an irreverent comedy. The Zoolander of its time.
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Jun 29, 2019 15:45
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Discount Viscount posted:Joe Dante mentions this in like every interview he's given for 15 years and the unfortunate rights hell that keeps it from getting a proper release. (He even snuck in a "check YouTube" in an interview with TCM.) I've been waiting in vain for such a day but I guess I'll just finally watch the bloody thing! Haha, there was literally an interview with Chapo Trap House after a screening of Gremlins 2 released a few hours ago, and when asked about ideas going into it, he says "ever hear of this movie called Helzzapoppin'?"
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Jul 1, 2019 02:57
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The Peccadillo posted:Haha, there was literally an interview with Chapo Trap House after a screening of Gremlins 2 released a few hours ago, and when asked about ideas going into it, he says "ever hear of this movie called Helzzapoppin'?" I was just coming in here to post this: https://m.soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/bonus-gremlins-2-feat-joe-dante
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Jul 1, 2019 03:27
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