In der Hölle ist der Teufel los (1941)

In der Hölle ist der Teufel los: Directed by H.C. Potter. With Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Martha Raye, Hugh Herbert. Olsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth wall every step of the way.

“Okay, first letu0026#39;s dispatch this old nag – HELLZAPOPPINu0026#39; is NOT the stage play transferred to film. The 1938 show was a revue. A series of sketches, blackouts and musical numbers. Richard Lane, as the director, was right – u0026quot;This is Hollywood, we change everything!u0026quot; And, in my humble opinion, I think they did a darn fine job. The u0026quot;love storyu0026quot; was merely a vehicle for a couple of very nice songs (the entire score is first-rate) and a goofy performance by the long-forgotten Lewis Howard. Jane Frazee and Robert Paige were both top drawer light players at Universal with excellent singing voices. So believe me, in making the necessary u0026quot;changesu0026quot;, Universal gave it their best shot. As for the fun stuff, itu0026#39;s simply non-stop, from Shemp Howard and Jody Gilbert in the projection booth, to former Stooge Fred Sanborn playing tic-tac-toe on a horseu0026#39;s backside, to the singing and dancing devils (with chicks on a spit!) to Mischa Auer doing his very best u0026quot;schnorreru0026quot; routine, to the other-worldly Hugh Herbert (u0026quot;hello ma, Iu0026#39;ll be home for dinner – have meat!u0026quot;), to the myriad gags that break the fourth wall, to the eye-popping and breathless turn by Martha Raye, to the greatest Lindy Hop number committed to film, and on and on. If you roll your eyeballs at corny gags, this picture ainu0026#39;t for you! But if you revel at the shear audacity of pulling off such corn with absolutely no shame whatsoever, then you want to experience HELLZAPOPPINu0026#39;. If at all possible, see it with an audience. No comedy can be fully appreciated by solo viewing. But as laughter is infectious, the kinetic energy generated by this picture really cries out for a communal experience. One aspect of this picture is seldom mentioned and that is the musical direction. Universal was really tops in the early 40u0026#39;s of putting pop sounds in their B musicals. Well, this is definitely an u0026#39;Au0026#39; picture, and Charlie Previnu0026#39;s orchestra is in fine form, especially in the u0026quot;Congaroou0026quot; number. By the way – it has long been my contention that HELLZAPOPPINu0026#39; was not, at least completely, directed by the credited H. C. Potter. The style of the film is unlike anything else Potter did and is completely akin to the work of Eddie Cline, who was Universalu0026#39;s ace comedy director at the time and who directed the next three Olsen u0026amp; Johnson features. Just a theory of mine and one for which I have absolutely no documentation or other type of support. HELLZAPOPPINu0026#39; has been buried in the US since 1966 when the rights reverted to the Nederlander Organization. But fortunately a UK DVD from Universalu0026#39;s 35mmm fine grain has been released and is a superb video version of the film. It is also shown occasionally on TV in Canada. Now – will someone PLEASE stop that woman from yelling u0026quot;Oscaru0026quot;!!”