Hips,_Hips,_Hooray! Knowpia

Hips, Hips, Hooray!
Hips, Hips, Hooray!
Directed by	Mark Sandrich
Written by	Bert Kalmar; Edward Kaufman; Harry Ruby
Starring	Bert Wheeler; Robert Woolsey; Ruth Etting; Thelma Todd; Dorothy Lee
Cinematography	David Abel
Edited by	Basil Wrangell
Music by	Roy Webb (Uncredited)
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date	February 2, 1934 (U.S.);
Running time	68 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$336,000
Box office	$625,000

Hips, Hips, Hooray! is a 1934 American pre-Code slapstick comedy starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Ruth Etting, Thelma Todd and Dorothy Lee.^[3]^[4] During its initial theatrical run, it was preceded by the two-color Technicolor short Not Tonight, Josephine, directed by Edward F. Cline.^[5]

Plot edit

Amelia Frisby owns a beauty-supply business. Andy Williams and Dr. Bob Dudley convince her to hire them as salesman to promote her new flavored lipstick.

Cast edit

Bert Wheeler as Andy Williams
Robert Woolsey as Dr. Bob Dudley
Dorothy Lee as Daisy Maxwell
Thelma Todd as Amelia Frisby
Ruth Etting as Herself
Phyllis Barry as Madame Irene
Matt Briggs as Det. Epstein
James P. Burtis as Detective Sweeney
Spencer Charters as Clark
George Meeker as Armand Beauchamp
Doris McMahon as Maid
Thelma White as Blonde (uncredited)

Production edit

A romantic subplot involving Ruth Etting was planned, but it was removed from the film. Despite her high billing, Etting only has one scene.

The film features Etting singing "Keep Romance Alive" and Bert Wheeler and Dorothy Lee singing "Keep on Doin' What You're Doin'" by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, a song originally intended for the Marx Brothers' 1933 film Duck Soup.

Reception edit

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Andre Sennwald wrote: "Those who admire the comic gifts of the cigar-smoking Woolsey and the cherub-faced Wheeler will find their faith nourished by the usual sum of ponderous jocosities. ... There are three reasonably hilarious gags and perhaps fifty more that depend on whether you are for or against the ex-vaudeville clowns to begin with."^[6]

The film returned a profit of $8,000.^[2]

References edit

^ "Hips, Hips, Hooray!". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p56
^ Variety film review; February 27, 1934, page 17.
^ Harrison's Reports film review; January 27, 1934, page 15.
^ Advertisement. Florence (Alabama) Times Daily. May 7. 1934. p 4. Web. June 23. 2010
^ Sennwald, Andre (1934-02-24). "Wheeler and Woolsey". The New York Times. p. 18.