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Hellzapoppin'

  • 19411941
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Hugh Herbert, Mischa Auer, Chic Johnson, Ole Olsen, and Martha Raye in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
Watch {VideoTitle}
Play trailer2:25
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Comedy

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.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.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.

IMDb RATING
7.4/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • H.C. Potter
  • Writers
    • Nat Perrin(screenplay)
    • Warren Wilson(screenplay)
    • Alex Gottlieb(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Ole Olsen
    • Chic Johnson
    • Martha Raye
Top credits
  • Director
    • H.C. Potter
  • Writers
    • Nat Perrin(screenplay)
    • Warren Wilson(screenplay)
    • Alex Gottlieb(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Ole Olsen
    • Chic Johnson
    • Martha Raye
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 62User reviews
    • 32Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:25
    Trailer

    Photos135

    Hugh Herbert, Mischa Auer, Chic Johnson, Ole Olsen, and Martha Raye in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Chic Johnson, Ole Olsen, and Martha Raye in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Mischa Auer, Chic Johnson, Ole Olsen, and Martha Raye in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Chic Johnson and Ole Olsen in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Jane Frazee and Robert Paige in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Hugh Herbert in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Mischa Auer and Martha Raye in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Martha Raye in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Chic Johnson and Ole Olsen in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Alice Dahl in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
    Bob Rose in Hellzapoppin' (1941)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ole Olsen
    Ole Olsen
    • Ole Olsenas Ole Olsen
    Chic Johnson
    Chic Johnson
    • Chic Johnsonas Chic Johnson
    Martha Raye
    Martha Raye
    • Betty Johnsonas Betty Johnson
    Hugh Herbert
    Hugh Herbert
    • Quimbyas Quimby
    Jane Frazee
    Jane Frazee
    • Kitty Randas Kitty Rand
    Robert Paige
    Robert Paige
    • Jeff Hunteras Jeff Hunter
    Mischa Auer
    Mischa Auer
    • Pepias Pepi
    Richard Lane
    Richard Lane
    • Directoras Director
    Lewis Howard
    Lewis Howard
    • Woody Tayloras Woody Taylor
    Clarence Kolb
    Clarence Kolb
    • Andrew Randas Andrew Rand
    Nella Walker
    Nella Walker
    • Mrs. Randas Mrs. Rand
    Shemp Howard
    Shemp Howard
    • Louieas Louie
    Elisha Cook Jr.
    Elisha Cook Jr.
    • Harry Selbyas Harry Selby
    Frank Darien
    Frank Darien
    • Man Calling for Mrs. Jonesas Man Calling for Mrs. Jones
    Catherine Johnson
    • Lena - Lady Looking for Oscaras Lena - Lady Looking for Oscar
    Gus Schilling
    Gus Schilling
    • Orchestra Conductoras Orchestra Conductor
    The Six Hits
    • The Six Hitsas The Six Hits
    Slim Gaillard
    Slim Gaillard
    • Specialtyas Specialty
    • (as Slim and Slam)
    • Director
      • H.C. Potter
    • Writers
      • Nat Perrin(screenplay) (based on an original story by)
      • Warren Wilson(screenplay)
      • Alex Gottlieb(uncredited)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The original Broadway production of "Hellzapoppin'" opened at the 46th Street Theater on September 22, 1938, and ran for 1404 performances--a considerable run for a Broadway show in the 1930s. The original theatrical run included moves to the Winter Garden Theater and the Majestic Theater. The comic team of Chic Johnson and Ole Olsen wrote and produced the review and served as emcees for the show. As with the movie, the Broadway show was a mix of absurdist comedy skits, comic musical numbers, walk-on comedians and audience participation. There were running gags, such as the woman who walked down the theater aisles shouting "Oscar!", and the man with the potted plant who shouted "Miss Jones!" (One gag from the Broadway show that did not make it into the movie was a woman in the audience who stood up several times and announced she was "just going to the bathroom"). The Harlem Congaroos--the Lindy Hop dance troupe that appears in the film--also appeared in the original Broadway show (although during the show's run, they were variously billed as Whitey's Steppers or Whitey's Lindy Hoppers).
    • Goofs
      Betty picks up a rifle with a bayonet attached, but in the next shot it's a double-barreled shotgun.
    • Quotes

      Lena, Lady looking for Oscar: Oscar!

    • Crazy credits
      "......any similarity between HELLZAPOPPIN' and a motion picture is purely coincidental."
    • Connections
      Featured in This Joint Is Jumpin' (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Waiting for the Robert E. Lee
      (uncredited)

      by Lewis F. Muir and L. Wolfe Gilbert

      Performed by Martha Raye and chorus

    User reviews62

    Review
    Top review
    You'll either love it or hate it.
    This movie pops up regularly on TV or at revue cinemas and I'm always surprised at how many youngsters are familiar with it.

    Olsen and Johnson never had the following of Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello but they were capable vaudeville comics who made a few movies, Hellzapoppin and Crazy House are the best remembered. Hellzapoppin is the a much sanitized film version of Nat Perrin's famous stage revue.

    The jokes come fast and furious, some of them are very dated now and some were never very funny to begin with, but you don't have time to analyze, you're into the next before you know it. There are some familiar faces Misha Auer, who had a long career playing the same character (a Russian aristocrat with dubious credentials), the loud and brassy Martha Raye and the very funny Hugh Herbert with his "yoo-hoo's" and mumbled asides the audience. The special effects were innovative for their time.

    As brief respites from the madness there are a number of variety acts, synchronized swimming, crazy diving, a few pleasant songs with the corny lyrics typical of the period and the fantastic dancing of the Harlem Congeroo Dancers which even today is greeted by gasps of amazement and applause.

    Well you can't say the maker's of this movie weren't trying to entertain.
    helpful•50
    0
    • Cajun-4
    • Aug 11, 2000

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 26, 1941 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Hellzapoppin - In der Hölle ist der Teufel los
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Mayfair Productions Inc.
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,982
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 24 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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    Hugh Herbert, Mischa Auer, Chic Johnson, Ole Olsen, and Martha Raye in Hellzapoppin' (1941)
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