Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews

Oh! Oh! Cleopatra (1931) - Wheeler and Woolsey

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HomokHarcos:


https://imdb.com/title/tt0022217/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I initially was going to skip this one for two reasons: II thought it was unavailable, and assumed it must be an ensemble short and not really their film. Turns out I was wrong on both!

One of the complaints I had about their films up to this point is that I think they would have been better starting in two reelers; I had no idea there actually was a two reel film starring the duo. The results are quite good, and they can easily fit their style with a shorter runtime.

The plot is goofy enough, but in a fun way for a short comedy: turns out they have an ancestral connection to to Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. There have been a few film versions of Cleopatra’s life featuring Theda Bara, Claudette Colbert and Elizabeth Taylor, but this one is decidedly pre-Code with Dorothy Burgess playing Cleopatra.

My favorite lines in this movie are “to hail with Caesar” instead of “to hell” and “the lions now are more dangerous than the lions den”. There is also a bit of surreal comedy when a cameraman says “hold still”, and the everybody stops for a moment.

Though I think they could have used better material for this film, I absolutely believe they accommodate quite well to short subjects.

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