Diplomaniacs

I feel that Wheeler & Woolsey's fun-titled "Diplomaniacs" is forever doomed to be compared with the Marx Brothers' classic farce "Duck Soup". Here's why: 1. Both films came out in 1933. 2. They're both zany political satires. 3. Louis Calhern & "king of the slow burn" Edgar Kennedy (remember his great vendor battle with Harpo?) from "Duck Soup" also appear in this one. That said, while this movie is not as well known as DS, it is just as nonsensical and close to comic anarchy as you can get. As barbers on an Indian reservation (!!), Bert & Bob are typically where they don't belong. That is, until a diplomatic opportunity sends them overseas. From there on, their mission is clear: Storm the world of politics and turn it completely upside-down (as the Marxes successfully did). If you're not familiar with W&W's comedy style, they lie somewhere between the Marxes and Olsen & Johnson; pretty heady stuff. Their films are peppered with zingers straight out of vaudeville (logically, as they originated from the stage). Musical comedy numbers have been their other forte, and this movie has some delightful ones, beginning with the giddy over-the-top Busby Berkely-type reservation opener. Some of the segments are W&W at their wackiest: disrupting a courtroom (climaxed with a song in black-face), aboard a ship that gets to its destination in drunken circles, and a surreal moment when a marble bust comes to life & joins in on the villains' cackling. Advice: Don't try to over-think this one; it's pointless. Just sit back & enjoy one of W&W's craziest films!

If you are not sure if you like Wheeler and Woolsey movies, this is a good one to sample. It is one of their best! It is wild, wacky, nonsensical, and surreal in parts. One thing I've noticed about W& W movies is that there is often just the bare wisp of a plot, just enough to hang their snappy one-liners on. Their comic dialog is not as well-written as in a Marx Bros. movie, but when it comes to song and comic dance, they excel. So if you don't like old 1930's type music, you probably won't like W&W. Also, if you expect everything to be Politically Correct by 2014 standards, forget it. Hugh Herbert plays a wacky Chinaman, and the movie ends with everyone singing in blackface! I thought the print and sound was good for a 1933 talkie. Some of the song and dance numbers will put a smile on your face, for sure!

Imagine a Marx Brothers film...no, wait, don't. Wheeler & Woolsey are sui generis, and this movie is a complete madhouse. Wheeler romances a girl; Woolsey gets to brandish his cigar and say "Whoa-Oh" a couple times; there are lovely indian maidens doing a completely inauthentic dance; everyone has boffo lines. A product of its time, and although the humor seems a bit corny nowadays, I still had great fun watching it.

the comedy is a lot like the stooges. slap stick. Marjorie white is angelic and charismatic as usual. Sadly she died so young.

"Dipomaniacs" is one of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey's best pre-code comedies. There are lots of surreal gags along with several dance numbers populated with dancing girls in scanty costumes. My favorite is the "Oompah" dance routine performed by "Indian maidens" (direct from the RKO casting office) at the beginning of the movie. Wheeler and Woolsey are a couple of clueless barbers on an Indian reservation who are hired by the chief of the "Indian Nation" to go to the Geneva Convention and represent Native Americans' oil interests in the United States. Granted, the chief could have selected a couple of representatives with brains, but then there would not have been a movie. This wacky 1933 RKO film was the brainchild of the legendary Joseph L. Mankiewicz who also wrote the screenplay. "Diplomaniacs" also has a dream cast including Louis Calhern as a diplomatic spy, Phyllis Barry as a "Dragon Lady" type and leader of a band of cutthroats, and Hugh Herbert as a Chinese sidekick to Calhern. In one memorable scene, Herbert decides to row back to China from Geneva (over 2,000 miles), When he arrives on the shores of China (that looks a lot like Santa Monica beach), he is greeted by his not-too-happy wife. This domestic exchange ensues: Wife: "Where have you been for five years? Your dinner is cold." Herbert: (Looking around and seeing several children below the age of five) "Where did these children come from?" Wife: "Don't ask questions. Come eat your dinner." Herbert: (Looks at the camera, shrugs his shoulders, then wraps his arms around everyone and says) "Come along Madame Butterfly. Come along children." But the real scene-stealer in the movie is cute, perky blonde Marjorie White who has been recruited by the spies to "vamp" Bert Wheeler. Instead, she quickly falls in love with him and will stop at nothing to get him to the alter. In one early scene, Marjorie is attempting to "vamp" Bert Wheeler on the deck of the ship headed for Geneva. In typical pre-code comedy banter: Marjorie: (whispering in Bert's ear) "Let's sing a song." Bert: "How about 'One Hour With You'?" Marjorie: "Okay, but let's sing a song first." Years ago, I owned this film in the VHS format and the picture and sound were great. I was expecting the same thing when I ordered this DVD produced by Warner Archive. I'm sad to say, that the picture quality of this film is fair at best. For the most part, the picture is dark all the way through. Also, there are lots of dirt specks and even a few splices. I can live with those, but the dark picture is something that could have been corrected before Warner Archive released "Diplomaniacs." It shows a real lack of respect by Warner Archive for this film and for the people who buy it. But if you don't mind sitting through a film that is far from TCM quality, then it may be worth the time and effort to see this wonderfully crazy pre-code Wheeler and Woolsey comedy.

I loved it, like Duck Soup, BUT a lot may not like some of the overtones of it. You may want to do a search to see exactly what I mean. It's clever with nice music.

One of W & W's best films, but the transfer is horrible. The print pulls out of focus at several points, and is so dark you can't make out the action. Some reels are better than others, the worst being reels 1,4 & 5. It's a shame that Warners put so little effort into this title as it's a great film, and than charge us collectors top dollar. Stick to the VHS and Laser Disc versions which are much better.

If anything in "Diplomaniacs" makes sense to you, you are one step ahead of the game. Here is a movie that completely exist within its own world. Nothing in the movie is even in the slightest bit believeable. You could say this movie is delightfully ridiculous. It is as zany and offbeat as a Marx Brothers comedy or a Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movie. Because of this it is the best Wheeler & Woolsey comedy of the ten films I have seen by them. If you can make sense of it the plot goes something like this. Wheeler and Woolsey play two barbers; Willy Nilly (Wheeler) and Hercules Glub (Woolsey). They open their shop on an Indian reservation. This is done because Willy misheard Hercules when he said they should open a shop where there are no competitors. Willy thought he said they should open a shop where there are no customers. Somehow the two men are called upon by an Indian Chief (Edward Cooper) to deliver letters to a Peace Conference they were not invited to. The Indians want Wheeler and Woolsey to have all the prime ministers sign their peace treaty at a convention in Geneva. So the two agree. But wait, more nonsense ensues. Trying to stop them is Winklereid (Louis Calhern) whom with associates have developed an explosive bullet. Because of this they want a war to break out. Though it is never really explained why they want this I assume it is because they figure the world leaders will all want to try on buy these bullets. So Winklereid goes through various methods to stop the boys. He along with his henchmen, simply known as Chinamen (played by the non Oriental character actor Hugh Herbert) get a vamp (Marjorie White) Dolores to try and seduce the papers away from them, but when she falls in love with one of them another girl is hired, Fifi (Phyllis Barry) who falls in love with the other one. But do you really care to know any of this? Probably not. It's pointless to go over the plot with you because by me describing it to you it all seems logical. You have to see how this material is played out. It is anything but logical. The movie has people going into song and dance out of nowhere, people telling one-liners and not getting into trouble, characters deciding on their own to exit the film, and much more. The film was directed by William A. Seiter who had directed Wheeler and Woolsey in previous films including my old favorite "Peach-O-Reno" and their lesser attempt "Girl Crazy". But Seiter's comedy experience did not stop there. He also directed Laurel & Hardy in a film that is often regarded as their best "Sons of the Desert" and directed the Marx Brothers in "Room Service". The movie was co-written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz as well. With up of such talent behind the scenes perhaps it is not so odd the movie is as funny as it is. Wheeler and Woolsey really don't have developed characters in this movie but honestly I don't care. I've never had as much fun as I did watching this film when compared to their other works. The plot structure is all over the place. The film has no real ending, nothing is really resolved. It is the first film I can think of where the heroes don't succeed. But the film has a lot of charm. Spot Charlie Hall as Calhern's valet and Edgar Kennedy as the Chairman of the Peace Conference. Bottom-line: The best Wheeler and Woolsey comedy I have seen so far. A movie as wild as anything the Marx Brothers or Bob Hope ever made. A brilliant piece of political satire.

These comedians are on a par with the Max Brothers.