weezeralfalfa Review of Double Whoopee

Double Whoopee (1929)

Double trouble, with Stan and Ollie as hotel functionaries

[7/10 · 16 October 2018]

Presumably, the title of this late silent comedy short(20 min.) refers to the stated reason for the arrival of a German-looking prince: that he wanted to engage in 'whoopee'. Well, if he succeeded, we never saw it. About the only notable thing we see him do is to fall to the bottom of the elevator shaft: not once, but 3X ,as a running gag. Where are the elevator doors in this swanky hotel, that normally prevent such accidents?? .......The prince(Hans Joby) and his prime minister arrive by taxi: the prince decked out in a military uniform. with a German-like officers hat with peak in front. Coincidentally, Ollie and Stan arrived at the same time, as special doorman and footman. The pair got to the front desk before the prince and PM entered the hotel. The staff had been told that the prince had just arrived. Thus, they stupidly assumed that Ollie and Stan were the prince and PM. How they could make such a mistake is beyond me. The boys were wearing their usual street clothes, not yet their fancy work uniforms. Ollie hands the manager a letter from the employment office, which dispelled any lingering thoughts that they were the guests of honor. ......The boys have a couple of notable squabbles. First, Stan gets a coin from a man who he opened the main door for. Ollie is jealous, and demands that Stan give him the coin, since that was supposed to be his job. Stan cries, then gives him the coin. But, a policeman sees this and makes Ollie give the coin back to Stan. The second incident occurs just after the Jean Harlow(no 'e' on the end) incident. Apparently, Stan was mad because Ollie ripped off his jacket, leaving him in underwear, in order to cover for Jean's partly missing dress. He pokes Ollie in the eye and kicks him. Ollie returns the favor. Eventually, some staff and a cop get involved, poking each other in the eye, etc.........Now, about the Jean Harlow incident: The taxi carrying her drives up to the main entrance, and Stan opens the taxi door. Jean gets out and stands there for a while. Ollie, in his most cordial voice asks "Might I presume that you would condescend to accept my escortage". She does accept, and they walk toward the hotel. But, Stan closes the taxi door too quickly and it catches the end of her dress, pulling off part of her dress. Strangely, neither she nor Ollie notice this until Stan tells them ,inside. Can you tell this blond is Jean Harlow? No way!. I have a suspicion she may have been involved in the prince's search for 'whoopee'........Then, there's the whistle incident. A whistle came with Ollie's jacket. He's supposed to blow it to call a taxi when there is someone standing there that wants a taxi. But Stan can't resist blowing it when a cab is not needed The cabbie(I think Charlie Hall) gets out and rips the whistle off Ollie's jacket, then rips Ollie's hat off. Stan tears the cabby's hat, then the cabby rips a button off Ollie's jacket. The cabbie turns around and doesn't see the policeman who is standing between him and Ollie. The cabby turns around and tries to rip a button of the policeman's uniform. When he sees who it is, he runs to his cab and drives off........I disagree with those who say there's little real humor in this short. Maybe they just aren't used to silent comedies? ......See it at YouTube.