A zany anything goes comedy from a very successful Broadway show of the 1940's. Hellzapoppin was apparently a comedy revue that was almost surrealistic on stage.
Universal bought the rights and then proceeded to stick a story on in because they were obviously very nervous about the out of control aspect of the play. Still it appears that a lot of the original nature of the play did make it onto the screen, and it's still some pretty nutty stuff. It has a Citizen Kane joke, for god sakes. and the opening number set in Hell is pretty weird.
The stupid love story that the studio stuck onto the film slows the action down, but things pick up towards the end, with an all out anarchistic assault on Broadway and film musical numbers. Mel Brooks obviously got a lot of his ideas from this film. Frankenstein's monster watching in the audience gets things back on track when things get really out of control. Towards the end of the film the stars Ole Olson and Chic Johnson take their curtain call riding pigs.
Hellzapopin is proof that even in the 1940's during the rah rah war years, when "truth, justice and the American way" was the clarion call, satire was alive and kicking somewhere.
84 minutes, written by Nat Perrin, Warren Wilson and Alex Gottlieb.
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