Hellzapoppin'
Directed by H. C. PotterOlsen 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.
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Hellzapoppin' Ratings & Reviews
- cultfilmlikerNovember 17, 2025One of the best screwball comedies I’ve ever seen, when they were at their peak. (ZAZ era close #2; sorry but you can’t beat the Marx Bros) Absolutely hilarious. The opening music number sets the tone so wonderfully. A complete deconstruction of cinema done in the name of comedy. (Funnily enough, it reminds me of Holy Motors) Only I loved it so, so much. The three guys watching the picture reminded me of MST3K !! Absolutely feasible inspiration. Just 50 years ahead of the curve! Incredible writing, ahead of its time. And so much wordplay. Between this and They Cane Together, I am exhausted?? The rating difference is very interesting esp considering the latter’s cast. I guess I just prefer the constant comedy to the slower “attention to detail” style Wain / Showalter were going for. I feel like this has to be some of the best comedy directing ever? The adaptation is truly a miracle lol just so ingenious and eclectic. The projectionist and audience jokes were 👌🏼 The fourth wall breaks definitely reminded me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail Also, big Hail, Caesar! vibes (extremely complimentary, both ways) It’s funny bc I’ve been somewhat annoyed by the acoustic original song performances in films and then the music in this is just so exquisite it backs me up 100% Note: I don’t know if I’ve ever even heard of this film / musical until last week. This film is CRITICALLY underrepresented in the media Added to Slapstick Fantastic
Hellzapoppin' Trivia
Hellzapoppin' was released on December 26, 1941.
Hellzapoppin' was directed by H. C. Potter.
Hellzapoppin' has a runtime of 84m.
Hellzapoppin' was produced by Jules Levey.
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.
The key characters in Hellzapoppin' are Ole Olsen (Ole Oleson), Chic Johnson (Chic Johnson), Betty Johnson (Martha Raye).
Hellzapoppin' is rated Passed.
Hellzapoppin' is a Comedy, Action, Musical film.
Hellzapoppin' has an audience rating of 8.5 out of 10.
Hellzapoppin' has made $1.7M at the box office.