Product Details

• Actors: Eddie Cantor, Ethel Shutta, Paul Gregory, Eleanor Hunt, Jack Rutherford
• Directors: Thornton Freeland
• Writers: E.J. Rath, Owen Davis, Robert Hobart Davis, William Anthony McGuire, William M. Conselman
• Producers: Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Samuel Goldwyn
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 1, 1992
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302478596
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,224 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is It Really The Season For Makin' Whoopee?, July 17, 2002

By	Alex Udvary (chicago, il United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

In 1930 Eddie Cantor was at the height of his career when "Whoopee" was made into a motion picture, taken from the 1929 play of the same title produced by "The Great Ziegfeld".
"Whoopee" is the story of two childhood friends who grew up together only to fall in love. One was a "white girl" the other "an Indian". Sally Morgan (Eleanor Hunt) is the girl and Wanenis (Paul Gregory) is the Indian. As time goes by Sally's father forbids the two from ever getting married. This lead Wanenis to leave the small town only to return as fate would have it, on the wedding day of Sheriff Bob Wells (Jack Rutherford) and Sally! Soon Sally has doubts about getting married to Bob when she sees Wenenis again. Now, perhaps your asking yourself, what has any of this got to do with Eddie Cantor? Absolutely nothing. Cantor plays Henry Williams. A neurotic who shys away from the advances made by his nurse, Mary Custer (Ethel Shutta) and perfers the company of a calf. He consistanly checks his temperature, and takes pills on every hour. And somehow finds himself helping Sally get away from Bob thus causing everyone trying to hunt him down, including his nurse who thinks Henry loves Sally instead of her.
"Whoopee" is actually quite funny. It's all Cantor's show from beginning to end. It's his energy that carries the whole film. Much of the films appeal will have to do with two things. Number one how much you like Cantor and two how much you like these old-fashion comedies. "Whoopee" though I must admit, is very very very suggestive. People tend to forget that while, yes, these types of movies have been reduced to "family entertainment" they were at one time meant strickly as "adult" entertainment.
"Whoopee" still makes me laugh after all these years from when I first saw it. One of my favorite momemts as to do with Henry and his Nurse;
Nurse: Do you know why I studied nursing?
Henry: No why?
Nurse: Because I'm romantic. Most girls like big strong healty men.
Henry: Husky!
Nurse: Not me, I like weak men. I have a positive passion for a weak man.
Henry: I suppose if I was paralyze you'd be absolutly cuckoo over me!
"Whoopee" also has good songs, and is probably best known for Cantor singing "Makin' Whoopee". He also sings "My Baby Just Cares For Me" & "A Girl Friend Of A Boy Friend Of Mine". There are some good dances. I assume very original for it's time. And there's even room for Cantor to go into his famous "black face". "Whoopee" was nominated for 1 Oscar "Best Art Direction". Also spot in the first scene a young Betty Grable. And look out for a young Virgina Bruce.
Bottom-line:Though perhaps thought of as a "dated" comedy Cantor's engery and some of the wise-cracks make the film enjoyable. Worth a look.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars CANTOR'S 193O TECHNICOLOR MUSICAL HIT., September 23, 2002

By	"scotsladdie" (GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Cantor is a state-of-the-art hypochondriac whose imagined poor health causes him to bring many hilarious situations into view. The character he portrays - Henry Williams - is something of a busybody who moves to Arizona for his health's sake and gets himself involved in the affairs of Sally Morgan...The art direction and musical numbers are still fascinating to observe and Cantor is hilarious when he explains blithely that he could die from any one of his several diseases right on the spot. This film - which was co-produced by Florenz Ziegfeld and Samuel Goldwyn - made Eddie Cantor a film star of the early talkies. Based upon THE NERVOUS WRECK by Owen Davis, this primitive Technicolor musical still has the ability to entertain - especially if you are partial to Eddie Cantor's brand of comedy. Look for a 14 (!) year-old Betty Grable as one of the Goldwyn Girls in this opus which was remade in 1944 as the Danny Kaye star-making vehicle UP IN ARMS. As a footnote, Goldwyn opened his filmed musical extravaganza in the nadir of Great Depression and tickets sold for an astonishing $5 apiece: the equivalent of a day's wages back then!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The static camera rules!, February 17, 1999

By	James Middleton "The Animating Apothecary" (Battle Creek, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is certainly an oddity, from the hues of two-strip Technicolor to the scenes of Cantor emerging from his hiding place of an oven (in itself unsettling, given the added hindsight of WWII and Hitler's Ultimate Solution) in blackface. The songs, however, are superb, and "George Olsen's Music" in the background gives this underrated bandleader some nice exposure. Technically "Whoopee" fares better than the Marx Brother's "Animal Crackers" of the same year--they even manage to sneak in a couple of exterior shots!