"Whoopee!" was the first film that Busby Berkeley did the choreography for; he would later surpass his work here, but his innovative, synchronized numbers are an indication of things to come. It was also the feature-length talkie screen debut for Eddie Cantor; one way to advertise him would be "all 4 Marx Brothers rolled into 1"! He has energy to spare. Of course his jokes often miss - but what comedian can claim a 100%, or anything close to it, success rate? His "recital" of "Making Whoopee" and "A Girlfriend of a Boyfriend of Mine" is inimitable. The film is loaded with sexual innuendo (some of it blatantly homoerotic) and hip (then) pop references (from Al Jolson to Ronald Colman); it's overlong, set-bound and dated in some aspects, but there is a lot to enjoy here. *** out of 4.

In terms of cast the film Whoopee is a considerably cut down version of the Broadway show. That could be said of the Donaldson-Kahn score as well. But in terms of the film it was a valiant attempt, a trial run at making the musical not just a photographed stage play. For that effort Whoopee got an Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction.Before Eddie Cantor starred in the musical version of Whoopee on Broadway which ran for 407 performances in the 1928-29 season, it had been a straight comedy play The Nervous Wreck which ran for 279 shows in the 1923-24 season. I have to confess I was a little shocked when I saw that Otto Kruger had played Cantor's role of Henry Williams, the nervous hypochondriac who went west seeking a cure for his multitude of ailments. I sure didn't see that coming.In any event Whoopee has Cantor at a dude ranch with his private nurse Ethel Shutta who was also repeating her role from Broadway. His good friend an Indian played by Paul Williams has an unrequited love for Eleanor Hunt and she him. But the racial differences make this romance impossible at least on the stage and screen of the Twenties. She's engaged to marry the sheriff John Rutherford, but rather than do that she tricks poor Cantor the schnook into running off with her. That leads all on a merry chase throughout the film.Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn wrote the score for Whoopee on stage and screen and of course Eddie Cantor's big number was his classic Making Whoopee. Even today this salute to the phrase 'cheaper to keep her' carries a lot of laughs. Donaldson and Kahn wrote some new songs including another that Cantor introduced on screen that also became associated with him throughout his career, My Baby Just Cares For Me.Ethel Shutta was quite a performer herself and this is the only time we can see her in her prime as she competes with Cantor for laughs and does some nice dancing in the Stetson number. She was married to orchestra leader George Olsen who led the pit orchestra on Broadway for Whoopee and accompanies on the soundtrack in this film.This film also introduced Busby Berkeley to the silver screen and according to Herbert Goldman's biography of Cantor, it was Cantor who persuaded Sam Goldwyn to hire Berkeley. His numbers are nicely staged though he wasn't anywhere near his peak creative years with Warner Brothers. On Broadway Ruth Etting had a specialty part and introduced what became her theme song in Love Or Leave Me. Sadly Ruth and the song got eliminated from the film and that is a pity. If you remember the part that Patrice Wymore played in the Gus Kahn biographical film I'll See You In My Dreams her role was based on a combination of Etting and Clara Bow.Sadly Whoopee does bow to the racial and racist mores of its time. A solution to the marital problems is found that would not fly today.Despite that Whoopee is worth seeing in order to see one the great performers of the 20th Century in a role that Eddie Cantor made his own.

I had my reservations about this movie before I watched it. But, when the movie ended, I was very surprised by how entertained I was.The storyline to this movie is very simple. Henry Williams (Eddie Cantor) elopes with Sally Morgan (Eleanor Hunt), who is already engaged to Sheriff Bob Wells (Jack Rutherford). After Bob Wells finds out that Sally and Henry eloped, him and his buddies head out to find Henry and Sally, and they plan to hang Henry as punishment for running off with the Sheriff's fiancé, and the comedy goes on from there.Like I said, it is a very entertaining film. Eddie Cantor shows his true comedic talent (as always) in this film. I would highly suggest this film. It is very humorous and entertaining. And it's got some great routines.

I just watched Whoopee! on an excellent laserdisc print, and my nostalgia conceit was fed yet again. The world seemed happier and lazier, the chorus girls sweeter and prettier, the tunes bouncier and brighter. Viewers' comments about Eddie Cantor prancing in blackface miss the point: it is not racism that is projected, but a society in which racism is meaningless. My conceit, of course, is absurd; there are no "good old days", and it was no bed of roses to be an average Joe or Jane in 1930 when Whoopee! was made. But movies like these are my escape to Happyland, and while a steady diet of the same would be cloying, a dip into an old musical guarantees me a dreamy uplift.