Whoopee!

Director: Thornton Freeland Thornton Freeland

Overview

In this musical, wealthy hypochondriac Henry Williams (Eddie Cantor) travels to Arizona for the sake of his health and finds himself drawn into the romantic dilemmas of the lovely Sally Morgan (Eleanor Hunt). This film features a number of songs, including "Making Whoopee," "My Baby Just Cares for Me," and "The Song of the Setting Sun."

Product Details

Release Date:	04/09/2013
UPC:	0883316737118
Original Release:	1930
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:33:00
Sales rank:	42,270

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eddie Cantor	Henry Williams
Eleanor Hunt	Sally Morgan
Paul Gregory	Wanenis
John Rutherford	Sheriff Bob Wells
Ethel Shutta	Mary Custer
Spencer Charters	Jerome Underwood
Chief Caupolican	Black Eagle
Albert Hackett	Chester Underwood
William H. Philbrick	Andy McNabb
Walter Law	Judd Morgan
Marilyn Morgan	Harriet Underwood,Goldwyn Girl
Dean Jagger	Deputy
Betty Grable	Goldwyn Girl
Virginia Bruce	Goldwyn Girl
Muriel Finley	Goldwyn Girl
Ruth Eddings	Goldwyn Girl
Ernestine Mahoney	Goldwyn Girl
Christine Maple	Goldwyn Girl
Dorothy Knapp	Goldwyn Girl
Claire Dodd	Goldwyn Girl
Jane Keithly	Goldwyn Girl
Mary Ashcraft	Goldwyn Girl
Betty Stockton	Goldwyn Girl
Georgia Lerch	Goldwyn Girl
Theodore Lorch	Indian
Budd Fine	Cowhand
Gene Alsace	Cowhand
Frank Rice	Cowhand Cook
Edmund Cobb	Cowhand
Martin Faust	Cowhand
Arthur Dewey	Cowhand
William Begg	Cowhand
John Ray	Cowhand
Frank Lanning	Cowhand
Paul Panzer	Indian
Will H. Philbrick	Andy McNabb
Sally Morgan	Eleanor Hunt
George Olsen & His Orchestra	Himself
Barbara Weeks	Dancer
Marian Marsh	Harriet Underwood
Ann Sothern	Bit Part
Dorothy Wellman	Actor
Walter Donaldson	Composer

Technical Credits

William McGuire

William Conselman

Thornton Freeland	Director
Samuel Goldwyn	Producer
Florenz Ziegfeld	Producer
William McGuire	Screenwriter
William Conselman	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Filmed for a then eye-popping $1.5 million, Whoopee! is an example of the old fashioned star comic musical film. Built entirely around the raucously neurotic personality of Eddie Cantor, Whoopee!is not great art, but it's a lot of fun. As a bonus, it features the cinematic debut of choreographer Busby Berkeley. While none of the numbers are shot entirely in the now-recognizable Berkeley style, many have touches that foreshadow that style, such as the use of an overhead shot in "Cowboy" and the use of close-ups on beautiful chorus girls in "Stetson." There's an emphasis on the spectacular throughout, which helps to smooth over some of the rough patches in the script. Much of the humor seems tired by modern standards, and the use of blackface in "My Baby Just Cares for Me" is off-putting, especially as Cantor is so otherwise appealing. He does here what he always does, playing a nervous wreck who happily can't seem to stay out of trouble. Cantor's vulnerability is leavened by his underlying rambunctiousness, and his talent was one of a kind. While Whoopee! is clearly his show, he does get some valuable support from Ethel Shutta, and the score is attractive. (Be advised, though, that the lyrics to "Makin' Whoopee" have been somewhat bowdlerized.)