SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

calvinnme Wheeler and Woolsey are an acquired taste, for sure, but I've liked all their films so far. Their jokey, hokey vaudeville style somehow makes me laugh even (or maybe especially?) when the jokes are lame. The groaning is part of the enjoyment. As always, the happenings are extremely silly- this time with Wheeler and Woolsey competing to be king of a small nation that is not so desirable to lead, and the hilarity takes no prompting to ensue. Many old jokes that have been re-used mercilessly and no doubt pre-date Edwardian times; many dumb jokes that no one dared to use again; and sometimes even a good one, (my fave, "He's the most absent-minded man in the kingdom. Last week he put a cigarette to bed and threw himself out the window.") Dorothy Lee, who was especially good in Half Shot at Sunrise, is also good in this one, to a lesser extent. She and Wheeler form the ultimate sticky-and-sweet-as-molasses couple. Edna May Oliver is the perfect comic foil to, well, just about everyone. It is especially enjoyable when things turn violent vaudeville style.And if you find yourself thinking that this reminds you of Duck Soup, remember this film came two years before that one. Recommended if you have worked up a taste for Wheeler and Woolsey or think you might be able to do so.

mark.waltz Wheeler and Woolsey were a mixed bag in the minds of the public, but today, they have been re-discovered after decades of obscurity, first thanks to the old version of "American Movie Classics", then of course, "Turner Movie Classics", where they live on today. Only a few of their movies made it out onto VHS during the heyday of that disappearing media, and a few ("Dixiana", "Half Shot at Sunrise", "Hook, Line and Sinker") ended up on the public domain. Laser Disc manufacturers saw a market for their films ("Imagine Entertainment" back in the early 1990's) and a majority of their movies ended up there as well. Fortunately, as VHS sales have dwindled and Laser Discs have seemed to fallen off the face of the earth, the Warner Brothers Archive (ironic, since all but one of their features came from RKO Radio) has released pretty much all of their films, about ten of them into a special set, the rest individually."Cracked Nuts" is one of their best early films, as it is very elaborate and sort of ahead of its time. It pre-dates "Duck Soup" by two years, and one comedy routine (concerning the town of "Watt") was a decade before Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?". Wheeler and Woolsey here play old pals who run into each other in a Ruritanian country still under the old monarchy but threatened by constant rebellion. Both are rivals for the throne and are pitted against each other thanks to former king Stanley Fields and two trouble-making rebels, one of them played by Boris Karloff. Ironically, two years after this, they would appear in a similar film, "Diplomaniacs", which saw them representing Native Americans at a Warsaw peace conference.Here, Wheeler gets the romantic story, paired with Dorothy Lee and fighting for her affections with her possessive aunt, the always amusing Edna May Oliver. Wheeler and Lee get to do a song and dance routine here which results in a kick-fest between the two of them and the imperious Oliver, a parody of the slap dance sequences Wheeler and Woolsey had done as far back as the original "Rio Rita" on Broadway and on film. The slapstick highlight of the film is a sequence where King Woolsey (as "King Zup") is seated outside his palace as the cross-eyed bomber Ben Turpin drops missiles on him and Wheeler desperately tries to protect his pal. Some of the comic asides between Woolsey and former queen Leni Stengel miss their target, but then a few land straight on. "Cracked Nuts" may not have the same impact as "Duck Soup", but there are moments when it almost reeks of genius.

MartinHafer The film began with Wheeler sneaking into the apartment of his girlfriend. Her aunt (Edna May Oliver--a person too talented for this film) didn't like Wheeler--a sentiment I can easily relate to. The aunt decided to take this bland young lady abroad to get her away from Wheeler. They left and Wheeler invested in a revolution in a small mythical kingdom because they promised to make him their king. At about the same time, Woolsey was in the same small mythical kingdom and he was made king. So when Wheeler arrived, it was up to the boys to fight it out, but they refused because they are already friends--which greatly disappointed the people, as killing and replacing kings is a national pastime.I am a huge fan of comedy from the Golden Age of Hollywood--the silent era through the 1940s. I have seen and reviewed hundreds, if not thousands of these films and yet despite my love and appreciation for these films I have never been able to understand the appeal of Wheeler and Woolsey--the only comedy team that might be as bad as the Ritz Brothers! Despite being very successful in their short careers in Hollywood (cut short due to the early death of Robert Woolsey), I can't help but notice that practically every other successful team did the same basic ideas but much better. For example, there were many elements of this film reminiscent of the Marx Brother's film, DUCK SOUP, yet CRACKED NUTS never made me laugh and DUCK SOUP was a silly and highly enjoyable romp. At times, Woolsey talked a bit like Groucho, but his jokes never have punchlines that even remotely are funny! In fact, he just seemed to prattle pointlessly. His only funny quality was that he looked goofy--surely not enough reason to put him on film. Additionally, Wheeler had the comedic appeal of a piece of cheese--a piece of cheese that sang very poorly! A missed opportunity was the old Vaudeville routine later popularized by Abbott and Costello as "who's on first" which was done in this film but it lacked any spark of wit or timing. In fact, soon after they started their spiel, they just ended the routine--so prematurely that you are left frustrated. I knew that "who's on first" had been around for many years and used by many teams, but I really wanted to see Wheeler and Woolsey give it a fair shot and give it their own twist.Once again, I have found yet another sub-par film by this duo. While I must admit that I liked a few of their films mildly (such as SILLY BILLIES and THE RAINMAKERS--which I actually gave 6's to on IMDb), this one was a major endurance test to complete--something that I find happens all too often when I view the films of Wheeler and Woolsey. Where was all the humor?!

ksf-2 Cracked Nuts is a Wheeler and Woolsey vaudeville-type comedy made during the downward spiral of the depression. The patter, jokes, and non-stop puns come out quickly, with pauses for audience laughter (in the first half of the film). The jokes start right from the beginning, even during the opening credits. Look for Boris Karloff, who had already made 60 movies by 1931. Director Ed Cline had been directing comedies since 1916, so he certainly knew his business. He had also directed most of the W C Fields movies, which explains the great comedic timing. Character actress Edna May Oliver is Aunt Minnie, who always played the disapproving, prim & proper matriarch in Tale of Two Cities, Little Women, and tons of other movies. Beautiful Dorothy Lee, with her big expressive eyes, plays Betty Harrington, and had already made several movies with Wheeler & Woolsey, so she knew their timing. German actress Leni Stengel plays Carlotta. Fun, if a little dated, (note the blocks of ice being delivered at the start of the movie) it has the feel of an Abbott & Costello film. Although the plot and jokes are the stars here, unlike in an A & C movie, where it was more about the stars. It was made prior to the Hays Code, and except for a gay reference at about 23 minutes in, it is not at all sexual or naughty, although there are opportunities, since the king wears a kilt... This 1931 version does not seem to be related to the 1941 film of same name, which was also directed by Ed Cline. For an even funnier Wheeler and Woolsey film, watch Peach O Reno...