"Any similarity between Hellzapoppin' and a Motion Picture is purely coincidental..."

I concur with Nick. Olsen and Johnson are due for a comeback. Heck, they even have the endorsement of Quentin Tarantino, which officially makes Chic and Olie "hip", "edgy", and "dangerous". Universal should slap his mug all over a 2 DVD O&J set and rake in the dough! I keep hearing, however, that there's some ancient legal hangup preventing Universal from releasing Hellzapoppin' to DVD in the US. They had released it on VHS in the UK a couple of years ago, so it's not as if they've been completely sitting on it. All I can say is it must be one doozy of a legal snafu to keep a movie tied up for sixty-four years!

One minor quibble. Personally, I think Olsen and Johnson's Universal features (at least the three I've seen) are far wilder and funnier than anything the extremely methodical Tex Avery ever made. If anything, their comedy bears a stronger resemblance to the anything-goes, emotionally frazzled cartoons Bob Clampett directed in the 40s. There may have been method to the madness, but the infectious abandon of Olsen and Johnson's comedy was heartfelt and real. Just ask any victim of one of their nearly-reflexive practical jokes. And Chic's manic giggle? That's just the way he laughed.

And here's the truth: Olsen and Johnson are hip, edgy, and dangerous. They should have made a hundred comedies.