What makes it different from others?

Excellent, a Must See

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

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.

While not their best, this harmless 65 minute feature puts Wheeler and Woolsey dead center, rather than using them in supporting roles. It's no great comedy, but is quite pleasant and passes the time. It's really a series of two person one liners. Woolsey is constantly amusing opposite Leni Stengel as Queen Carlotta (Have you ever seriously considered marriage? she asks. Certainly, he replies, that's why I'm single.) We know we're in for chuckles when the first gag is a visual one- the camera moving in on the apartment house where Aunt Minnie stays - the name is Venus De Milo Arms. As Aunt Minnie announces, "Stop talking while I'm interrupting you." we spin into the plot, nicely laid out by other reviewers on this site. Outstanding is the battle plan sequence, where towns are named "What" and "Which," etc., while Woolsey fumes in exasperation.Lots of fun, especially the concluding bombing sequence. "As Caesar says, All roads lead to rum."

Getting there first, exploring grounds that the Marx Brothers covered so thoroughly in Duck Soup are the RKO team of Wheeler&Woolsey who get themselves mixed up in the politics of some backwater country in South America in Cracked Nuts. Bob Woolsey wins the throne of El Dorania in a crap game and spends the rest of the film trying to avoid assassination plots cooked up by disgruntled general Stanley Fields.Woolsey's partner Bert Wheeler has his own problems in the romance area. He's in love with Dorothy Lee, but he's got to deal with her formidable aunt, Edna May Oliver. Wheeler is the schnook of the team, playing parts that Eddie Cantor and later Danny Kaye would do with far more acclaim.Cracked Nuts might not be all its cracked up to be. I'd certainly rate Duck Soup over it. Yet it does have its moments, particularly the last attempt at Woolsey's life by Ben Turpin, dropping bombs during a ceremony.It's a film that can stand on its own merits. But I wish Edna May Oliver had more screen time. She's a favorite of mine and I've never been disappointed with her in any performance. She's reason enough to see Cracked Nuts.

Wheeler and Woolsey made this romp about revolutions, assassinations, and romantic shenanigans, with a supporting cast including Dorothy Lee (who doesn't have much to do), Edna May Oliver (funny in fits and starts but not on screen enough), Boris Karloff (unmemorable), and Ben Turpin (cross-eyed as ever).There are some cute and funny bits - the opening sequence with Wheeler and the elevator; the 'What' and 'Which' sequence with the map; the flying bombs; the aunt and the shower; and so on.The one musical number for Wheeler and Lee is awful, nowhere near their usual standard, and actually becomes tedious and irritating very quickly.'Cracked Nuts' is mildly diverting but not particularly good as a whole; it is one of the team's weaker efforts. Although W&W are always good value and entertaining, their co-stars have a poor script to work with and not much of a plot.