Bert Wheeler

A Pre-Code musical comedy set in a traveling circus in the Old South, directed by Luther Reed for RKO. Bebe Daniels stars as Dixiana, a circus performer caught in a love triangle between a wealthy plantation owner's son and a villainous suitor. The film introduced the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey (Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey) to film audiences, and their rapid-fire banter and physical comedy made them instant favorites, launching a decade-long series of RKO comedies. The film was originally released in Technicolor sequences, though most surviving prints are in black and white. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Musical · Romance

A Wheeler & Woolsey comedy directed by Paul Sloane for RKO. Bert and Bob are two American soldiers in Paris during World War I who go AWOL to enjoy the city's nightlife. When military police catch up with them, they disguise themselves as officers and end up in increasingly absurd situations, including a run-in with a German spy. Dorothy Lee plays the nurse who falls for Bert, adding romance to the duo's rapid-fire comedy. The film was one of several Wheeler & Woolsey service comedies and helped establish their formula of wisecracks, physical gags, and musical numbers. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · War

A Wheeler & Woolsey comedy directed by Edward F. Cline for RKO. Two down-on-their-luck insurance salesmen (Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey) are sent to investigate a suspicious death at a hotel, where they encounter a beautiful woman (Dorothy Lee) and a cast of suspicious characters. The film features the duo's trademark blend of verbal wordplay and physical slapstick, with Woolsey's cigar-chomping wisecracks and Wheeler's boyish energy in full display. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy

A 1929 American pre-Code RKO musical comedy starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles, along with the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey. Based on the 1927 stage musical produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, the film follows Capt. Jim Stewart (Boles), who pursues the bandit "The Kinkajou" over the Mexican border and falls in love with Rita (Daniels), though he suspects that her brother is the bandit. The film was the biggest and most expensive RKO production of 1929 and the studio's biggest box office hit until King Kong (1933). Its finale was photographed in two-color Technicolor. Rio Rita was chosen as one of the 10 best films of 1929 by Film Daily. The film united Wheeler and Woolsey as a team and made them famous.

Musical · Romance · Western