Cockeyed Cavaliers

This is the one where the boys are in the 1600s (although you'd never guess from Woolsey's cigar and specs!), where Bert is a kleptomanic - the scene early on where he manages to steal a necklace, four horses, and finally a carriage in quick succession is a hoot - while Bob tries to keep their heads on (literally). Cutie Dorothy Lee, meanwhile, is trying to escape being married to burly oldie Robert Grieg the randy Duke, and runs away disguised as a boy.

Highlights of this fun film are the two songs - the first, The Big Bad Wolf is Dead, might go on a bit, but gives the boys a chance to do a dance routine, plus Noah Beery joining in with his magnificent bass voice; the second, Dilly Dally, is a catchy number for the boys, Dorothy, and lovely Thelma Todd (who had so much potential but would die in tragic circumstances just a year later). I also got quite a buzz from the scene in the inn which referenced the previous year's Garbo pic, Queen Christina (where the 'boy' admits she is a girl). Then of course there is the wild boar hunt, a triumph of trick photography.

Director Mark Sandrich would move on to direct Top Hat and other well-remembered movies shortly after, but this one does him and his cast proud.