"Cockeyed Cavaliers" is one of the best of the Wheeler and Woolsey comedy films. Set in medieval England, Bert and Bob are a couple of characters who are frequently in trouble with the law because of Bert's habit of "lifting" things. Some of the humor in this one is when odd and unusual things disappear right under people's noses, due to kleptomaniac, Bert Winstanley. For instance, a team of horses from in front of a carriage, then the carriage, etc. The musical aspects are okay, but don't add much to the comedy.
The boys are put in stocks in public where the public has a field day tossing vegetables at them. Later, they take over the identities of the king's physician and assistant, and make a call on The Duke of Weskit to cure his illness. Oh, yes, the females in the story are Thelma Todd as Lady Genevieve and Dorothy Lee as Mary Ann Dale. One of the best supporting actor butlers of the golden age of Hollywood is in this film - Robert Greig as The Duke. Some other familiar faces are Noah Beery, Billy Gilbert, and Franklin Pangborn.
The best of the humor here is in the situations and antics, although the dialog is peppered with one-liners, mostly by Woolsey. The latter was much funnier in its day than in modern times because of its delivery. Some actors - especially comedians, had carried a vaudeville habit of speaking to the audience into films. Woolsey isn't as obvious as Groucho Marx or Red Skelton, for instance, but one can still see it in his tongue-in-cheek one-liners that are usually accompanied by raised eyebrows or darting side-glances. Two great entertainers later made films in which one or both of them would speak to the audience directly. In the Road Show films and some others of the 1950s, Bing Crosby ad Bob Hope would step aside in a scene to make a comment to the audience, looking directly into the camera. It may have been a little extra funny to some back then, but it was a characteristic that I think hampered the appeal of such films for audiences in the future.
Anyway, this is a funny film with Bert and Bob looking even more hilarious when they don the fancy English costumers. Here are some favorite lines from this film.
Robert Waltravers (Bob Woolsey), "She's liable to have us beheaded." Bert Winstanley (Bert Wheeler), "Beheaded? Can she d that?" Bob, "Sure, she can be had." (sic)
Bert, "You know, the doctor says I'm a kleptomaniac." Bob, "Yeah, well why don't you take something for it?" Bert, "I've taken everything."
Bert, "Do you think we ought a send for a lawyer?" Bob, "Certainly not. We're in enough trouble as it is."
