Hook, Line and Sinker (1930)

IMDb plot summary: Two fast-talking insurance salesmen meet Mary, who is running away from her wealthy mother, and they agree to help her run a hotel that she owns.

Directed by Edward F. Cline. Starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, and Dorothy Lee.

Hook, Line and Sinker is a 1930 comedy about two insurance salesmen who get into the hotel business with a young woman. It goes successfully, until two rival crime gangs decide to break into the hotel safe at the same time. This is the kind of movie that I immediately had to look up to find out if it was a vehicle for the two leads as a comedy team, and it absolutely was; the pair, known professionally as Wheeler & Woolsey, made three other films together in 1930 alone. Their chemistry and fun back-and-forth patter is definitely the foundation of the movie, and it's responsible for most of the laughs. Although the setup is enjoyably farcical, it's the two leads' reactions to it that really sells it. There's not a lot of substance here, but at only 75 minutes long, it doesn't wear out its welcome either. Definitely worth a watch for anyone looking for lesser-known 1930s comedies!

How it entered my Flickchart:

Hook, Line and Sinker > Forever Young

Hook, Line and Sinker < Safe

Hook, Line and Sinker < Die Hard

Hook, Line and Sinker > Fanboys

Hook, Line and Sinker > Interview with the Vampire

Hook, Line and Sinker > Raising Cain

Hook, Line and Sinker < Timecop

Hook, Line and Sinker > Fury

Hook, Line and Sinker > All About My Mother

Hook, Line and Sinker < Poltergeist

Hook, Line and Sinker > Furlough

Final spot: #1438 out of 3744, or 62%.