. . . will strike many as being in poor taste. Some have said that the "Springtime for Hitler" portion of Mel Brooks' THE PRODUCERS crosses a line by indirectly lampooning SCHINDLER'S LIST. Since CHAIN GANG gave Adolf Eichmann and his Nazi cronies many tips from the government of Georgia (the U.S. Southern state--NOT the former part of the U.S.S.R.) for the planning of Auschwitz and the other Death Camps a few years later, this Vitaphone live action short--which segues from actual CHAIN GANG footage into the most gonzo-style mocking of America's Fascist Past--is akin to lampooning Kiddie Porn. Adults should be smart enough to know that you just don't do it! The only useful purpose to which 20,000 CHEERS FOR THE CHAIN GANG can be put in a 21st Century World is to help separate the sheep from the goats (as in the middle portion of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE). After suspects have had their eyes taped open, they would be forced to watch the Paul Muni feature first. That would be followed by this travesty of bad humor. Any suspect who emitted a single snicker, titter, or chuckle during CHEERS would then be locked up for life. Society must rid itself of such Sociopaths!
13 Reviews
This musical comedy variety show spoof of I AM A FUGITIVE FROM THE CHAIN GANG . . .
oscaralbert2 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The jail house rock gets to do the cell block tango.
mark.waltz9 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This amusing but dated and corny musical short shows how escaped inmates from a hard as nails prison miss out on the glamorization of their cells when the warden decides to make a few changes after they are notified of an upcoming inspection of prison conditions. It basically turns into a Busby Berkeley like visit as chorus girls, singing inmates and other entertainers get to show their stuff. "Steak again? What I wouldn't give for some beans!" one prisoner basically says, their dirty uniforms altered into almost like tuxedo like outfits. In the meantime, the prisoners interrupt a college picnic, hide from their pursuers in a pond (one of them squirting one of the dogs on their trail with water out of the straw providing them with air), then desperately try to return when they hear about the good times going on. One diminutive prisoner desperately wants to go back to the rock pile thanks to a nagging wife while the others who forced him to escape want to partake of the good times they're missing. The dogs on their chase are your every day "nellie dog", chasing the prisoners on their hind legs with their coiffed tales wagging in the breeze. It's all in good fun, and the final shot is hysterically funny. More a curio than a work of art, it's nostalgia at its most eye-rolling silly, and I think most of the laughs are at its expense rather than with it.
weird musical short
SnoopyStyle20 March 2024
Five prisoners escape from a chain gang work crew. The prison system is being investigated by a blue ribbon commission which orders a series of lavish changes. Upon hearing about the changes, the escapees all gather to return to the prison.
It's all a little surreal from the very start. The dogs are just comedically silly. I almost like this for its silliness. This is a strange little short. I don't know any of these performers and it's not like the performances are so great. The coke bottle picnic dance is cringe. They seem like second tier talents being given something to do. This is a bit of nothingness.
It's all a little surreal from the very start. The dogs are just comedically silly. I almost like this for its silliness. This is a strange little short. I don't know any of these performers and it's not like the performances are so great. The coke bottle picnic dance is cringe. They seem like second tier talents being given something to do. This is a bit of nothingness.
Not Enough Here for Cheers
Michael_Elliott3 November 2013
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang (1933)
** (out of 4)
During the 1930s Warner was known for their hard-hitting social dramas and I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG was one of their greatest. This two-reeler is a spoof of that film and centers on a group of chain gang workers who grow tired of the horrid conditions so they decide to escape. Soon afterwards they get word that the prison has made some terrific changes so the men decided they want to break back in. 20,000 CHEERS FROM A CHAIN GANG has a pretty good title but that's about the only good thing going for it. It wasn't rare for Warner to spoof their features in their short films so this here certainly isn't anything new but at the same time very little is done with it. There are a few funny moments scattered throughout the film including one bit where the men are being chased by the dogs but the dogs turn out to be poodles and other non-threatening breeds. Another funny moment happens when the men try to break their chains but have a few issues. With that said, there are several moments that simply aren't funny and at times the film just comes across very boring and flat. This includes the entire second half of the picture where we see all the "changes" that were made but I assure you none of them will add any entertainment value.
** (out of 4)
During the 1930s Warner was known for their hard-hitting social dramas and I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG was one of their greatest. This two-reeler is a spoof of that film and centers on a group of chain gang workers who grow tired of the horrid conditions so they decide to escape. Soon afterwards they get word that the prison has made some terrific changes so the men decided they want to break back in. 20,000 CHEERS FROM A CHAIN GANG has a pretty good title but that's about the only good thing going for it. It wasn't rare for Warner to spoof their features in their short films so this here certainly isn't anything new but at the same time very little is done with it. There are a few funny moments scattered throughout the film including one bit where the men are being chased by the dogs but the dogs turn out to be poodles and other non-threatening breeds. Another funny moment happens when the men try to break their chains but have a few issues. With that said, there are several moments that simply aren't funny and at times the film just comes across very boring and flat. This includes the entire second half of the picture where we see all the "changes" that were made but I assure you none of them will add any entertainment value.
No Cheers for This Warners Short
evanston_dad23 June 2006
This Warners short, which I presume ran on the same bill as Mervyn LeRoy's "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang," is a mostly tired and unfunny film. It reminded me of just about every "Saturday Night Live" skit ever made, in which all of the actors think the material is funnier than the people watching it, and push a one-note joke to the brink of exhaustion.
It is sort of fun to watch this after LeRoy's movie, because it spoofs specific details from the movie rather than its premise in general. Replacing the jailers' pack of bloodhounds with a bunch of fluffy white poodles was sort of funny, and I also liked the bellboy whose uniform was made of prison stripes.
There are a lot of musical numbers incorporated into the action, performed by people I'd never heard of. The whole thing feels very patchwork and grade Z, with terrible sound and only the most cursory attention given to the actual film-making.
It is sort of fun to watch this after LeRoy's movie, because it spoofs specific details from the movie rather than its premise in general. Replacing the jailers' pack of bloodhounds with a bunch of fluffy white poodles was sort of funny, and I also liked the bellboy whose uniform was made of prison stripes.
There are a lot of musical numbers incorporated into the action, performed by people I'd never heard of. The whole thing feels very patchwork and grade Z, with terrible sound and only the most cursory attention given to the actual film-making.
Sometimes whimsically funny, sometimes silly, but interesting
morrisonhimself11 December 2016
"Interesting" is rather a neutral adjective, connoting neither good nor bad. (In fact, remember that supposed Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times.")
But "20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang" is much more interesting than entertaining.
It is one of the numerous Vitaphone shorts presented by Turner Classic Movies on the 90th anniversary of Vitaphone, then shown On Demand as part of a couple hours of some of the shorts.
Jerry Bergen, whoever he was, is the nominal star, but he was more of a distraction, with a silly hairdo and almost as silly mannerisms. (He somewhat reminded me of Joe Besser.)
However, as the ridiculous, but intendedly so, story continued, the movie became eminently watchable because of some beautiful legs among some talented dancers.
Roy Mack directed hundreds of these Vitaphone shorts, and naturally some of them were better, and some, like this one, not so much.
James Baskett is the uncredited singer, and is always worth hearing, and Harry Shannon, a good actor, is the uncredited warden.
Sure, give it a look. It won't take more than a few minutes, and you might get a kick out of the very non-seriousness.
But "20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang" is much more interesting than entertaining.
It is one of the numerous Vitaphone shorts presented by Turner Classic Movies on the 90th anniversary of Vitaphone, then shown On Demand as part of a couple hours of some of the shorts.
Jerry Bergen, whoever he was, is the nominal star, but he was more of a distraction, with a silly hairdo and almost as silly mannerisms. (He somewhat reminded me of Joe Besser.)
However, as the ridiculous, but intendedly so, story continued, the movie became eminently watchable because of some beautiful legs among some talented dancers.
Roy Mack directed hundreds of these Vitaphone shorts, and naturally some of them were better, and some, like this one, not so much.
James Baskett is the uncredited singer, and is always worth hearing, and Harry Shannon, a good actor, is the uncredited warden.
Sure, give it a look. It won't take more than a few minutes, and you might get a kick out of the very non-seriousness.
They Get No Kick From Champagne
boblipton16 November 2020
In this bizarre little variety short, four convicts on the chain gang escape and disrupt a chorus line singing about soda pop; they escape in the confusion. In the meantime, the warden, facing a blue ribbon committee, liberalizes the penal operation, allowing the prisoners to go shooting, and hiring chorines to dance at the daily steak dinners.
Since it's from Warner Brothers, we take a look at I WAS A PRISONER FROM THE CHAIN GANG, based on a real story, and realize this is an attack on the state from whom the man escaped; it was Georgia. They claimed their chain gangs were run with the utmost humanity. So this burlesques that.
Unfortunately, it's too over the top. Nowadays, we may look at it without the context of the moment. You can't really do that.
Since it's from Warner Brothers, we take a look at I WAS A PRISONER FROM THE CHAIN GANG, based on a real story, and realize this is an attack on the state from whom the man escaped; it was Georgia. They claimed their chain gangs were run with the utmost humanity. So this burlesques that.
Unfortunately, it's too over the top. Nowadays, we may look at it without the context of the moment. You can't really do that.
"Hey fellas, lets' escape!"
classicsoncall11 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Hmm... I seem to be detecting a pattern here. With over two hundred film shorts to his credit, it's not surprising that director Roy Mack would go to the well more than once for the same idea. Trouble is, I seem to be catching them all in a row. In this case, I'm referring to a gimmick in the story turning out to be nothing more than a dream sequence of one of the principal characters. Catching a whole slew of these film shorts on TCM the past week, I've already seen "Soft Drinks and Sweet Music" and "Good Morning, Eve", both of which also disclosed events as a dream at the finale. Oh well, let's just go with the flow.
So what we have here is a quintet of prisoners making a break for it from a chain gang while the inept prison guards don't seem particularly interested in catching them. Almost every other reviewer here mentions the posse using poodles and a collie to track the bad guys, but having been a Maltese owner for quite a few years, those 'poodles' looked suspiciously like Maltese dogs, or perhaps their close cousins, Bichon Frise. I can pretty safely say those dogs wouldn't have tracked anyone other than their owners!
After their escape, the story zeroes in on one of the convicts named Jerry (Jerry Bergen) who makes it home to his wife. But after spending some not-so quality time with the Mrs., the 'dirty little fugitive' (wife's description, not mine) high tails it back to the swamp to hook back up with his chain gang buddies, who presumably have the same idea - let's break back into the hoosegow! You see, the warden is making some adjustments in order to pass muster with a governor's representative who'll be arriving soon to report on prison conditions.
For what it is, this short is an amusing but non-sensical tale at least made lively by a bevy of dance hall beauties near the finale. But it wouldn't be long before the inmates would have to trade in their striped tuxes for real life back on the chain gang. That's about the time Jerry woke up!
So what we have here is a quintet of prisoners making a break for it from a chain gang while the inept prison guards don't seem particularly interested in catching them. Almost every other reviewer here mentions the posse using poodles and a collie to track the bad guys, but having been a Maltese owner for quite a few years, those 'poodles' looked suspiciously like Maltese dogs, or perhaps their close cousins, Bichon Frise. I can pretty safely say those dogs wouldn't have tracked anyone other than their owners!
After their escape, the story zeroes in on one of the convicts named Jerry (Jerry Bergen) who makes it home to his wife. But after spending some not-so quality time with the Mrs., the 'dirty little fugitive' (wife's description, not mine) high tails it back to the swamp to hook back up with his chain gang buddies, who presumably have the same idea - let's break back into the hoosegow! You see, the warden is making some adjustments in order to pass muster with a governor's representative who'll be arriving soon to report on prison conditions.
For what it is, this short is an amusing but non-sensical tale at least made lively by a bevy of dance hall beauties near the finale. But it wouldn't be long before the inmates would have to trade in their striped tuxes for real life back on the chain gang. That's about the time Jerry woke up!
Jaw-droppingly awful
fredcdobbs526 March 2016
I don't mind parodies at all--I loved "The Producers" and think "Springtime for Hitler" is terrific--but the people who did this travesty hadn't the slightest idea of what a parody was. This schizophrenic little short doesn't quite know what it's supposed to be--it bounces from slapstick comedy to musical numbers to (somewhat) serious comments on the brutal chain-gang system, and fails miserably at all of them. The lead "comic", someone named Jerry Bergen, was someone I had never seen before and, hopefully, won't see again. As bad as this short is, he makes it even worse, and with his incessant mugging, shouting and forced slapstick he manages to combine the worst excesses of Jerry Lewis and Jim Carrey into one annoying and talentless little twerp.
If there's anything that could be even remotely considered to be a bright spot, it's a bevy of scantily dressed chorus girls doing a Radio City Rockette-type production number in the prison's chow hall--don't ask--and there's an amusing bit where the prison authorities track down the escaped prisoners not with large bloodhounds but with small poodles. Other than that, this atrocity has absolutely nothing whatsoever going for it.
If there's anything that could be even remotely considered to be a bright spot, it's a bevy of scantily dressed chorus girls doing a Radio City Rockette-type production number in the prison's chow hall--don't ask--and there's an amusing bit where the prison authorities track down the escaped prisoners not with large bloodhounds but with small poodles. Other than that, this atrocity has absolutely nothing whatsoever going for it.
Successful absurdist mockery of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
BrandtSponseller9 July 2005
This is a 20-minute long spoof of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), directed by Roy Mack and starring Jerry Bergen. It is now available on DVD as an extra on I Am a Fugitive.
Because this is also a Warner Brothers production, Mack actually begins with a shot, under the titles, from I Am a Fugitive--of the chain gang working along a curved dirt road on a hill. It segues right away to the main character's existence in the chain gang, and spoofs the scene of James Allen's (Paul Muni) escape. Bergen's character, also named Jerry, runs through the woods with three other men. Instead of bloodhounds, the prison guards run after them with poodles and a Lassie-like collie. Eventually, state officials are scheduled to visit the chain gang facility to make sure that everything is kosher. The warden implements "a few changes". The changes are very amusing, as they turn the prison into more of a resort/country club.
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang is best watched immediately after I Am a Fugitive. Many of the funniest scenes work because of the changes they make to the original film. However, there is a hilarious original "soda song" (which I would suspect might have been spoofing an early theatrical commercial) that supplies our heroes with the straws they will need for hiding in the swamp, and later on, 20,000 Cheers becomes something of a vaudeville review.
At times, 20,000 Cheers plays a bit seriously--I didn't know anything about it when I first started watching it and thought it might have been just another chain gang film, and some of the musical performances are fairly serious. But the straighter moments are just as enjoyable, and they help emphasize the comedy. Quite often, the humor depends on gradually pulling serious material more and more towards absurdism.
The only downside to this short is that there's not more of it. It's good enough that a feature length spoof of I Am a Fugitive would have worked well.
Because this is also a Warner Brothers production, Mack actually begins with a shot, under the titles, from I Am a Fugitive--of the chain gang working along a curved dirt road on a hill. It segues right away to the main character's existence in the chain gang, and spoofs the scene of James Allen's (Paul Muni) escape. Bergen's character, also named Jerry, runs through the woods with three other men. Instead of bloodhounds, the prison guards run after them with poodles and a Lassie-like collie. Eventually, state officials are scheduled to visit the chain gang facility to make sure that everything is kosher. The warden implements "a few changes". The changes are very amusing, as they turn the prison into more of a resort/country club.
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang is best watched immediately after I Am a Fugitive. Many of the funniest scenes work because of the changes they make to the original film. However, there is a hilarious original "soda song" (which I would suspect might have been spoofing an early theatrical commercial) that supplies our heroes with the straws they will need for hiding in the swamp, and later on, 20,000 Cheers becomes something of a vaudeville review.
At times, 20,000 Cheers plays a bit seriously--I didn't know anything about it when I first started watching it and thought it might have been just another chain gang film, and some of the musical performances are fairly serious. But the straighter moments are just as enjoyable, and they help emphasize the comedy. Quite often, the humor depends on gradually pulling serious material more and more towards absurdism.
The only downside to this short is that there's not more of it. It's good enough that a feature length spoof of I Am a Fugitive would have worked well.
Pit bulls are getting a bad rap, according to the . . .
cricket3017 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
. . . latest Special Note About Canine Kill Statistics (or SNACKS) report. Poodles eat three times the number of toddlers consumed by every breed of pit bull COMBINED, followed closely by collies and cocker spaniels, SNACKS documents. So it is NOT surprising to see the dog pack leading the hunt for the quintet of escaped road crew felons spearheaded by poodles and collies during 20,000 CHEERS FOR THE CHAIN GANG. My brother (who is NOT a desperado!) once worked as a census enumerator, but his career was nipped in the butt by a cocker spaniel. I hate to think what could have happened IF a poodle or collie had sunk their fangs into him! My brother's Rules of Employment barred him from packing heat while performing his door-to-door surveys. (This sort of callous maltreatment is quite typical of the low-paying jobs available Today for young people with only two college degrees.) So why not watch 20,000 CHEERS FOR THE CHAIN GANG, and THEN show you support to Broke Americans Need Gun Stamps (BANGS)?
So they set this musical short on a chain gang. So I can only assume the slaughterhouse and morgue refused to have them film there instead!
planktonrules8 December 2016
Of all the ludicrous places to set a musical short, some very kooky people at Vitaphone thought it would be a great idea to have it be on a chain gang!! Yes, when I think of song and dance, I often think of chain gangs!!
When the film starts, the chain gang is singing up a storm and having an awfully good time, or so it seems. Some of these guys actually DO want to escape and they soon bolt towards freedom. Go figure...as it looked awfully amusing on the chain gang! Soon the law goes chasing after these fellows and the escapees wander upon a swell dance party...and everyone runs away when they see these guys in striped uniforms. Little do the escapees know that they SHOULD have stayed with the gang. This is because in the meantime, a committee is coming to inspect the barracks and the health of the chain gang. Because of this the boss decides to make a few 'small changes' to impress the committee. This actually is VERY funny...and you just have to see it for yourself. And what does happen to these five escapees? Just see it for yourself...you won't regret it.
This movie manages to work for one reason...it is completely ludicrous and silly. Anthing else would have been in bad taste and stupid....and while this one is very stupid, it's stupid in a GOOD way! Very cute and surprisingly funny...and a nice counterpoint to Warner's big hit from the year before, "I Was a Fugitive From a Chain Gang".
When the film starts, the chain gang is singing up a storm and having an awfully good time, or so it seems. Some of these guys actually DO want to escape and they soon bolt towards freedom. Go figure...as it looked awfully amusing on the chain gang! Soon the law goes chasing after these fellows and the escapees wander upon a swell dance party...and everyone runs away when they see these guys in striped uniforms. Little do the escapees know that they SHOULD have stayed with the gang. This is because in the meantime, a committee is coming to inspect the barracks and the health of the chain gang. Because of this the boss decides to make a few 'small changes' to impress the committee. This actually is VERY funny...and you just have to see it for yourself. And what does happen to these five escapees? Just see it for yourself...you won't regret it.
This movie manages to work for one reason...it is completely ludicrous and silly. Anthing else would have been in bad taste and stupid....and while this one is very stupid, it's stupid in a GOOD way! Very cute and surprisingly funny...and a nice counterpoint to Warner's big hit from the year before, "I Was a Fugitive From a Chain Gang".
good
Daniel Ocean28 July 2002
A wonderful and often funny look at the life in a chain gang. Worth checking out if you could find it anywhere. It was well acted, nicely directed, and pretty interesting in its humorous look at Chain Gang farm under inspection.
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