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Double Whoopee

1929 film by Lewis R. Foster

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ1754638
Source-derived summary

Double Whoopee is a 1929 Hal Roach Studios silent short comedy starring Laurel and Hardy. It was shot during February 1929 and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on May 18.

Plot

A hotel reception awaits an important guest - a Germanic prince referred to as His Highness and his prime minister. These disembark from their car just as Laurel and Hardy arrive. However, the Von Stroheim-style prince starts a prolonged preening process on his white Prussian military uniform. Hotel staff presume Hardy is the prince and a crowd gathers as they sign the register.

Laurel and Hardy eventually show their letter of introduction - they have come to work as staff, and play the roles of a footman (Hardy) and doorman (Laurel) at a swanky Broadway hotel. Jean Harlow also makes a brief appearance in this film, as a blonde bombshell who gets partially stripped by Laurel & Hardy. Their card reads--"These boys are the best we could do on such short notice. There is some reason to believe that they may be competant".

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Double Whoopee” is 1929 film by Lewis R. Foster. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Double, Whoopee and film, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1929—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1929-01-01. For this dossier, Double, Whoopee and film is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “1929 film by Lewis R. Foster” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1754638. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1929.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Double Whoopee”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Double Whoopee primary sources, Double Whoopee archive and Double research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Double Whoopee”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Double Whoopee” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.