Five Beats per Second

An excerpt from the surreal Helzapoppin‘, starring the comedy duo Olsen and Johnson. (Not to mention Slim & Slam, Shemp Howard, and Elisha Cook, Jr., as “the writer.”)  A film which, with its dreamlike action and constant breaking of the fourth wall, would nowadays would be considered metafictional, except the word didn’t exist back in 1941. Dancing here are Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, who also performed as the Congaroos.  These were the dancers who dominated the Cat’s Corner, reserved for the b...