Whoopee!,
1931 was Berkeley's first film as dance director
and a new version of Florenz Ziegfeld's successful 1928
stage production starring Eddie Cantor who was a huge box
office star at the time. Whoopee! was done for Samuel Goldwyn
before Berkeley went to Warner Brothers. The story
takes place in a dude ranch and indian tourist shop. This
film represents the first use of some cinematic effects
which would be later identified with Berkeley. In
his 'Cowboy Number' Berkeley first uses his overhead pattern
effect showing how geometry and kaleidoscopic patterns
would later become a staple in Berkeley films.
This
was also his first use of the priapic tracking shot which
went through the spread legs of chorus girls.
