Pardon Us.

Review #2484: Pardon Us.

Cast: 

Stan Laurel (Stan), Oliver Hardy (Ollie), Wilfred Lucas (Warden), June Marlowe (Warden's Daughter), James Finlayson (Schoolteacher), Walter Long (The Tiger), Tiny Sandford (Shields, Prison Guard), Otto Fries (Dentist), and Charlie Hall (Dentist's Assistant) Directed by James Parrott.

Review: 

Admittedly, I plain forgot to really check out the comedy duo of Laurel and Hardy. So, why not start with their first feature-length film?  British-born Stan Laurel had started on the stage at 16 and did work in music halls (Fred Karno was a particular influence on Laurel and the one he was an understudy to in Charlie Chaplin) and eventually ended up at the Roach studio as director/writer by the 1920s. As for Georgia-born Oliver Hardy, he was a stage singer-turned comedian that had thrived in Florida productions (such as playing second banana to Billy West [a Charlie Chaplin impersonator] shorts) before going to Hollywood to seek new chances. Officially, they became a team in 1927 with Putting Pants on Phillip; Leo McCarey is stated to have aided the duo in helping develop their format. Most of the work they did until 1950 on film was in shorts (totaling over 70, sound and silent), but they did do 23 feature films, mostly with Roach (who when he had a dispute with Laurel, he tried to pair Hardy with Harry Langdon with Zenobia) that went right down to their last in Atoll K (1951). The two even had time to appear on television before Hardy's health started to decline that saw him die in 1957 at the age of 65; Laurel did not appear on film or stage again. He was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1961, four years prior to his death at the age of 74.* There exist various versions of the film: a British cut (Jailbirds) lasts 41 minutes while the original release and reissue was 55 minutes, an extended cut lasted 64 minutes and the current DVD edition runs at 70. The funny thing is that there were also foreign-language editions of the film made with the same sets for Spanish, Italian, German, and French, although only the Spanish version survives (apparently, Boris Karloff appeared in the French version). 

Apparently, the 1930 film The Big House was a big enough hit that Roach wanted to a short film making fun of the prison drama and even wanted to use the same sets. MGM was fine with it...if the duo would do a feature for them. Roach decided instead to make a replica of the prison sets. The result was a film that went from a short to having enough material to just be a full-length film. Sure, it might be a bit dated, as evidenced by it being made when one could be arrested for selling beer (or the blackface bit, which happens midway through*). It's a pretty episodic (it was directed by James Parrott, one mostly versed in shorts, which included the future Academy Award-winning short The Music Box [1932]) and disjointed affair, but it can be enjoyable in parts for those in the mood for a bit of goofy fun. There's plenty to mine with a goofy tooth and a few silly scenarios involving the duo wandering through jail life. The duo basically glide through the film in setting up whatever gag is necessary that can be charming in its execution for mischief that basically comes and goes with timing you just don't see everyday. The jail sequences mostly come and go with a bit of chuckles, mostly with Long and his demeanor (Finlayson comes close, but there isn't anything that really just zings too highly or lowly for too long. In general, you have a movie that is fairly watchable and fairly on the level of having some goofs in a time where you could just roll with the gags and have a mostly pleasant experience seeing how it comes together with a game duo there to do it all.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

*Apparently, at the funeral, Buster Keaton stated that the funniest among them was not him or Chaplin but Laurel. Dick Van Dyke (December 13 will see him turn 100) even delivered a rendition of The Clown's Prayer.

*No, I did not intend to watch back-to-back movies where someone is in blackface. What the fuck?

The Perfect Clown.

Review #2042: The Perfect Clown.

 

Cast: 

Larry Semon (Bert Larry), Kate Price (Mrs. Sally Mulligan), Dorothy Dwan (Rosie), Joan Meredith (Her Chum), Otis Harlan (The Boss), Curtis McHenry (Snowball), Oliver Hardy (Babe Mulligan), and Frank Alexander (Tiny Tott) Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer (#667 - The Freshman, #674 - Grandma's Boy, #758 - Safety Last!, #864 - Hot Water, #889 - A Sailor-Made Man, #903 - Dr. Jack, #918 - Why Worry? and #938 - Girl Shy)

Review: 

Nine years ago, I reviewed a movie called Wizard of Oz (1925) that featured comedian Larry Semon as the star. It sucked. But hey, he was a comedian that had his time in the spotlight during the 1910s and early 1920s, clearly it was a case of me not picking something more representative of who Semon was as a presence in silent comedy. Born in West Point, Mississippi, he was born into vaudeville from his parents, a magician and assistant that did their own show. Semon worked for a time in graphic art with newspapers but found his way into vaudeville and later Vitagraph, where he had a contract that dealt with scenario writing, directing, and eventually starring for himself. He did a variety of short films (which can detailed in small part by better folks here) but eventually had to try his hand at feature filmmaking when it came to trying to make big financially due to his free-spending habits. All of this just so happens to match up with seeing Fred C. Newmeyer direct a film without Harold Lloyd in it. Actually, the Colorado native directed various comedy shorts and features between his time spent as an actor in the 1910s and early 1920s, which came after he had also tried his hand at minor league baseball. Newmeyer directed eight features that had Lloyd as star (albeit a few of those directing jobs were shared with Sam Taylor), but he made his first venture without Lloyd in Seven Keys to Baldpate (1925) that featured Douglas MacLean (unfortunately the film is lost). The Perfect Clown, was released not long after this one. So yes, the same year that saw Newmeyer go from directing Lloyd to going on his own was the same one where Semon was the star of two feature films, which both happen to feature Oliver Hardy (two years away from being paired up with Stan Laurel for the first time) in a supporting role.

Norman Taurog, who worked with Semon for a time, once related a story about Semon and his tactics by the mid-1920s. He would be handed a script by Semon before he left for a trip that meant that Taurog filmed the script with a stunt double (Bill Hauber) to stand in for Semon before he returned for shots of close-ups. Of course, a biography of Semon once stated that in a two-year span, Semon was reported to have taken a vacation that totaled two days. It seems that Semon had plenty of gag ideas brimming in his head that he needed to get done in some way, but that did not mean his sense of timing was good enough to execute said gags. Honestly, I wish I could say that the runtime being just a few minutes short of an hour means a jolly time for the curious. Alas, what we have is a pretty mediocre time that doesn't exactly live up to its title beyond an expressive face that its star has. It lingers in coincidences and gags that might as well pop up in a cheesy haunted house show, which is too corny to really be anything other than just the most bored of chuckles ever imaginable. Semon may very well have been trying to draw blood from a stone with his attempt at dragging comedy into feature form, he seems a bit played out within this structure. Granted, it is better than the "ambitious" attempt he did with the aforementioned Wizard film, because it is obviously less high-strung, but that doesn't mean much more than saying a man who did well in shorts necessairly should be in features. The stuff just seems a bit mechanical, not really generating anything besides mild bemusement with a persona that can't hold anything further than what you might have seen with an earlier silent comedian. There are gags here and there that make the film get a bit more chuckles (such as one involving a knocked over person), but as a whole it just is very okay. As a whole, it lingers with nothing special under the foundation that could make you want that many more like it. In short, being average is one thing, being better than generic average is another, but at least it might make you wonder just how much potential there might have been for Semon, and I suppose that is enough.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Babes in Toyland (1934).

Review #875: Babes in Toyland.

Cast:
Stan Laurel (Stannie Dum), Oliver Hardy (Ollie Dee), Charlotte Henry (Little Bo-Peep), Felix Knight (Tom-Tom Piper), Henry Brandon (Silas Barnaby), Florence Roberts (Mother Widow Peep), Virginia Karns (Mother Goose), Pete Gordon (The Cat and the Fiddle), Angelo Rossitto (Elmer the Pig), Zebedy Colt (Willie the Pig), Payne B. Johnson (Jiggs the Pig), Marie Wilson (Mary Quite Contrary), Johnny Downs (Little Boy Blue), Alice Moore (the Queen of Hearts), John George (Barnaby's servant), Kewpie Morgan (Old King Cole), Ferdinand Munier (Santa Claus), Robert Hoover (Bobby Shaftoe), Charley Rogers (Simple Simon), Jean Darling (Curly Locks), Billy Bletcher (the Chief of Police), and William Burress (the Toymaker) Directed by Gus Meins and Charley Rogers.

Review:
Considering that I had never seen a Laurel and Hardy film in the near six year run of Movie Night, it only made sense to do this film right near the holidays. Based off the operetta of the same name, Babes in Toyland (later re-released under the title March of the Wooden Soldiers) is a fairly engaging movie that has a good deal of sets, imagination, and songs that really make for an entertaining watch. Laurel and Hardy have great chemistry and timing together, sharing rip-roaring scenes, such as the peewee scene. They also have some fine exchanges, along with some good wordplay. The rest of the cast is also pretty good, with Henry and Knight sharing a few songs and some chemistry together that contribute to make for such a lively and interesting film. The climax with the wooden soldiers is also pretty charming, filled with joy and some technical achievement, complete with Laurel and Hardy getting in on some fun. The costumes are also pretty good as well, with a world like Toyland being so creatively designed. There are different versions of the film (one of which cuts the film to 67 minutes from the original 77), with a colorized version also existing, which looks fairly decent, but if you're interested in the film, always try to find the best version for a movie as good-hearted as this.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Wizard of Oz.

Review #589: Wizard of Oz.

Cast
Larry Semon (Scarecrow/Toymaker/Farmhand), Dorothy Dwan (Dorothy/Princess Dorothea), Bryant Washburn (Kynd), Oliver Hardy (Woodsman/Knight of the Garter/Farmhand), Josef Swickard (Prime Minister Kruel), Charles Murray (Wizard of Oz), Spencer Bell (Cowardly Lion/Rastus/Snowball), Frank Alexander (Uncle Henry/Prince of Whales), Otto Lederer (Ambassador Wikked), and Mary Carr (Aunt Em) Directed by Larry Semon.

Review
There was an earlier version of the Wizard of Oz? Yes, there was. Tons in fact. This isn't even the first one, there are other silent versions before this, all (loosely) adapted from the original novel by L. Frank Baum. This movie has the distinction of being written by (supposedly) L. Frank Baum, Jr and Larry Semon, who practically steals the show in this movie. And that's the problem considering this isn't the Scarecrow of Oz, it's the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy barely gets any screen time, especially in the last 40 minutes, when the movie is taken over fully by Semon, and occasionally Bell, who gets some moments, only for it to cut back to Semon, though I guess being the director means getting the opportunity to be in every scene. It wouldn't be as grating if the movie didn't pad itself by just not going anywhere, taking forever to begin the movie and taking forever to end the movie. It takes so long to get to Oz (again), and we're stuck watching slapstick over and over again. It's fun the first time, but it gets old really fast. The actors aren't bad, and if you look hard enough, you'll find Oliver Hardy, before he would gain fame as part of the duo Laurel and Hardy. The characters in this movie are bizarre in their actions, especially Hardy's character. The movie at least is colorful with the hues and the music is decent, but this is still a weird movie. You haven't lived life until you've seen a man flying through the air running away from lightening...and then he climbs into a house. Weird movies can be good, this is not. The setup for the movie by use of a toymaker narrator is either an odd way to setup the movie or just a lazy way. It could be both, given the nonsensical ending that leaves no proper conclusion. It's no wonder why this was a big failure (even bankrupting the studio), the movie is just not that good, and it suffers even more when compared to the more famous 1939 film, which knocks this right off the block. I'd recommend Return to Oz before I recommend this, at least the former is sensible. This is just a sad mess that can't comprehend itself.

Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.