Runtime: 57 minutes
Directed by: John G. Blystone
Starring: Laurel & Hardy, Patricia Ellis, Minna Gombell, Billy Gilbert
From: MGM
I can’t imagine anybody being that dumb… oh, yes I can!
It’s been a few months since viewing any Laurel & Hardy. The inspiration suddenly struck me and as much of their work is easy to find on YouTube, I selected a feature film (albeit one less than an hour long at 57 minutes) which was seen by a decent amount of site members & was rated highly.
While not my favorite piece of work involving the duo, a delight it still was. Via circumstances, Laurel is still walking the World War I trench he was asked to patrol… 20 years later. Wacky, although still amusing; it also echoed the cases (there was more than one) of Japanese soldiers on desolate islands continuing to fight years after World War II ended because no one ever told them it was over; Hiroo Onoda was arguably the most famous example of that.
In any case, a random pilot eventually convinces Stan of the truth, and the expected hijinks occur w/ Hardy after returning to Los Angeles. The back half of the movie occurs in Hardy’s apartment complex, which has quite the garage door opener: it’s a row of separate garages and a person either steps or drives over a plate on the ground that automatically opens the door from the outside. This results in a funny gag, one of many throughout.
Hardy has a stereotypical nagging wife; it is a stereotype of the past which admittedly lasted for decades. It wasn’t a bother anyhow but there is a nice woman neighbor (w/ an irritating husband who possesses a wacky accent) who contrasts the angry wife. Block-Heads was quite entertaining throughout. From Hardy thinking that Laurel was an amputee-long story-to the calamity that occurs during multiple attempts to climb 13 flights of stairs—comedy like this is catnip for my tastes.
Selfishly, thank goodness much of their work can be viewed on YouTube.
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