Runtime: 70 minutes
Directed by: James Parrott
Starring: Laurel & Hardy, some of the usual co-stars, Walter Long, June Marlowe
From: MGM
It was rather unfortunate I chose to review a movie on Juneteenth* that contained a(n unknown to me beforehand) BLACKFACE subplot.
This film was selected as the 70-minute length fit my schedule the best, and with all the Laurel & Hardy I’ve reviewed here-silent and sound, shorts and features-might as well discuss what wasn’t planned to be their first feature-length picture but that’s how it turned out. The gimmick is that the duo are sent to prison; you see, this was still the era of Prohibition so when they purchased the ingredients at a store to make their own beer and they sold some to an undercover cop… that’s why they were convicted then sent behind bars.
They meet a tough named Tiger (portrayed by Walter Long, who besides appearing in The Three Stooges short Three Little Pigskins alongside Lucille Ball was ironically was in The Birth of a Nation) and caused havoc, including engaging in great wordplay while in a class taught at a prison. The blackface segment-more than 10 minutes long-was after a prison escape and they were on the run. This was a disguise as they were… on a cotton plantation as Black characters constantly sang songs! You can see how this will be uncomfortable-at best it was awkward for a dumb white guy like me. That still had laughs that weren’t related to race-L&H were the ones that were lampooned in this segment.
The blackface moments didn’t ruin the experience, although no shame if that’s a deal-breaker for you & you don’t want to bother. Other feature films like Sons of the Desert and Way Out West are better, more entertaining. That said, this is still a fun time. Stan has a loose tooth which causes inadvertent raspberries-that causes the expected problems. Unexpected was the appearance of a Tommy Gun as if it was The Public Enemy and an attempted shanking!
Contributions from other familiar faces in the L&H universe (James Finlayson, Tiny Sandford, director James Parrott) plus a memorable climax equaled a film I was happy to have seen starring the legendary duo.
* As people from around the world will read this review and Juneteenth has only been a holiday in the United States for several years, brief explanation is warranted: it marks the end of slavery in the United States in 1865.
No comments:
Post a Comment