Swiss Miss

MGM/Hal Roach, 1938

Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Walter Woolf King, and Della Lind

Directed by John G. Blystone

Music by Paul Chiang; Lyrics by Arthur Quenzer

This week, we warm up the winter with two very different comedies featuring best buddies. By 1938, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were popular enough to star exclusively in feature-length movies. This is one of the few outright musicals they did after their switch to features. It was also their last appearance as the comic relief in an operetta, and the second-to-last Laurel & Hardy movie Roach released under his MGM contract. How does the story of two mouse trap salesmen who get caught between a feuding composer and his singer wife look now? Let's begin with Edward (Eric Blore), the fussy assistant of opera composer Victor Albert (King), as he demands that the hotel owner (Jean De Briac) give his master absolutely quiet, and find out...

The Story: Albert is at the hotel to write an opera that will stand on its own without his diva wife Anna (Lind) performing. Meanwhile, Stan (Laurel) and Oliver (Hardy) are mouse trap salesmen who are trying to sell their wares. After they're tricked by a cheese seller (Charles Judels) who gives them a phony cash note, they end up washing dishes when they try to spend it. 

Anna gets a job as a maid at the same hotel, hoping to prove to her husband that she can have the common touch, too, enough for his show. She flirts with Ollie and the cook at the hotel (Adia Kuznetzoff), hoping to make Victor jealous. At the least, she does make Ollie fall in love with her. Even though the cook threatens them, they still take Anna to the big Festival in town. Anna has plans of her own...and so does the gorilla who chased them in the Alps. 

The Song and Dance: Laurel and Hardy get some really cute gags in this one. Their attempt to push a piano across the Alps and over a precarious wooden bridge is more-or-less repeated from their Oscar-winning short "The Music Box," and it's almost as funny here. Love how Stan gets drunk, and Ollie almost ends up falling through the bridge. Blore also gets some good moments as the annoying assistant who is totally devoted to his employer's well-being. Love the sets and costumes recreating a fanciful Switzerland between the wars, with its charming chalet hotel and typical Alpine lederhosen-and-dirndl costumes. 

Favorite Number: We open with "Yo-Ho-Dee-O-Lay-Hee" as we're introduced to both the hotel staff and the reason Victor wants quiet. Victor's inspired by the sound of a cricket chirping in his room to write the sprightly "The Cricket Song." Anna finishes the song when she arrives, to Victor's annoyance. Stan and Ollie explain in "The Mouse Trap Song" why the cheese shop owner needs mouse traps in his establishment. "I Can't Get Over the Alps" is King and Blore's comic number with the locals as they reveal why they can't switch hotel rooms. Ollie croons an adorable "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" to serenade Anna under her bedroom window while Stan accompanies him on the tuba. Anna (who makes a much better brunette than she does a blonde) poses as a gypsy while singing the firey "Could You Say No?" and shaking her tambourine to all the handsome men.

Two of the movie's best numbers are instrumental comic pieces. Frustrated over the destruction of his piano, Victor practices his music on the hotel organ, which Ollie has just washed. As he plays his song, animated bubbles bobble over to Stan and Ollie; when they pop them, the notes blare out. The chorus get a big native Swiss dance routine in the square under Victor's balcony during the Festival, culminating in a local man (Franz Hug) doing some damn amazing flag twirling. 

Trivia: Hug demonstrated his prowess during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

Charles Gamora, who played the gorilla, also played an ape in the Laurel and Hardy short "The Chimp." 

This would be the most expensive Laurel and Hardy film, budgeted at twice as much as their shorts. 

What I Don't Like: I really feel sorry for Ollie in particular. Neither Anna nor Victor were the most pleasant people; she used both men and the cook in the end, and never got punished for her rather obnoxious behavior. No wonder her husband wanted to get away from her. He was no saint, either. All he did the entire movie was whine about how he wanted peace and quiet - in a summer resort in the Alps? The music he tried so hard to write is negligible, and in the case of "I Want to Get Over the Alps," kind of dumb. (And I know a Laurel and Hardy movie is the wrong place for logic, but...what in the heck is a gorilla doing in the Swiss Alps?)

The Big Finale: Not one of Laurel and Hardy's best features. Enjoyable enough for their fans, but newcomers and casual viewers looking for better musicals featuring the duo will want to start with March of the Toy Soldiers or The Bohemian Girl first. 

Home Media: Not currently on DVD in the US, but it can be found on streaming, including for free at Flex and YouTube.

Flex

YouTube

Cult Flops - Hollywood Party (1934)

MGM, 1934

Starring Jimmy Durante, Jack Pearl, Lupe Valez, and Polly Moran

Music and Lyrics by various

Directed by various

This movie began life as The Hollywood Revue of 1933, the next in a series of revues that began with MGM's first variety show in 1929. It took a lot of wrong turns on the way to the screen, running through a series of screenwriters and directors who tried to make sense of the strange numbers and random bits from some of the best comedians at MGM, not to mention the addition of a Disney short. How does Durante's wild Tinseltown blow-out look today? Let's begin at a theater with the newest film starring jungle hero Schazeran the Conqueror (Durante) and find out...

The Story: Durante's pictures are flopping fast. His manager (Richard Carle) insists he needs to start fighting real lions again, rather than the worn-out stuffed ones he's been using. Durante holds a huge party to draw Jack "Baron Munchausen" Pearl (himself) and his menagerie, including lions. Also at the party are an Oklahoma oil family hoping to break into California society, Liondora (George Givot), Durante's rival, who also seeks to buy Pearl's lions, and Durante's female co-star in the Schazeran movies (Velez), who doesn't appreciate being left off the guest list.

The Animation: Mickey Mouse himself appears in a very cute sequence where he imitates Durante, then plays the piano for him. Mickey's typical of the stretch-and-squash animation in his shorts at the time, but he interacts very well with Durante and even has a few nice gags with a piano. "Hot Chocolate Soldiers" is better, a three-strip Technicolor short about a chocolate soldier army who attacks gingerbread men. It's on a par with the Silly Symphonies Disney made at the time, particularly in details like their uniforms and the candy animals they ride before and after their battle. 

The Song and Dance: This is one heck of a party! The barely-there story is merely a framework to hang some creative numbers and a lot of goofiness from some of the top comedians in Hollywood at the time. Durante revels in his rare leading man status, happily vamping Moran and looking ridiculous in his half-naked Tarzan spoofs and "reincarnation" number. Larry Fine and Curly and Moe Howard, the original Three Stooges, have a short bit with their original leader Ted Healy as autograph hounds and a photographer, and Laurel and Hardy get a very funny gag with Lupe Velez involving a lot of broken eggs.

Favorite Number: We kick off with the racy title song, as scantily clad phone operators announce the party to all of Southern California, and then we see people getting dressed and ready to dance the night away. "Feelin' High" takes us into the actual party, as Shirley Ross, Arthur Jarrett, Harry Barris, and The King's Men drink to their heart's content and the chorus whirls over the dining tables. Liondora's young cohort Ben Benson (Eddie Quillan) and the Clemps' starry-eyed daughter Linda (June Clyde) perform a cute near-touch dance to "I've Had My Moments." Arthur Jarrett performs the title song of "The Hot Choc'late Soldiers" animated short, written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed in the cutesy style of "The Wedding of the Painted Doll" from The Broadway Melody. 

Trivia: Among the directors who worked on this movie are Richard Boleslawski, Edmund Goulding, Allan Dwan, Russell Mack, Charles Reisner, Roy Rowland, and Sam Wood. George Stevens directed the Laurel & Hardy scenes. 

Some of the many numbers deleted from the movie still exist, including a spoof of "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" for Jimmy Durante and Polly Moran called "Fly Away to Ioway." Others whose skits and numbers ended up on the cutting room floor included Zazu Pitts, Jackie Cooper, Thelma Todd, Max Baer, and real-life Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller. 

Dwan's complaints that the unfinished film was "a nightmare" inspired the finale, where Durante awakens to see his real wife and concludes the whole thing was a dream.

What I Don't Like: Like many real-life wild parties, this one doesn't make a shred of sense. As much fun as it is to see Mickey Mouse, The Three Stooges, Lupe "Mexican Spitfire" Valez, and Laurel & Hardy in the same movie, they don't really interact with one another, and other than Valez, don't have much to do with what very little plot there is. You can absolutely see the tinkering and many cooks involved. It lurches from number to gag with no form or real reason for existing. That may have worked in 1929, but by the era of the Busby Berkeley Warners extravaganzas, it's silly, annoying, and a bit dated.

The Big Finale: Harmless hour's worth of lunacy if you're a huge fan of Durante or any of the comedians involved. 

Home Media: DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

The Devil's Brother (Fra Diavlo)

MGM/Hal Roach, 1933

Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Dennis King, and Thelma Todd

Directed by Hal Roach and Charley Rodgers

Music by Daniel Auber; Lyrics by Eugene Scribe

Laurel and Hardy first appeared in an operetta in 1930's The Rogue Song, which was also the debut of opera star Laurence Tibett. Alas, nothing is left of that Technicolor extravaganza today but a few fragments of gags and dance routines. We go straight into their second operetta, featuring another legendary stage idol, Dennis King. How does this saucy pre-code tale of bandits and petticoats look today? Let's begin at a bandit camp, the home of the infamous Fra Diavlo (King) himself, and find out...

The Story: In early 18th century Italy, Fra Diavlo poses as the Marquis San de Marco to woo the Lady Pamela (Todd), hoping to find the location of her jewels and her husband Lord Rocburg's (James Finlayson) fortune. His men ride to their castle, and while they do get the jewels, they can't find His Lordship's money. Meanwhile, Stanlio (Laurel) and Ollio (Hardy) have also been attacked by bandits. They become bandits themselves in order to earn money, but first try to rob a poor woodsman who gives them a sob story, then run afoul of Fra Diavlo. 

Diavlo not only spares their lives, he takes them as his servants. They arrive at an inn, where Lady Pamela and Lord Rocberg are staying. Also at the inn is the innkeeper's daughter Zerlina (Lucile Browne). She loves a soldier named Lorenzo (Arthur Pierson), but Diavlo plants the jewels on him. While Lorenzo tries to prove he's innocent, Ollio and Stanlio attempt to capture Diavlo for the reward money.

The Song and Dance: Laurel and Hardy have a great deal of fun with their gags here, especially their attempt to rob that unfortunate woodsman and later, when Stanlio's showing off his dexterity with the knees-hands bit and Ollie just can't imitate him. Todd's also having a marvelous time (and shows off an attractive singing voice) as the flirtatious noblewoman who finds the handsome Marquis far more to her liking than her stuffy husband; Finlayson more than matches her as the suspicious lord. King is a surprisingly dark villain for Laurel & Hardy. There's a layer of menace under his veneer of charm and sophistication that makes you understand why the locals fear him. 

Favorite Number: Diavolo's theme song, which he performs throughout the film, becomes a major part of the plot when he hears Stanlio singing it on the road and confronts them. There's a couple of nice chorus numbers, especially towards the end when the town is preparing for Zerlina's wedding at the Inn.

What I Don't Like: First of all, neither this nor The Bohemian Girl are for people who don't like operettas or comic opera, or are expecting something closer to Laurel and Hardy's shorts that focus wholly on them. Zerlina and Lorenzo are barely in the film and really don't add much to it, other than Lorenzo's being set up by Diavolo. The second half that puts the focus on the lovers and the stolen jewels and off the boys does tend to drag a little as well.

The Big Finale: Along with March of the Toy Soldiers, this is my favorite of the Laurel and Hardy operettas. Highly recommended for fans of comic opera or "the boys."

Home Media: Can be found on streaming and on two Laurel & Hardy sets, the newer from the Warner Archives. I have The Laurel & Hardy Collection, which features a second disc of rare material (including the surviving bits of The Rogue Song). 

DVD - The Devil's Brother/Bonnie Scotland (Warner Archives)

DVD - TCM Archives: The Laurel & Hardy Collection

Amazon Prime

The Bohemian Girl

MGM/Hal Roach, 1936

Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jaqueline Welles, and Mae Busch 

Directed by James W. Horne & Charley Rogers

Music by Michael William Balfe and others; Lyrics by Alfred Bunn and others

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy graduated from shorts to appearing in feature-length films around the time sound films came in, turning up as comic relief in four operettas from 1930 to 1936. This is the fourth and final one, a robust tale of gypsies and stolen babies. How does this comic opera look today? Let's start at the gypsy camp, just outside of the castle of the Count of Arnheim (William P. Carleton), and find out...

The Story: Ollie and Stan live with the gypsies and Ollie's wife (Mae Busch). She's having an affair with the roguish gypsy Devilhoof (Antonio Moreno) while the boys are out picking pockets. Hoping to get revenge on the Count for giving her lover 20 lashes, she steals the Count's little daughter Arline (Darla Hood), then dumps the toddler on Ollie and Stan. The duo raise the child as their own, telling Arline that Ollie is her father.

They return to the Count's woods twelve years later. Once again, the Count mistreats the gypsies, throwing the now-grown Arline (Welles) in jail for trespassing. Now Stan and Ollie have to rescue their adopted daughter, despite Stan being very drunk on home-made wine!

The Song and Dance: Laurel and Hardy and a few good songs are the main attractions here. They get some really cute gags, especially their attempts at pickpocketing three very different gentlemen. Busch has a few good moments early-on haranguing Ollie for laziness and neglecting her, too. 

Favorite Number: Thelma Todd made her final screen appearance performing the opening chorus number at the gypsy camp, "Heart of a Gypsy." Tenor Felix Knight performs "Then You'll Remember Me" to a pretty gypsy lass at the camp a bit later, shortly before Devilhoof is lashed. The most famous song from this opera is "I Dreamt I Dwelled In Marble Halls," sung by Welles to her adopted father and uncle as she relates her fantasies of living in a castle and attending a ball.

Trivia: Todd originally had a far larger role, but it was cut down to her song after her mysterious and untimely death in 1935. Devilhoof was supposed to be her lover. After her death, he was switched to Ollie's wife.

What I Don't Like: I wish they used more of the original opera. Arline's lover and the entire third act were cut. There just isn't much going on here; Stan and Ollie can only prop up the cliched plot for so long. It's also obvious this was a relatively low-budget production. While the gypsies' costumes are appropriately florid, the sets are a bit cramped and stagey.

The Big Finale: Not Laurel & Hardy's most memorable film, but an enjoyable enough way to spend an hour if you're a fan of them or comic opera. 

Home Media: Not currently on DVD, but it can be found on streaming and occasionally on TCM.

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - March of the Wooden Soldiers (Babes In Toyland)

Hal Roach/MGM, 1934
Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlotte Henry, and Felix Knight
Directed by Gus Meins and Charles Rogers
Music by Victor Herbert; Lyrics by Glenn MacDonough

This is the first Babes In Toyland to reach the big screen, and for many, it's still the definitive movie version. It's one of Stan and Ollie's most popular vehicles, and the fact that it's in the public domain has made it a favorite of independent TV stations and online playlists looking for inexpensive family programming to run for the holidays. Does it still hold up as well as those sturdy toy soldiers, or should it be banished to Bogey Land? Let's return to Toyland to find out...

The Story: A much older Silas Barnaby (Henry Kleinbach) is once again trying to force a lovely nursery rhyme lass to marry him. Here, the object of his affections is pretty Little Bo Peep (Henry). Her sweetheart is Tom Tom, the Piper's Son (Knight), who helps her find her sheep when she's lost them.

Bo Peep's mother, the Old Woman Who Lived In the Shoe (Florence Roberts), owes Barnaby the mortgage on her footwear home. She thinks her renters Stannie Dee (Laurel) and Ollie Dum (Hardy) will bring the money from their jobs working for the Toymaker (William Burress). They're unable to bring much of anything after they're fired when Stan mistakes an order for 600 toy soldiers at 1 foot high for 100 toy soldiers at 6 feet high. The boys try to get the mortgage, but they're caught. Barnaby orders them punished. Bo Peep agrees to marry him to save them, but they manage to trick the crooked old man and get the mortgage anyway.

Barnaby's not finished with his villainy yet. He has one of the Three Little Pigs kidnapped and accuses Tom of the crime. Tom is banished to Bogey Land. Heartbroken, Little Bo Peep goes after him. When Stan and Ollie figures out what's really going on, they too hurry off to find the lovers. But Barnaby has  his own plans...and intends to round up the terrifying Bogeymen to help him take over all of Toyland!

The Song and Dance: Laurel and Hardy have some classic material here. I love the sequences with Stan delivering Ollie in a package to Barnaby in order to steal the mortgage, Ollie being dunked, and them leaning over the well going into Bogey Land. There's some cute details here that you don't see in other retellings of this story, including the monkey Mickey Mouse and the funny Cat and the Fiddle who just can't seem to catch him. Santa may not have been able to give those giant toy soldiers to the kids, but they are a pretty cool effect, especially when they're all marching out to attack the Bogeymen.

Kleinbach is a wonderful Barnaby, a crooked and creepy old man who oozes menace. The Bogey Land set, with it's massive cyprus trees and dripping moss, is appropriately creepy and cool. The Bogeymen themselves are genuinely scary, with their furry heads and ape-like faces. I imagine they gave kids in the 30's quite a few nightmares.

Favorite Number: On one hand, we get a few songs here that were downplayed in the 1961 remake. The largest ensemble number is "Never Mind, Bo Peep," bringing almost every resident of Toyland on camera while they look for Bo Peep's perpetually missing sheep. Mother Goose (Virginia Karns) sings "Toyland" in the opening credits as she introduces most of the residents of Toyland, including a snoozing Stan and Ollie. (And while the lyrics aren't heard, we do get the music for "I Can't Do the Sum" as the theme for Laurel and Hardy.)

What I Don't Like: Why don't Laurel and Hardy have a song? They're genuinely good singers and dancers who have done numbers in other films and shorts. I would love to have heard their take on "I Can't Do the Sum."

While the toy soldiers mostly still work and the bogeymen are genuinely frightening, some of the other costumes and effects don't come off as well today. I feel sorry for the poor monkey stuck in the awkward Mickey Mouse costume. The Three Little Pigs' outfits are more scary than they are cute, with their wrinkly faces and long snouts.

Stan Laurel later went on to say that he regretted that they couldn't film the movie in color. I agree. While the original black-and-white release is available, if ever a movie was meant for colorization, it was this one. The color adds a lot of punch to the elaborate costumes and scenery, especially in Toyland.

The Big Finale: Dated costumes and effects aside, this is one of Laurel and Hardy's funniest and most charming vehicles. This one still turns up a lot on TV and online during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays; it's great for families with younger kids.

Home Media: My DVD from Legend Films not only includes the full restored movie in black and white and color prints, but comes with a plethora of other vintage public domain holiday shorts of the 30's, 40's, and 50's, including the Max Fleischer Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. From what I can see of the reviews, the Blu-Ray release is apparently even better. For streamers, it's free on Amazon Prime.

DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime