PARDON US

PARDON US (1931). Director: James Parrott.

Laurel and Hardy are caught selling beer during prohibition and are sent to prison. An added complication is that Stan's loose tooth makes it sound as if he's giving everybody – from a roughneck cellmate to the prison warden – a Bronx cheer or “raspberry,” with the expected results. Eventually the boys are forced to join an escape and wind up on a nearby plantation in black face. James Finlayson plays the prison teacher and there are a lot of effective character foils in small parts. Oliver Hardy does a fine rendition of “Lazy Moon” during the plantation sequence. This is minor Laurel and Hardy but the boys are as good as ever, and there are some genuinely amusing moments.

Verdict: No pardon required. **1/2.

A CHUMP AT OXFORD

A CHUMP AT OXFORD (1940). Director: Alfred J. Goulding.

Like Bonnie Scotland, A Chump at Oxford covers a lot of ground both in terms of story and geography. Apparently the earliest section of the film was added to increase the very short running time of the original film, bringing it to just over an hour from 3/4s of an hour. The first section, which is quite amusing, has Laurel and Hardy working as butler and maid (Stan in drag is the maid) and really putting the kibosh on a supposedly elegant dinner party hosted by who else but frequent foil James Finlayson. After this the scene switches to Oxford where a grateful bank president (they foiled some robbers) has decided to give them an education. It turns out that Stan is actually the amnesiac Lord Paddington, a stuffy, nose-in-the-air, stiff-upper-lip type who treats Oliver like a servant. A Chump at Oxford gives Laurel a great chance to show off his versatility and while it may not be on the level of Our Relations, it's often very funny. Peter Cushing has a small role as one of the students at Oxford.

Verdict: You're not a chump it you watch it. ***.

OUR RELATIONS

OUR RELATIONS (1936). Director: Harry Lachman.

In this comic masterpiece starring Laurel and Hardy the boys have dual roles as happily-married men Stan and Ollie, and their long-lost twin brothers, two single sailors, Alf and Bert. Stan and Ollie innocently enter a beer garden with their wives when they come upon two babes who are acquainted with their brothers -- and the mistaken identity mania begins, taking in everything from unpaid bar bills, run-ins with the law, to chases in fancy night clubs (which they demolish) to gangsters and cement shoes down at the docks, all of it beautifully-paced, zestily-acted, and consistently hilarious. This is probably the boys' greatest and funniest movie. Young Iris Adrian is one of the hungry gals in the beer garden, and Alan Hale is the proprietor of said establishment. Daphne Pollard and Betty Healy score as the boys' wives. James Finlayson, who frequently appeared in Laurel and Hardy movies, is Alf and Bert's shipboard buddy, Finn. He's on the broad side, as usual, but good. Sidney Toler is the captain of the ship.

Verdict: Classic comedy. ****.

WAY OUT WEST

WAY OUT WEST (1937). Director: James W. Horne.

Laurel and Hardy arrive in a small western town to deliver a deed to a gold mine to a young lady, Mary (Rosina Lawrence), whose father has died. Bar owner Mickey Finn (James Finlayson) has his wife Lola (Sharon Lynne/Lynn) pretend to be Mary so they can steal away the deed. Although initially fooled, the boys eventually get wise and do their best to get the deed back and do right by Mary. There's a lot of very funny stuff in Way Out West but many sequences go on much too long and the music is much too obtrusive. Doing a parody of It Happened One Night, Stan hitches a ride on a passing coach by lifting his pants leg! The best moments in the film are when the boys dance and sing (generally with The Avalon Boys) such numbers as "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" and "Commence to Dancin'." Their charming rendition of "We're Going to Go (to Dixie)" is the film's highlight.

Verdict: A lot of fun if very imperfect. **1/2.

BONNIE SCOTLAND

BONNIE SCOTLAND (1935). Director: James W. Horne.

Stan McLaurel stowaways with buddy Oliver to claim an inheritance in Scotland. There they become involved -- or rather they don't become involved -- with a love triangle concerning a cousin (the main heiress), her boyfriend, and another suitor in India. The story abruptly switches from Scotland to Indian when Stan and Ollie inadvertently wind up in the Army. There are two hilarious sequences in the film: the boys frying a fish with a candle and the grill from the bed springs and causing havoc in a boarding house; and the climax in which their bumbling lets loose thousands upon thousands of stinging bees. Laurel and Hardy's performances are as wonderful as ever, but their material isn't up to their level. The script is all over the lot and at times it seems the boys are just along for the ride. They really have nothing to do with the love triangle story, which isn't very interesting. Mary Gordon is fine as a landlady impatient for her money, and frequent collaborator James Finlayson is fun as the sergeant.

Verdict: Disappointing but with a couple of big laughs. **1/2.