STACK #126 Apr 2016

EXTRAS

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as well as the original English. Both Laurel and Hardy, with the help of a voice coach, had to learn to speak phonetically in each foreign language. Stan, as the brains of the team, continually burnt the midnight oil by cutting and editing their completed films, and then choreographing and writing slick dialogue for the next. However, Stan's much loved characteristic of scratching his head in confusion when a simple instruction from Ollie is inevitably misunderstood, his humorous determined walk (which he achieved by removing the heels from his shoes – an old music hall stunt), and his unique vocal delivery of muddled dialogue such as "You can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead" all evolved during this early sound period, which further endeared him to movie audiences. Likewise Oliver Hardy, who whilst quite happy and content to let his partner undertake most of the creative work while he played golf, nevertheless further developed the "sound version" of Ollie all by himself. His precise, dainty, over-elaborate mannerisms, the fiddling of his tie, and his frustrated look directly into the camera as he attempted to educate his calamitous colleague were now enhanced with a plethora of Ollie catchphrases like, "Well here's another nice mess you've gotten me into"; "Why don't you be careful" and "Come Stanley". These two court jesters, who perfectly complemented each other, created a rambunctious world all of their own whilst developing their unique comedic and filmmaking talents into a pure art form. Evidence of this (if any is needed) is their 1932 classic tour de force – and arguably the most favourite of all their sound shorts – The Music Box . Using the script and the same LA location of the long lost silent short Hats Off , Stan and Ollie attempt to deliver a crated piano (rather than a washing machine) to a house atop an enormous flight of steps. After crashing to

The classic L&H "look", signifying mayhem ahead (note Stan's white pancake make-up that he always wore whilst filming – clearly shown in this still from Towed in a Hole ).

These two court jesters created a rambunctious world all of their own whilst developing their unique comedic and filmmaking talents.

wrong way of doing things, is why their movies remain hilarious to this day. The Music Box won the Oscar for Best Short Subject (Comedy) at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards in November 1932. In July 1932, with three films in the can awaiting release, Stan decided to take a break from filming and visit his father in England. Hardy, always the inveterate golfer, decided to join his partner so he could try out the golf courses in Scotland. When they arrived in Southampton on board the Aquitania , thousands of their fans lined the docks all whistling the "Cuckoo" song. The boys had to literally battle their way through the adoring crowds to reach the train to London. And when they arrived at Waterloo station, several thousand more of their fans were waiting there to mob them. The completely unexpected response and adulation they received wherever they went in Britain was the first intimation that Stan and Ollie had of their global fame. Returning to Hollywood, the boys continued making their classic sound shorts. Then one morning in November 1932, whilst Stan and Ollie were filming Towed in a Hole , Hal Roach approached them on set and told them that "our distributors at MGM have asked us to reduce the number of comedy shorts". Roach paused, noting the look of disappointment on both of their faces. He then smiled and said, "They now want full-length Laurel and Hardy features instead".

the bottom several times, with Ollie either attached or underneath the crate, they finally succeed in getting it all the way to the top. They are then told by a postman that they could have driven it up by just following the road around the hill. Ollie looks at Stanley and says "Now why didn't we think of that before?". He then motions to Stan, and they both pick up the crate and carry it back down the steps to load it onto their horse-driven wagon. The simplicity of two adults who are really children pretending to be adults, and who inevitably choose the

Angry Professor Theodore Von Schwarzenhoffen (played by Billy Gilbert) watches while Stan and Ollie attempt to deliver The Music Box up a flight of 130 stone steps.

To be continued...

APRIL 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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