Stubs - Way Out West

Way Out West (1937) Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sharon Lynne, James Finlayson, Rosina Lawrence, Stanley Fields. Directed by James W. Horne. Screenplay by Charles Rogers, Felix Adler, James Parrott. Producer: Hal Roach, Stan Laurel. Run Time: 64 minutes. USA Black and White. Comedy

From the March 13, 1927 release of Duck Soup until the November 21, 1951 release of Atoll K, there were few film comedy duos as dominant as the teaming of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Brought together by Hal Roach, the duo enjoyed great success and are remembered for such films as the Academy Award-winning short The Music Box (1932), County Hospital (1932), Sons of the Desert (1933), Babes in Toyland (1934), and Way Out West (1937). In prep for the new Stan & Ollie (2018) biopic, we decided to take a look at one of these films, Way Out West.

The film was made between late August and early November 1936, originally called In the Money, Tonight's the Night, and They Done It Wrong before it received its final title. This bears the credit, A Stan Laurel Production, a testament to the actor’s prowess not just in front but behind the camera as well. Once the understudy for Charlie Chaplin in the Fred Karno troupe, he arrived in the U.S. on the same ship. While he made some early silent films, including Nuts in May (1917), and sometimes appeared in films as a Charlie Chaplin imitator, he joined the Hal Roach studios in 1925 as a writer and director.

The movie opens in Brushwood Gulch, a small Western town. There the main saloon is owned by Mickey Finn (James Finlayson). (Mickey Finn is an old expression referring to the practice of lacing a drink with chloral hydrate, a powerful and sometimes deadly sedative, in order to do mischief to an unsuspecting dupe.) The star attraction of the saloon is the musical prowess and sex appeal of his wife, Lola Marcel (Sharon Lynne). Working for them as waitress/cleaning woman is the young and naïve Mary Roberts (Rosina Lawrence).

Mary Roberts (Rosina Lawrence) is the waitress at the saloon.

Once we’ve established that relationship, Stan and Oliver are seen in transit to Brushwood Gulch. Stan is driving a mule (Dinah) which is pulling a slumbering Ollie behind him. But some rough road awakens the sleeping Ollie. While he manages to get back to sleep, it is crossing a stream that really wakes him from his slumbers.

When the raft carrying him gets detached from the donkey, Ollie starts to slowly sink into the water. Stan comes back to retrieve him, but on the way out, Ollie falls through a hole in the bottom of the river.

Stan helps Ollie after he's fallen into a hole in the riverbed.

Now soaked, Ollie continues wrapped in a blanket, while his clothes air dry. That is until they make it to a trail about two miles out of town. While Ollie dresses, Stan goes to see if he can thumb a drive.  Nothing seems to work until he shows a little leg, which gets the attention of a passing stagecoach.

Because of how they treated his wife, the Sheriff (Stanley Fields)
tells Stan and Ollie to be on the next stage out of town.

Once onboard, in tight quarters, the boys make the lone female passenger (Vivien Oakland) upset when Ollie makes a sort of veiled pass at her. When they reach the town, she is met by her husband, the Sheriff (Stanley Fields), who is not amused. He tells the boys to be on the next stage out of town, which doesn’t give them much time for the business that brought them there.

The Avalon Boys play outside the saloon.

Outside of Mickey Finn’s saloon, The Avalon Boys are performing J. Leubrie Hill's "At the Ball, That's All," which appears to catch the fancy of Stan and Ollie, and the two perform one of the more famous dance numbers to be captured on film, with apologies to Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Gene Kelly.

Stan and Ollie dance to "At the Ball That's All."

Once inside, they explain their secret mission to Finn. They have been entrusted to deliver the deed to a gold mine the prospector discovered to the man's daughter, Mary Roberts. They assure Finn of the riches, even showing him the deed, which is a little worse for wear, having been used by Stan to cover a hole in his shoes.

Stan and Ollie get hoodwinked by Mickey Finn (James Finlayson)
and his wife, Lola Marcel (Sharon Lynne).

Finn, no surprise, doesn’t do the right thing. Instead, he convinces Lola to pretend to be Mary and allow them to take the mine for themselves. Since the boys have never met Mary, they are easy to fool. There is also a locket, which Ollie has around his neck, that he’s supposed to give Mary as well. Ollie practically has to undress completely to find it, only to discover that it has fallen to the floor.

With their mission completed, the boys go downstairs to have a drink in the saloon. They end up singing a song, "Trail of the Lonesome Pine," with Chill Wills, one of The Avalon Boys playing. Stan not only sings in a deep bass (supplied by Wills), but also in a soprano (supplied by Rosina Lawrence) to the amazement of Ollie. Meanwhile, Lola tricks Mary into signing the deed over to her.

The Boys try to get the deed back from Lola and Mickey.

On their way out, the boys say goodbye to everyone, including Mary. When they ask her name and she tells them, they figure out the ruse and go back upstairs to confront Lola. Before they do, Stan promises to get the deed back or he'll eat Ollie’s hat. There is a bit of keep away that goes on with the deed, with Lola, Mickey, Stan, and Ollie all taking turns with the paper. Finally, Stan stuffs it in his shirt but Lola locks him in her bedroom and tickles him into submission, taking the deed away from him. There is a little bit more back and forth with the paper before Mickey locks it up in their vault.

Lola tickles Stan into submission and takes back the deed.

The Sheriff finally arrives but won’t listen to Stan and Ollie, since they should already be out of town. He chases after them, shooting as they flee. Once again, when they cross the river, Ollie falls into the small hole in the river bed.

In camp that night, Ollie is once again wrapped in a blanket while his clothes dry. While they discuss their plan to sneak back into town to steal the deed back, Ollie tries to light his pipe but his matches are understandably wet and won’t spark. Stan helps out, flicking his thumb like it’s a lighter and, again to Ollie’s amazement, his thumb catches fire.

Stan gives Ollie a light using his thumb.

Before they go, Ollie makes Stan eat his hat, as Stan did not fulfill his earlier promise of getting the deed back. After a few bites around the brim, Stan appears to like it. Ollie takes the hat back, even eating a little bit himself. To the film’s credit, from then on, Ollie’s hat has several bites out of it.

Stan has to eat Ollie's hat for failing in his promise to get the deed back.

The break-in does not go off without a hitch nor making a lot of noise. Ollie tries to climb up to a building but falls through the roof. The noise they’re making awakens Finn and Lola, who sleep in separate beds and rooms. After Ollie frees himself, they discuss plan B, however, Stan blows the candlelight they're using. Once again, he sparks his thumb and relights the candle.

The break-in doesn't go well, when Ollie falls through the roof.

Armed with a rifle, Finn comes outside but doesn’t see anything.

Meanwhile, Stan and Ollie hatch the idea to hoist Ollie up to the second story window. While Ollie is in mid-air, Stan decides to get a better grip and lets go of the rope. Ollie falls to the ground. During the argument that follows, Stan manages to flip Ollie back on to the ground. When Ollie tries to retaliate, Stan lets go of the rope and Ollie falls back again.

Using Dinah, they manage to hoist Ollie up to the window but when Stan goes back to give him the tools, Ollie’s weight lifts the mule up to the landing as he plummets through the doors of the cellar. This noise, of course, reawakens Finn and Lola.

Leaving the mule upstairs, they gain entrance through the cellar coming up through a trapdoor in the floor. Mary comes out of her room and screams, causing Stan to drop the door on Ollie’s head, which is now sticking up through it.

Ollie ends up with his head through a trapdoor.

Meanwhile, Lola has gotten Finn to get up again and he comes downstairs again with his rifle. They put a bucket over Ollie’s head and Mary hides Stan in a closet just before Finn arrives. He goes back to bed, but not before sending Mary to her room. On his way out, he kicks the bucket, hurting his foot in the process.

In an attempt to free Ollie, Stan stands on the trapdoor and pulls up on his neck, stretching it to many times its natural length before it snaps back and Ollie falls through the hole.

Meanwhile, Finn goes back to bed holding his rifle and Dinah starts to eat the furniture.

Now freed, Stan and Ollie continue their quest. But Stan can’t resist a slot machine, which makes a lot of noise when it pays off. It, of course, wakes Finn once again.

In their argument about the noise, the candle again goes out and Stan lights his thumb again. Ollie, who still can’t understand how he does that, tries it for himself and is surprised when his own thumb lights up.

At gunpoint, Ollie makes Finn open the safe and hand over the deed.

His scream brings Finn downstairs and the boys hide in a grand piano. Finn discovers them in there and plays the piano so that the keys are hitting them in the face. When they can’t take it any longer, they try to get out, but Finn pushes the cover back on top of them, pushing them all the way through the piano. In the confusion that follows, Ollie takes control of the rifle and forces Finn to open the safe and hand over the deed. Then, at gunpoint, they march him back to his bed, tying him up in his sheets. Ollie suspends him from the chandelier in the room. Stan retrieves Dinah and, with Mary, beat a hasty retreat.

After their escape, Stan, Ollie, and Mary walk along the river, and Ollie and Mary discover that they are both from the South. Stan adds that he is from the south of London, and as the group sings about returning to Dixie, Ollie falls into a hole in the riverbed.

James Finlayson, who plays Mickey Finn, should look familiar to anyone who has watched a Laurel and Hardy film. The Hal Roach studios once touted Finlayson alongside Laurel and Hardy as a "famous comedy trio", as part of their All-Star Comedy series. However, his star began to fall when Leo McCarey, a staff producer at the studio, recognized the comedic potential of the Laurel and Hardy pairing. Soon, they became the focus of their own series. By the fall of 1928, Laurel and Hardy had their own series and Finlayson was reduced to a supporting role.

James Finlayson played the foil to Laurel and Hardy in many of their films.

As in Way Out West, Finlayson became the Boys’ cinematic foil, appearing in 33 of their films, including Another Fine Mess (1930), Bonnie Scotland (1935), The Flying Deuces (1939), and Saps at Sea (1940) to name a few. Interestingly, his trademark mustache was actually fake, a prop.

The female support roles, played by Sharon Lynne and Rosina Lawrence, could have been played by anyone as their parts were not all that remarkable. Interestingly, both actresses would appear in Way Out West towards the end of their respective careers. Rosina would get married in 1939 and retire from entertainment. Lynn, who had begun acting in silent films, saw her career fading and she would be out of the movies by 1938.

There is not much you can say about Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy that hasn’t already been said. They are comedic geniuses. Even if the material isn’t always up to par, they can make you laugh. In many cases, they are as funny with the dialogue as they are with the physical humor. In Way Out West, it is the physicality that saves the day.

As Frank S. Nugent wrote in his contemporary review in the New York Times, “they would not be funny if both were fat or both skinny.” Chris Farley once commented something to the effect that everyone loves to watch the fat man fall down. In this case, it’s Ollie falling through the roof of a building or his pulling the mule off the street as he falls through the doors to the cellar. There is also the physical humor of Stan eating and enjoying Ollie’s hat, as well as his ability to light his thumb.

Let’s not forget the silly and adorable, though possibly extended, dance they do outside the saloon. That dance is worth the price of admission. If you have never seen the film before, I would recommend it for that dance sequence alone. The film has the thinnest of plots but still manages to provide a good time for the viewer.

Stubs - Babes in Toyland

Babes in Toyland (aka March of the Wooden Soldiers) (1934) Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlotte Henry, Felix Knight, Henry Kleinbach, Florence Roberts, Virginia Karns. Directed by Gus Meins, Charles Rogers. Screenplay by Frank Butler, Nick Grinde (and uncredited: Stan Laurel). Based on the operetta Babes in Toyland, music by Victor Herbert, book and lyrics by Glen MacDonough (New York, 13 Oct 1903). Produced by Hal Roach. Run Time: 79 minutes. USA Sepia (Black and White) Christmas, Comedy, Musical

There are few comedic acts in film was well loved as Laurel and Hardy. Please see our review of The Music Box (1932) for more information about the duo. Two years after that Academy Award-winning short, the pair, still under contract to Hal Roach and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer would make Babes in Toyland, only their eighth feature film appearance.

Unlike The Music Box, this film did not have its roots with a silent film the duo had made but owed its origins to a Victor Herbert operetta, Babes in Toyland. Herbert, an Irish-born German-raised American composer and musician was best known for writing operettas including The Serenade (1897) and The Fortune Teller (1898). Those he composed after the turn of the 20^th century were more successful, including Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), Naughty Marietta (1910), Sweethearts (1913) and Eileen (1917). He would later turn to writing musicals for Broadway.

The original production of Babes in Toyland opened at the Chicago Grand Opera house in June 1903 and toured the East Coast before opening in New York. The show ran at the Majestic Theatre for 192 performances from October 13, 1903, to March 19, 1904. It would have three revivals, one at the Majestic during January 1905; at Jolson’s 59^th Street Theatre from late December 1929 to January 1930 and one more at the Imperial Theatre from December 1930 to January 1931.

Hal Roach wrote his adaptation in late 1933, but the final script is credited to Frank Butler and Nick Grinde, though Laurel is known to have contributed as well. The idea all along was to star Laurel and Hardy in the film, though some of the supporting cast would change. Testing began in January for actors and shooting “stop-motion and miniature materials”, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Originally, Roach had Ramon Novarro in mind for the male romantic lead, Tom-Tom Piper. Donald Novis and Earl Oxford were considered before Felix Knight as selected.  For the female romantic lead, Patricia Ellis was the first choice. Then Doris Paxton was tested and then Anita Louise for “Little Miss Muffet” before the role was turned into Bo-Peep and given to Charlotte Henry, best known on this blog for Alice in Wonderland (1933).

Charles Rogers, who would become a co-director on the film, was originally tested for the role of Gumio, the toymaker’s apprentice, but that role was cut from the film before production began. Rogers, who had worked with Laurel and Hardy

Production got underway in early August 1934 with a budget of $500,000 but Laurel suffered a serious leg injury and production was halted on August 16^th. That delay led to a change in the cast. Margaret Seddon, who had been hired for the role of the Widow Bo-Peep, was no longer available and the role went to Florence Roberts. When production picked up it continued until late October.

The village of Toyland is inhabited by a roster of nursery rhyme characters: Mother Goose (Virginia Karns); The Cat and the Fiddle (Pete Gordon); Little Miss Muffet (Alice Dahl); Little Jack Horner (Sumner Getchell); Simple Simon (Charley Rogers); Mary Quite Contrary (Marie Wilson); Little Boy Blue (Johnny Downs); the Three Little Pigs, Elmer (Angelo Rossito), Willie (Zebedy Colt) and Jiggs (Payne B. Johnson); and Mickey Mouse (a monkey in a costume).  Toyland is ruled by Old King Cole (Kewpie Morgan) and the Queen of Hearts (Alice Moore). The only industry in town seems to be the Toymaker (William Burress) who appears to be a subcontractor for Santa Claus.

Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy) and Stannie Dum (Stan Laurel).

There are other residents, the Bo-Peeps, who live in a shoe, yes, the Mother Widow Peep (Florence Roberts) is also the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. While she has several children, her eldest is Little Bo-Peep (Charlotte Henry). In addition to her children, the Widow Peep has two boarders, Stannie Dum (Stan Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy).

Little Bo-Peep (Charlotte Henry)

The biggest problem for the Beeps isn’t that Bo loses her small flock of sheep on a regular basis, but that Mother Peep has a mortgage with evil old Silas Barnaby (Henry Brandon) that she can’t afford to pay. Silas offers her a deal, the hand of Bo for the mortgage. But the widow refuses much to her daughter’s relief. Ollie intercedes and tells the widow that he’ll help her out. Not only will he contribute all of his money, but he’s going to get the rest from their boss, the Toymaker.

Stannie and Ollie work for the Toymaker  (William Burress) who appears to be a subcontractor for Santa Claus.

But they arrive late to work and lose their jobs when it is discovered that they made a big mistake on the order from Santa. Instead of 600 one-foot tall wooden soldiers, Stannie took it down as 100 six-foot tall soldiers. They are fired on the spot and only make things worse when the wooden soldier they’re controlling wreaks havoc in the shop, even knocking Santa back on his butt.

Tom-Tom Piper (Felix Knight) proposes to Bo-Beep.

Meanwhile, Bo-Peep has lost her sheep and Tom-Tom Piper (Felix Knight), singing one of the six songs in the film, "Never Mind Bo-Peep" helps her as well as make his feeling known. He announces to the villagers who have gathered that they are going to be wed.

When Stannie and Ollie return home just as Silas is there to collect his payment. The Widow Peep, however, is smug about it until she finds out that they don’t have the money. Silas tells the widow that he will start the process of getting her evicted.

But the boys are not through trying to help. That night, Stannie delivers a large box that is supposed to be a Christmas present for Silas. The plan is for Ollie to get out of the box and search the house for the Peep mortgage. It is late at night, but Stannie explains to Silas that it is their way of apologizing. Even though it is only July, Silas accepts the present. But the boys blow the cover when Stannie, as he is leaving, says goodnight to Ollie and he responds.

Toyland is ruled by Old King Cole (Kewpie Morgan).

The next day, Old King Cole proclaims that the would-be thieves are to be dunked in the pond and then banished to Bogeyland. (Justice in Toyland makes no sense as there are no trials just punishment, which is never anything short of total banishment.) Ollie is the first one to be punished, but the pulley breaks under his weight. Bo-Peep puts an end to things when she agrees to marry Silas, who then asks the King to call off the punishment.

Stannie and Ollie are punished as thieves. 

Later, Bo-Peep and her mother are waiting with dread for the wedding ceremony to begin. Ollie has been selected to give Bo-Peep away, even though he doesn’t want to. Mother Peep goes to plead with Silas but to no avail. Ollie arrives with the bride, who is covered up with a heavy veil. The wedding goes on, but before Silas can kiss his bride, Ollie demands the deed. Only after Ollie rips it up, Barnaby lifts the veil to find that he’s married Stannie rather than Bo.

Silas vows revenge and later that night tries to kidnap one of the Three Little Pigs. He is rebuffed by Willie and Jiggs but does manage to grab Elmer and stuff him in a bag. He takes him back to his house and has evidence planted in Tom-Tom’s that point to his guilt, including linked hot dogs as if to suggest he has also eaten him.

Old King Cole, based on this, sentences Tom-Tom to banishment in Bogeyland and has two of the king’s guards deposit him there. Ollie and Stannie start to eat the hot dogs and discover they are not made of pork, but beef. Stannie then discovers Elmer in Silas’ cellar and takes him to the King, who reverses his order and offers a reward for Silas’ capture.

Stannie and Ollie got to Bogeyland to save Tom-Tom and Bo-Peep.

While Ollie and Stannie take chase, Bo-Peep rushes to Bogeyland to retrieve Tom-Tom. Silas jumps down a well and while Ollie and Stannie think they have him trapped, he escapes through a secret passage to Bogeyland. There he finds Tom-Tom and Bo-Peep and calls the Bogeymen to capture them.

Ollie and Stannie finally follow after Silas from the bottom of the well and find the path to Bogeyland. While they manage to rescue Bo-Peep and Tom-Tom, they don’t escape Silas’ wrath. He leads the bogeyman to attack Toyland.

Mickey Mouse (a monkey) gets into a blimp.

Back in Toyland, Stannie and Ollie are treated as returning heroes and Ollie is bragging to the King about ridding the village of Silas and the bogeyman just as the attack starts. The village is overrun before Mickey takes to the air in a toy blimp and drops miniature torpedoes on the bogeyman.

Stannie and Ollie fight back with darts before unleashing the 100 toy soldiers stored in a warehouse. The wooden soldiers are relentless in their pursuit of the bogeymen and manage to drive them out of Toyland. Silas is trapped under an avalanche of spelling blocks that spell out RAT.

100 Wooden Soldiers pursue the bogeymen who have invaded Toyland.

Stannie attempts to shoot a parting volley of darts at the fleeing monsters, but the cannon tips over and covers Ollie's backside with darts.

The film was released on November 28, 1934. Despite good reviews, Hal Roach would later admit the film lost money on its first release. It was re-released several times over the years, with the title changed to Laurel and Hardy in Toyland, Revenge Is Sweet (for a 1948 European reissue title), and March of the Wooden Soldiers.

On TV, the film, now called March of the Wooden Soldiers, would become a perennial during the 1960s and 70s between Thanksgiving and Christmas and still does appear on TV to this day.

In a rather twisted history, this is one of the few films released by MGM that now resides (at least partially) in the MGM library. Hal Roach sold the film to Federal Films, which in turn leased the rights to Lippert Pictures. In the early 1960s, Prime TV took over the distribution of the film, eventually passing it on to WPIX which became part of Tribune Broadcasting. In the 1980s Tribune leased the film to The Samuel Goldwyn Company, the legacy company of that famed film producer.

In 1991, the film was restored and colorized by The Samuel Goldwyn Company for TV and home video release. Non-Goldwyn produced films became part of Orion Pictures, which MGM purchased as part of the assets of the bankrupt company.

It should not come as a surprise that there was a remake of the film. In 1961, Walt Disney Productions made their own version for TV, starring Ray Bolger, Tommy Sands, and Annette Funicello.

While Laurel and Hardy may be the stars of this film, this doesn’t really feel like a Laurel and Hardy movie. In fact, it feels like a real mess. Laurel and Hardy are good and funny as they usually are. I’m impressed that their blend of dialogue and physical slapstick humor are still funny to this day but the rest of the film seems like a premise with songs looking for a story.

The whole idea of a Toyland populated with nursery rhyme characters from Mother Goose seems a bit like a mixed metaphor, which I’m sure isn’t the right term, but it feels like a jumble of ideas. While that mixing originates with the original operetta, the film goes a step further and maybe a step too far emptying out Mother Goose to populate the village. If this were Storybook Land, that would make more sense, but there is also a mixing in of Santa that sort of confuses the concept further.

And then there are the songs, which are sung in that opera-style that you see in the films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. I find this sort of singing to be my equivalent of fingernails on the chalkboard. Here the singing is done by the likes of Felix Knight and Charlotte Henry. Henry whom I found to be a disappointment in her starring role in Alice in Wonderland, is slightly better here, but not spectacular by any stretch. She is cute and has talent, but not the kind that appeals to me.

There is a melodramatic feel to the film, emphasized by the Snidley Whiplash-like villain, Silas Barnaby, played by Henry Brandon. A German-born actor, Brandon was only 22 and in his first credited role in Babes in Toyland. He would on to appear in over 100 films in a career that would last until 1989. Given the stereotypical limitations of the role, Brandon is fairly good and plays older than he really is. I would hope that with time and better roles, his acting would improve.

The rest of the cast seems to be caught in their own narrow range of acting choices. There is not much you can do with Tom-Tom or Old King Cole without risking audience expectations. I seriously hope and doubt that this is anyone’s best film role unless this is their only film.

Babes in Toyland has a surprisingly claustrophobic feel to it. You’re always aware that this is being shot on a soundstage, which ruins some of the potential fantasy quality of the film. The way the film is edited with a lot of medium shots only adds to that feeling. While contemporary reviews called it “packed with laughs and thrills” and “quite the merriest of its kind that Hollywood has turned loose on the nation's screens in a long time”, I must admit to being disappointed.

Not surprisingly, Babes in Toyland has not aged well for what is supposed to be a holiday perennial film. I’d like to say that it appealed to its original audience, but since it didn’t supposedly make money on its first release, perhaps it didn’t work that well back then either. I’m frankly surprised this film is as highly regarded as it is with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I wonder if those rating it have actually seen it or are just assuming that it is better than it really is.

If you’re a big fan of Laurel and Hardy, then you might want to check this out. They are funny and a joy to watch, but they are not enough to save this film from itself. 

To read reviews of other Christmas films, please see our Christmas Review Hub.

Stubs - County Hospital

County Hospital (1932) Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Billy Gilbert Directed by James Parrott. Screenplay by H.M. Walker. Produced by Hal Roach. Runtime 19 minutes. U.S.A. Black and White. Comedy Short

Sometimes its hard to top yourself and in 1932, the comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had released what maybe their gold standard, The Music Box, the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film (Comedy). Knowing that, there maybe nowhere but down for the duo.

While not the follow up short, that would go to The Chimp, County Hospital was another short for the two. Written and filmed in February 1932, the film would be released on June 25, 1932. Like The Music Box, County Hospital has a pretty basic premise, one friend visits a sick friend in the hospital but in this case, the friends are two of the most talented comics to ever live.

Stan arrives at the County Hospital.

Stan is shown driving on his way to the hospital. For whatever reason, when he sees the typical Quiet Hospital Zone sign, his car rears up on its front wheels.

Despite his broken leg, Oliver looks content lying in his hospital bed.

Inside, Oliver is in bed with a broken leg in traction. He seems surprisingly happy for someone who is bedridden. When Laurel enters the room, he’s carrying a paper bag. When Oliver inquires about its contents, Stan tells him “hard-boiled eggs and nuts.”

What else do you bring to someone in a hospital bed but hard-boiled eggs and nuts?

But Oliver would rather have had candy, but Stan tells him that he can’t afford candy; Oliver never paid him from the last time. Even though Oliver doesn’t want an egg, Stan has one. Now you might imagine watching a man eat a hard-boiled egg wouldn’t be funny but, somehow, the way Stan eats it, without a care in the world, makes it funny.

Stan eats his egg like he doesn't have a care in the world.

When he’s done with one, even Oliver is surprised when Stan takes out a second one. But this time, the egg rolls off the night stand into Oliver’s water pitcher. He stops Stan from reaching his hand into the water to retrieve the egg. It takes two tries, but eventually, Stan is able to pluck the egg without putting his hand in the water. But the egg is wet and when Stan uses the towel draped over the table, he spills the water pitcher into Oliver’s bed.

Stan about to spill a pitcher of water into Oliver's bed.

Next, The Doctor (Billy Gilbert) enters to check on his patient. Oliver is happy to hear that he might have to stay in the hospital for a couple of months. While doctor and patient are talking, Stan decides to have a nut. When he sees the weight being used to hold up Oliver’s leg, he gets an idea what to use to crack the nut.

The Doctor (Billy Gilbert) arrives to check on his patient.

Picking up the weight, he tries to use it on the window sill. This sends Oliver up in the air, being held up by his broken leg. When the Doctor tries to pull the weight off the sill, he goes out the window, pulling the weight with him and Oliver further into the air.

The Doctor goes out the window.

Meanwhile, Nurse Smith (Estelle Etterre) is given a sedative for one of the patients. But hearing the commotion in Oliver’s room, she comes running into the room, putting the syringe down on a chair.

The doctor hangs on for dear life, while Stan feebly tries to pull him back inside all the time, Oliver is a human yo-yo. But dragging the rope back and forth over the edge of the sill eventually breaks it, sending Oliver crashing down, breaking his bed in the process. It takes Stan a while longer to finally pull the Doctor back into the room.

A publicity still showing getting Oliver back in his bed.

By the time the Doctor is pulled back into the room, the nurses and orderlies have gotten his bed back together. But the Doctor is mad and orders everyone to leave the room. When they’re alone, The Doctor orders Oliver to leave the hospital. Stan, though, doesn’t seem to react to the news with any haste.

Stan cuts the wrong trouser leg on the wrong pair of trousers.

When Oliver asks Stan to help him get dressed, Stan struggles with the pants leg, which is too small to fit over Oliver’s cast.  Oliver tells him to use a pair of scissors, so Stan cuts off one of the legs of a pair of trousers he takes out of the closet. But it turns out to be the wrong leg, so Oliver cuts off the right leg.

Just then, Oliver’s roommate (William Austin) returns with news that he’s too is going home, though most likely because he’s cured. But the roommate soon realizes that he’s trying to put on Oliver Hardy’s pants, whose names are even in the pants. Stan takes a seat in the chair and gets stuck by the hypodermic needle.

Into the room comes Nurse Smith looking for her syringe.  She finds it sticking out of Stan’s backside. She laughs at his predicament. She takes the syringe back to Miss Wallace (May Wallace), the head nurse, to get it refilled. Laughingly, she tells Nurse Wallace that Stan is going to sleep for a week.

Stan helps Oliver out to the car.

Stan, already starting to show the effects, helps Oliver out to the car. Oliver, despite the cast on his leg, insists on driving, but when they try to get his cast over the car’s windshield, he ends up in the backseat of the car. He insists Stan drive.

Stan is half-asleep while driving Oliver home from the hospital.

The rest of the movie is Stan, half-asleep, driving through what is possibly the streets of Culver City, with Oliver in the backseat all too aware of the danger they’re in. Finally, they end up getting squashed between two street cars, leaving their car bent in a semi-circle and driving in circles.

Publicity still showing the car after it's been squashed between two street cars.

While there are funny moments, the film suffers from poor production values. Its reliance on rear projection is undermined at just how bad those shots look. The last several minutes, which don’t look good at all, just drive the point home. I can’t underline how poor the final sequence looks, as it is so obviously rear projection footage that isn’t always to scale and doesn’t look the least bit believable.

Rather than a coherent story, like The Music Box, County Hospital seems to be a series of set piece sketches that don’t exactly work together to form a whole: hard-boiled eggs and nuts, the nut smashing with the weight, the cutting of the pants and the drive home, each sadly a little less funny than the sketch before.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy play pretty much the same characters they always do, which is not to take away from them. Most great movie comedians play a particular role or type of role through most of their films. Chaplin had his Little Tramp, Lloyd had the Glass Characters, the Marx Brothers had their own stock characters and so do Laurel and Hardy. Funnier together than separately, they play like a well-oiled machine. Too bad sometimes the material they’re working with isn’t always up to snuff.

The supporting cast is almost superfluous. With the exception of Billy Gilbert, none of them are all that memorable and in some cases, like Hardy’s roommate, don’t even have role names.

After climbing to the heights in The Music Box released earlier in 1932, the pair comes back down to Earth in County Hospital. If you can just watch the first half of the film, then it is very funny, but like a bad SNL sketch, it goes on too long.