Post by Angus McLaurel on Sept 13, 2008 16:46:47 GMT
Stan & Ollie are in court, charged with vagrancy. The judge orders them both to get out of town within the hour.
They meet and help a drunk on the way. As a gesture, the drunk offers them a room for the night, but takes them to the wrong house. The house turns out to be that of the judge.
Not a bad little film this one. Some great dialogue in the very first scene...
JUDGE: You`re charged with vagrancy. Are you guilty or not guilty?
OLLIE: Not guilty your highness
JUDGE: On what grounds?
STAN: We weren`t on the grounds, we were sleeping on a park bench
After they leave court, they meet a drunken fellow (Arthur Housman) having trouble finding his car key, as he has dropped it down a grid. Stan & Ollie help out and create one of the best scenes of the film, in which everyone, including a policemean falls down the grid. Arthur Housman's performance is great. He's so good at pretending he's drunk, you begin to wonder if he really is!
The next scene as Stan & Ollie try and get into the house is OK, but does go on a while. It`s a reminiscent scene to that in `Night Owls`, but not as funny.
When they finally get inside the house, Stan & Ollie each put on a pair of pyjamas, and what a great fit they are! There`s a nice little `laughter` routine as they revive the wife of the house with some water (which is actually liquor) (It`s very surprising how quick the woman gets drunk too). Both of these scenes to be re-worked in later films (Them Thar Hills / Way Out West ) Although the laughter scene isn't a good as the one they did in `Blotto` previously.
Rychard Cramer is a very serious actor by the look of his perfomance at the end of this film. he reminds you of `Ebeneezer Scrooge` at one point. The film ends mysteriously as the room is blackened, there`s a couple of screams and out it fades. (It`s one of those you could invent you`re own ideas as to what happened)
Not a bad film apart from the milking of the scene getting into the house. 7/10
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