Post by Angus McLaurel on Sept 2, 2008 15:38:10 GMT
Stan & Ollie are sent to prison by accident as they were only watching a raid. They soon try to make an escape but fail. They begin their prison life and join the rock pile, which leads to a messy end.
Not a bad sound film. Starts off quite promising, with Stan & Ollie arriving at jail, two classic mannersims straight away, Ollie`s tie twiddle and Stan`s cry. Then it moves on to the attempted escape, more decent gags here as Stan gets an apple stuck in his mouth and panics. The warden kicks him which causes Stan to swallow it. Followed by a quick routine in which Stan & Ollie, after unsuccessfully escaping, the warden accidentally locks them out. Ollie realises and is about to leg it when Stan decides to knock.
You see the boys mentality when they are told to chop some wood to earn food. Stan picks up a small piece of wood and begins chopping, Ollie stops him...
OLLIE: The more wood, the more food
Ollie then suggests they chop down a great big tree, which turns out to be the prison watch tower.
Some classic scenes follow on the rock pile, including a very painful bit where Stan manages to hit the pick axe right on Ollie`s rectum, OUCH!. I like Stan`s reaction when the women arrive, you can read what`s on his mind!
Very good film so far, then suddenly it slows right down with the finale. The rice pudding sequence. This goes on far too long, and a lot of the comedy timing is out. It could have been a lot funnier . Shame really, otherwise it would have been a lot better. 6/10
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