Pardon Us (1931)

Director:

James Parrott

Writer:

H.M. Walker (dialogue)

Release Date:

15 August 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Musical

Tagline:

The world has been waiting for THEIR FIRST FULL LENGTH TALKING PICTURE

Plot:

It's Prohibition, and the boys wind up behind bars after Stan sells some of their home-brew beer to a policeman...

Plot Keywords:

Blackface | Machine Gun | Prison | Tommy Gun | Automobile

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Stanley
Oliver Hardy	...	Oliver
June Marlowe	...	Warden's Daughter
Wilfred Lucas	...	Warden
James Finlayson	...	Schoolteacher
Walter Long	...	The Tiger
Tiny Sandford	...	Prison Guard (as Stanley J. Sanford)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Austin	...	Prisoner with Sore Tooth (uncredited)
Charles A. Bachman	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
Eddie Baker	...	Plantation Boss (uncredited)
Harry Bernard	...	Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Bobby Burns	...	Dental patient (uncredited)
Baldwin Cooke	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Charles Dorety	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
Gordon Douglas	...	Typist (uncredited)
Bobby Dunn	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
Eddie Dunn	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
Otto Fries	...	Dentist (uncredited)
Dick Gilbert	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
Charlie Hall	...	Dental Assistant (uncredited)
Jack Herrick	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
Jack Hill	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
Frank Holliday	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Bob Kortman	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Sam Lufkin	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Jerry Mandy	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
George Miller	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Gene Morgan	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
James Parrott	...	Marching Prisoner (uncredited)
Hal Roach	...	Marching Prisoner (uncredited)
Charley Rogers	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
Will Stanton	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
Harry Thomas	...	Prison Inmate (uncredited)
Guido Trento	...	(uncredited)
Blackie Whiteford	...	Insurgent Convict (uncredited)
S.D. Wilcox	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Leo Willis	...	Prisoner (uncredited)

Directed by
James Parrott

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
H.M. Walker		dialogue

Produced by
Hal Roach	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Leroy Shield		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Jack Stevens		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Richard C. Currier		(as Richard Currier)

Art Department
Frank Durlauf	....	set designer (uncredited)
Cedric Gibbons	....	art director: main set only (uncredited)
Cedric Gibbons	....	art director: prison set (uncredited)

Sound Department
Elmer Raguse	....	sound recording engineer
Ralph Butler	....	location sound recordist (uncredited)
John Harrison	....	location sound recordist (uncredited)
John Whitaker	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Stunts
Joe Mole	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
L.E. DeFrancesco	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Edward Kilenyi	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
J.S. Zamecnik	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Hal Roach	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Hal Roach Studios Inc.

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1931) (USA) (theatrical)
• Film Classics (1944) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• PolyGram Ibérica S.A. (1992) (Spain) (VHS)
• Silver Screen Archive (????) (USA) (DVD)
• VTI Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Gaol Birds
Jailbirds
The Rap (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

56 min | USA:65 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Spain:T | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios Inc.

Trivia:

Four foreign language versions were also shot: Sous les verrous (1931) (French), Hinter Schloss und Riegel (1931) (German), Muraglie (1931) (Italian) and "De Bote en Bote" (Spanish). Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spoke their lines phonetically, and many supporting roles were recast, including Boris Karloff playing "The Tiger" in the French version.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: The lighting rig shadow can be seen as the migrant workers exit the cotton fields.

Quotes:

Prison Guard: They disappeared as if the earth had completely swallowed them.
Warden: Don't worry about those two babes in the woods. Use the bloodhounds. Those hounds never fail. Why they'll trail them so straight, it will be a cinch. Those hounds are ferocious. They're killers. Ha ha ha ha, I'd like to see their faces when they see those hounds. Now hop to it.

Movie Connections:

References Our Gang (1922)

Soundtrack:

Lazy Moon

not exactly perfect, but wow what fun!

This was Laurel and Hardy's first full-length movie, though it is admittedly a short full-length film. And, apart from a few somewhat slow moments, it is great fun throughout. Part of the reason it is so much fun is that their foil is Walter Long--one of the absolutely scariest looking bad guys in movie history! I loved him in this movie and he is just terrifying. Well, the boys being very stupid, find a way to get on Long's bad side and they know their days are numbered unless some miracle happens--and that's exactly what happens at the film's conclusion. I won't give away the details because I don't want to spoil the fun, but this is a wonderful little film.