Babes in Toyland (1934)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Directors:

Gus Meins
Charley Rogers

Writers:

Frank Butler (dialogue)
Nick Grinde (dialogue)

Release Date:

14 December 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

1 and 1/2 hours of laughter!

Plot:

Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum try to borrow money from their employer, the toymaker, to pay off the mortgage...

Plot Keywords:

Shot In The Ass | Good Versus Evil | Toy | Eviction | Fairy Tale Land

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Stannie Dum
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie Dee
Charlotte Henry	...	Little Bo-Peep
Felix Knight	...	Tom-Tom Piper
Henry Brandon	...	Silas Barnaby (as Harry Kleinbach)
Florence Roberts	...	Mother Widow Peep
Virginia Karns	...	Mother Goose
Marie Wilson	...	Mary Quite Contrary
Johnny Downs	...	Little Boy Blue

Also Known As:

Laurel and Hardy in Toyland
March of the Wooden Soldiers (USA) (reissue title)
Revenge Is Sweet
Wooden Soldiers

Runtime:

77 min | USA:73 min (re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:T | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

The filming turned into a symphony of cast injuries. Stan Laurel fell off a platform and tore ligaments in his right leg. Henry Brandon was injured in a bar fight at the Brass Rail. Assistant director Gordon Douglas slid 15 feet from the top of the Old Woman's Shoe and tore ligaments in his left leg. Kewpie Morgan's part as Old King Cole called for him to laugh continuously - after two days, he ruptured muscles in his stomach. Oliver Hardy entered St. Vincent's Hospital to have his tonsils removed the day after filming wrapped, and Hal Roach developed appendicitis.

Goofs:

Continuity: As the wooden soldiers approach the Boogey men, Barnaby is holding Bo Peep in his arms, but when they fire the cannon shot that knocks him down, she is gone.

Quotes:

Ollie Dee: Why should you worry? You and he are just like THAT.
Stannie Dum: But that was before we were married.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Perfect Strangers: Babes in Babylon (#2.6)" (1986)

Soundtrack:

I Can't Do The Sum

A Dreamland Journey- -You Can Come Back Again

Babes in Toyland was the first movie I saw on a big screen- -a holiday presentation in my grammar school auditorium, circa 1957- -uncut, unlike the many subsequent presentations I saw on TV in after years. I fell in love with Stan and Ollie, with Toyland, with the magic of the movies, all at once- -all of us watching laughed and thrilled to see all of the characters we had heard of in nursery rhymes come to life- -even the Three Little Pigs (with "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" on the soundtrack, courtesy of Uncle Walt Disney's studio!)- -we trembled with ecstatic terror at Silas Barnaby and his army of Bogeymen and cheered the house down when Stan and Ollie discovered the Perfect way to rout them and save the day!- -and yes, many of us, watching Charlotte Henry and Felix Knight as Bo-Peep and her plucky suitor Tom-Tom (the Piper's Son), found awakening within ourselves the realization of what romantic love might be about.- -and Stan and Ollie?- -a funny, wonderful duo, children like ourselves, joyously silly and giddily amazing. I dreamt of Toyland that night, and many nights after- -sweet dreams, scarey dreams, dreams of Ollie and Stannie as wonderful friends- -and once I woke crying, realizing that once I was grown up, Toyland would fade to a distant memory. Well, I was wrong. You can go back to Toyland, that Childhood's Dreamland, any time you watch this movie. I love it. You may, too. Note: current video versions are mostly also uncut, some are colorized, which in this instance (perhaps the only one)improves the presentation!