Until I watched Blotto last night I never knew how much homage was paid to Laurel and Hardy by Jackie Gleason in one of the classic Honeymooner episodes.
It's the one where Ralph invites Ed over to enjoy a bottle of wine and Alice fearing the consequences empties the wine bottle and puts grape juice in it. The two of them as Ollie would have put it, none the wiser, polish off the 'wine' and get themselves drunk on the mere power of suggestion.
It's prohibition time and the unmarried Mr. Hardy wants to go to a bring your own booze type club where they give you the set up if you bring the illegal liquor. But Stan's wife, Anita Garvin, keeps her husband on a very short leash.
That doesn't stop our clever duo who turn out not to be so clever. Anita allows them to go to the club, but spikes the bottle with cold tea.
Best scene in this short was a lachrymose tenor singing The Curse of An Aching Heart to Ollie and Stan crying in their tea.
Besides Stan and Ollie in front of the camera, Hal Roach managed to get the talents of two future Academy Award directors behind the camera. Leo McCarey co-wrote the script and George Stevens was the cinematographer.
Stan and Ollie's humor is not like that of the wisecracking Marx Brothers, nor is it finely honed burlesque routines. It depends far more on the characters created. So don't look for any clever lines here. Just look for a pair of lovable screw-ups who keep proving again and again about how smart they're not.
It's the one where Ralph invites Ed over to enjoy a bottle of wine and Alice fearing the consequences empties the wine bottle and puts grape juice in it. The two of them as Ollie would have put it, none the wiser, polish off the 'wine' and get themselves drunk on the mere power of suggestion.
It's prohibition time and the unmarried Mr. Hardy wants to go to a bring your own booze type club where they give you the set up if you bring the illegal liquor. But Stan's wife, Anita Garvin, keeps her husband on a very short leash.
That doesn't stop our clever duo who turn out not to be so clever. Anita allows them to go to the club, but spikes the bottle with cold tea.
Best scene in this short was a lachrymose tenor singing The Curse of An Aching Heart to Ollie and Stan crying in their tea.
Besides Stan and Ollie in front of the camera, Hal Roach managed to get the talents of two future Academy Award directors behind the camera. Leo McCarey co-wrote the script and George Stevens was the cinematographer.
Stan and Ollie's humor is not like that of the wisecracking Marx Brothers, nor is it finely honed burlesque routines. It depends far more on the characters created. So don't look for any clever lines here. Just look for a pair of lovable screw-ups who keep proving again and again about how smart they're not.