This is an enjoyable film, and the actresses hold the screen better than the men.
I bought it to complete my Laurel and Hardy collection. However, it is most definitely not a Stan and Ollie pic. Firstly they don't appear at all in the first 38 minutes of a film that is 1 hour 6 minutes.
Generally Stan and Ollie made some great flicks from 1927 until 1940 under Hal Roach. The earlier ones are, in my opinion, far superior as they feature some amazing sight gags and physical humour. The films made under different management relied on talking. Watching Stan and Ollie sitting down for 10 minutes is a far cry from the early films' comedy genius. Also one has the feeling that the boys are used in the later films in supporting roles to boost the careers of younger up and coming actors. Often theirs is a sub plot whilst the real action centres around a boy and girl trying to get together.
The point is that this film is very much in the post 1940 mould, when it was actually released in 1937.
In this film about a young girl trying to make it in Hollywood the boys make a brief appearance (one sentence each) as comedy extras on a Hollywood lot in a Busby Berkeley type extravaganza. They disappear until a 2 minute appearance in the 43rd minute. At that time they reappear as fake Mexican banditos. Another gap for the main plot till we see them for 4 minutes waiting for their next take at minute 56. They sit on a sofa for the entire scene, though it is a good scene with little talk and based on the boys trying to outdo each other on musical instruments.
In between takes of the "film within a film" they play it straight. This means it's the only other film in which the boys played other characters, apart from "Stan" and "Ollie", since they joined forces in 1927 till their 1941 number "A Chump In Oxford".
The trouble with this approach (and the post 1940 films) is that Stan and Ollie are comic caricatures. When you put them alongside "real" people they stick out like sore thumbs and look improbable.
The one joy of this film is the director of the films we see being made. It's James Finlayson, without his trademark bushy comedy moustache. His part is even smaller than the boys. He shouts "action" and "cut" and falls off a chair.
It would appear to be a very low budget manoeuvre to set any film in a Hollywood studio. That means turning the cameras in on themselves so you can see the technicians at work and not have to spend money on sets.
So, in total that's 7 minutes of the boys in this film. That hardly makes it a Laurel and Hardy film. I felt rather shortchanged. To be honest I would have accepted those 7 minutes as a separate short. Most of their earlier works were 20 minutes. As the later films are over an hour there is inevitably some padding. In this instance the padding is 99 minutes worth.
I bought it to complete my Laurel and Hardy collection. However, it is most definitely not a Stan and Ollie pic. Firstly they don't appear at all in the first 38 minutes of a film that is 1 hour 6 minutes.
Generally Stan and Ollie made some great flicks from 1927 until 1940 under Hal Roach. The earlier ones are, in my opinion, far superior as they feature some amazing sight gags and physical humour. The films made under different management relied on talking. Watching Stan and Ollie sitting down for 10 minutes is a far cry from the early films' comedy genius. Also one has the feeling that the boys are used in the later films in supporting roles to boost the careers of younger up and coming actors. Often theirs is a sub plot whilst the real action centres around a boy and girl trying to get together.
The point is that this film is very much in the post 1940 mould, when it was actually released in 1937.
In this film about a young girl trying to make it in Hollywood the boys make a brief appearance (one sentence each) as comedy extras on a Hollywood lot in a Busby Berkeley type extravaganza. They disappear until a 2 minute appearance in the 43rd minute. At that time they reappear as fake Mexican banditos. Another gap for the main plot till we see them for 4 minutes waiting for their next take at minute 56. They sit on a sofa for the entire scene, though it is a good scene with little talk and based on the boys trying to outdo each other on musical instruments.
In between takes of the "film within a film" they play it straight. This means it's the only other film in which the boys played other characters, apart from "Stan" and "Ollie", since they joined forces in 1927 till their 1941 number "A Chump In Oxford".
The trouble with this approach (and the post 1940 films) is that Stan and Ollie are comic caricatures. When you put them alongside "real" people they stick out like sore thumbs and look improbable.
The one joy of this film is the director of the films we see being made. It's James Finlayson, without his trademark bushy comedy moustache. His part is even smaller than the boys. He shouts "action" and "cut" and falls off a chair.
It would appear to be a very low budget manoeuvre to set any film in a Hollywood studio. That means turning the cameras in on themselves so you can see the technicians at work and not have to spend money on sets.
So, in total that's 7 minutes of the boys in this film. That hardly makes it a Laurel and Hardy film. I felt rather shortchanged. To be honest I would have accepted those 7 minutes as a separate short. Most of their earlier works were 20 minutes. As the later films are over an hour there is inevitably some padding. In this instance the padding is 99 minutes worth.