Men O'War (1929) User Reviews

This is how it should be done!

[Shaolin_Apu · 8/10 · 31 January 2006]

Two sailors meet two equally less-intelligent chicks and with a single tiny coin they manage to produce another quality catastrophe. This is how you take the most out of the situation! One hapless situation follows after another, and when you see what kind of sailors these two are you'll think what kind of Captain let them to ruin Navy's honor. When they manage to get the two chicks into the bar you'll know that something is going to happen when the old grim-face Finlayson is seen playing the bartender.

Everything works fine in this small flick, the total chaos that eventually happens doesn't start too early, though unfortunately it feels a bit prolonged one. But before the lousy bit, you have been given a sharp reminder on how good these masters of banal catastrophes were also verbally.

Very good early Laurel and Hardy--but not among their very best

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 5 October 2006]

Although this film seems to have clicked with some of the critics who have written about Laurel and Hardy, it's far from their best film and even after repeated viewings it just doesn't seem all that special. Stan and Ollie are sailors and the film is anchored by two main gags that are only so-so. The first is the soda fountain bit where the boys only have enough (so they think) for three drinks to be split between themselves and two girls. It's kind of cute, but that's all. And the end when they have a fight while boating on the lake once again is only mildly funny at best. While this film probably won't turn you off Laurel and Hardy films, there are certainly better ones such as BIG BUSINESS or HELPMATES. Good for a few laughs and worth seeing, but that's about it.

Men O'War was an amusing enough, as opposed to hilarious, Laurel & Hardy short

[tavm · 7/10 · 21 March 2023]

Starting right now, I'm reviewing a Laurel & Hardy film, and then an Abbott & Costello one with something similar, one after another. So it is that I'm reviewing Men O'War, L & H's third talkie. In this one, they are sailors charmed by a couple of young women. So they go to a soda shop and Ollie finds out there's only enough money for three drinks. So he tells Stan to refuse. I'll stop there and just say Bud & Lou go through something similar in Keep "Em Flying which I'll review next. So then they also go row boat riding and...well, if you've seen many L & H shorts it shouldn't surprise anyone what happens. This was pretty funny if not completely hilarious but still a treat to watch, just the same, especially when James Finlayson is involved, that's for sure! This short was early in the talkie era so the timing involving sound wasn't perfect, yet. So that's a recommendation for Men O'War.

Laurel and Hardy's Boat Double-Date

[Chrysanthepop · 22 July 2008]

The duo are back again, this time as sailors wooing to equally dumb girls. It's got the usual slapstick and facial expressions that make the viewer laugh but in addition to that, it's got some witty dialogues too. The bar scene where Hardy selfishly tries to get out of paying is downright hilarious. The slapstick regarding the boat where the duo try to row out but end up rotating in one spot, drags a little but the sequence thereafter, that leads to a 'catastrophe' is hilarious. I kept wondering, OK now the boat's going to sink until it eventually does. The underwear confusion in the beginning was another laugh-out-loud sequence and I'm glad they didn't overdo it by using clichés. That sequence could have ended with Laurel or Hardy handing over the underwear to the girls followed by an embarrassing scream but thankfully that was avoided and the plot continued well. Overall, it is a well executed movie. A nice little funny film.

Typically funny Laurel & Hardy Short

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 29 January 2010]

Laurel & Hardy are in their sailor outfits again, although there's really no need for them to be other than to emphasise their ineptitude in the second part of the film, which takes place on a boating lake. They come across a pair of bloomers and mistakenly believe they belong to one of a pair of young ladies they meet in the park. Of course, they don't belong to the ladies, but the boys realise this before they can embarrass themselves. That fact alone is an indicator of the high quality of the writing here; a lesser writer would have had the boys making asses of themselves, but the more satisfying pay-off is gained from the audience's sense of relief combined with the idea of what could have happened.

The boys take the girls for a soda. The clerk here is their old nemesis James Finlayson, but he doesn't really have a lot to do here other than squint suspiciously at the boys through one eye and say 'doh!' (nearly sixty years before Homer). Of course they don't have enough money and Ollie decides he and Stan will have to share one between them. You probably know how that works out, and the simplicity of Stan's line is filled with the kind of crackpot – but understandable – logic that typifies Laurel & Hardy's humour.

The ending's a variation on a theme they had used many times before but it still works because it *is* a variation rather than a rip off. This one's definitely worth a look.

Pratfalls In The Park With Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 31 May 2000]

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short.

Sailors Stan & Ollie, two MEN O'WAR, are on shore leave. While strolling through the park, they meet & escort two silly young women. After a financial contretemps at the soda fountain, the Boys initiate a rowdy donnybrook on the boat pond.

A hilarious little film, with a delightful sense of spontaneity, as if the performers were extemporizing much of their dialogue. This short is also refreshing in that the plot takes place entirely out of doors. Highlight: bedlam in the boat. The knickers sequence shows that this film was produced pre-Production Code. That's James Finlayson as the soda fountain/boat rental manager; Anne Cornwall & Gloria Greer as the young women; and Charlie Hall as the man in the canoe.

The battle of tipacanoe

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 17 October 2018]

Those familiar with the L&H silent shorts "Two Tars", and "Should Married Men Go Home?" will see certain resemblances between those films and the present film. As in "Two Tars", they are a couple of nitwit sailors on shore leave. Then, all 3 films include a terminal brawl, although quite different in character from each other. Also, in all 3 films, the boys pick up a pair of dates extemporaneously, who stay with them for all or most of the rest of the film. The soda fountain scene, for the most part, is an exact duplicate of that in "Should Married Men Go Home".The endings are somewhat different. Here, Stan risks his $.15 in a slot machine, hoping he can win enough to cover the unexpectedly expensive sodas. In fact, he hits the jackpot, easily winning enough to cover a boat ride with the girls. Also, in this one, an extra gag is inserted, in which Stan drinks all of a soda shared with Ollie. He explains that his half was on the bottom........In an earlier gag, the boys are looking for an excuse to reconnect with 2 young ladies in the park. They come upon a pair of bloomers on the sidewalk(dropped from a laundress's basket). They speculate on the possibility that one of the girls lost this! They decide the possibility is great enough to risk an inquiry. They hide the bloomers behind them, and ask if the girls have lost anything. Actually, one has, but it's a pair of gloves. So, why don't they tell the boys this? Instead, they describe the item in terms that generally could apply to the bloomers, thus extending the suspense. Finally, along comes a cop, who presents them with the gloves. No matter, the girls are eager to join the boys in a soda. Stan manages to dispose of the hidden bloomers in a bush.........The upcoming boat ride is an all around disaster. Unlike the otherwise canoes paddling the small lake, they get a skiff with 2 oars. Ollie relaxes on cushions, with the 2 girls, on one end, while Stan does the rowing. Trouble is, they just go around in circles. I don't understand why. Stan is pulling the oars on both sides. So, Ollie decides he needs to direct Stan in the correct technique. As you might expect, his method is guaranteed to send them in circles. Eventually, Charlie Hall, hits them broadside with his canoe. They fight about whose fault it was. Ollie throws a cushion at him that misses, and hits another canoer, causing him to fall in the water, and his canoe to hit another. Eventually, all these people make it to the boys' boat and get in to engage in some close combat. Finally, the boat is packed with people, but James Finlayson: the boatowner, and a policeman, swim out, and try to get in, causing the boat to sink, to end the story. A good, if not superb, L&H effort. See it at YouTube. I watched the colorized version.

Double dating

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 28 August 2018]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess). 'Men O'War' is one of the best and funniest Laurel and Hardy short films up to this point of their output, one of their best from their overall early work and very nearly one of my personal favourites of theirs. Their filmography, apart from a few bumps along the way, was getting better and better and 'Men O'War' exemplifies this.

Not a lot to criticise here, though the story is a little all-over-the-shop at times and gets a bit confused.

Once again, 'Men O'War' is non-stop funniness all the way, its best part being the riotous ending. There is insane craziness that doesn't get too silly, a wackiness that never loses its energy, the lack of vulgarity that is a large part of 'Men O'War' memorability and the sly wit emerges here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually feels fresh and it doesn't get repetitive.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'Men O'War' we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable and love the spontaneity that seemed present here.

'Men O'War' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid, James Finlayson in particular.

Concluding, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Stan and Ollie as sailors on leave.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 7/10 · 6 August 2017]

"Men 'O War" was a short where Laurel and Hardy were still adapting to the new medium of sound. The dialogue is good enough but the pace is a bit leaden. Stan and Ollie are two sailors who befriend two young ladies in a park. They go to buy some drinks but Stan and Ollie only have 15 cents on them. There follows a marvellous scene where the boys agree to share a drink but Stan keeps forgetting this as he keeps ordering a drink he can't afford! The climax finishes with a full scale water fight after Stan and Ollie and their dates rent a boat for a pleasurable jaunt.

The Third Laurel & Hardy Talkie

[Sunsphxsuns · 10/10 · 4 January 2022]

Call me crazy ("Hey, crazy!") but I never enjoyed silent era films. I tried, oh I tried, but each time an actor's mouth moved there was nothing but an awkward silence. Then after what seemed too lengthy of a wait, a placard flashed on the TV screen, reflecting what the actor had just said moments before. I found this to be very distracting, plus it slowed down the natural comedic timing. This lapse between action and dialog, for me, was like watching an entire movie subtitled, and I couldn't square the two up.

That being said, I didn't watch any of the short and feature length "TV reruns" unless they were "talkies." As a kid who was fortunate enough to have a tiny black and white TV set in my bedroom, every Saturday morning before my parents or the Sun were up, I was thoroughly mesmerized by the vaudevillian, overtly physical humor of Buster Keaton, Our Gang (The Little Rascals), The Three Stooges, and of course, Laurel & Hardy.

The first Our Gang (The Little Rascals) talkie was "Small Talk" released in 1929. Buster Keaton's first talkie was "Free and Easy," released in 1930. The Three Stooges (Larry, Moe and Curly) most recognized talkie was The Woman Haters (1934). "Unaccustomed As We Are," released worldwide in 1929, was Laurel and Hardy's film debut with sound. It was an immediate hit with audiences.

Unlike many of their silent film era contemporaries who couldn't make the transition from silent to sound film, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy effortlessly slipped into this new media. Both actors had the rare gift of "comedic timing," and the duo knew how to thoroughly exploit sight gags. Moreover, lovable Hardy routinely broke the "fourth wall" of film, and after each hilarious yet tragic gag, he would often look straight at the camera as if to say, "Can you believe what just happened to me?"

"Men O' War" (1929) was Laurel and Hardy's third sound movie. Like the first two, it is a short. The plot is simple: Stan and Ollie are Navy sailors on leave who, while walking through what looks like Echo Park in Los Angeles, meet two attractive ladies also walking through the park. A very shy Ollie invites the giggling women to join them for a soda, but they only have enough money for three people. Afterwards they rent rent a row boat with the women, which turns into a war with the other boaters. From there it escalates into sheer mayhem.

It's all brilliantly performed by two of the most iconic comedic teams in history, and supported by a wonderful set of actors who would often appear in many future Laurel & Hardy shorts and feature length films.

No spoilers here as usual, but I will reveal that this was vaudevillian actor James Finlayson's first venture into a talkie, and it is also the first time (but certainly not the last time) in which we hear his trademark exclamation: "D'Oh!"

A bit too much hullabaloo, but also entertaining occasionally

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 18 January 2018]

"Men O'War" is an American 20-minute live action short from 1929, so this one will have its 90th anniversary next year and this is one of those Laurel/Hardy films that marks their successful transition from silent into sound film, something only very few silent film greats succeeded with. And for a sound film from 1929, it looks pretty good indeed I must say and that is also almost the only reason why I give this one a thumbs-up and a positive recommendation. The soda scene was kinda fun too, not just because of the two protagonists, but also thanks to the bar keeper taking Stan's part here of looking confused (and even a bit angry perhaps) right at us in the camera. The boat action at the very end is all noise and chaos, but not really funny and the opening scenes are not too memorable either. But still, for its time, it was a bit on the groundbreaking side, even if the great deal of mediocrity results in this not being among the very best Stan&Ollie works. The duo play sailors here looking for girlfriends, maybe the future wives that bully them so hard in other works. The cast and crew include names that worked with Laurel and Hardy on other occasions too including director Lewis R. Foster about a decade before his Oscar win. Overall a close call, but as I can see how they are exploring new territories here and the film is ahead of its time, I give it a thumbs-up. Worth checking out if you have seen and enjoyed other stuff starring these two likable fellas.

D'Oh!

[boblipton · 10/10 · 8 December 2020]

Laurel and hardy are two sailors on leave who pick up a couple of dumb girls. How dumb are they? Well, they're going out with the Boys, aren't they?

This is the third sound short they made, and although the centerpiece is the soda routine, there are an awful lot of reaction shots of James Finlayson. This is a landmark short, n that it seems to be the first time Finn ever said "D'oh!".... which might be interest to all you Simpsons fanw/ Homer's use of it is based on Finlayson's. There are a lot of takes of Finn, because the theater audiences would be spending too much time laughing at the antics.

While strolling through the park one day...

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 22 September 2016]

The odd couple of sailors Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are unlikely candidates to pick up two young women (Anne Cornwall and Gloria Greer) in the park, but they do, and this Los Angeles park will never be the same again. If it isn't Laurel managing to make good on a .30 cent soda bill with only .15 cents (thanks to a lucky streak of a quick gamble), it's the frantic boat ride in the lake that results in a near riot. Onlooking and frustrated by this is their longtime foe, James Finlayson, almost a third member of the team, here both running the soda fountain and the boat rental service. You half expect to hear Stanley say, "My, that fellow gets around!" Moderately funny, it uses some great location shots that attract fans of the boys to this day, giving it historical interest. That's "Running Wild" in the background, famously sung by Marilyn Monroe in "Some Like It Hot", used for a couple of their shorts until the familiar peppy Laurel & Hardy theme was added later on.

Fantastic example of their wit AND their physical work

[bob the moo · 5 July 2003]

Laurel and Hardy are sailors on shore leave walking through the park. A misunderstanding over a misplaced item of clothing leads them into the favours (and company) of a pair of delightful young ladies. The pair invite them for a soda despite the fact that they have very little money, and then onto a quite memorable boating trip.

I have tried to really get into Laurel and Hardy shorts and have started watching them whenever I may get the chance. Of the ones I have seen so far this has been one of my favourites. The reason for that is I always enjoy when they are given the opportunity to be more than physical clowns and are given witty dialogue driven scenes. Here the majority of the film (the lost gloves and the soda shop) are all driven by the dialogue and the good `to-camera' work the pair do. The climax on the river boat is not as good as their better physical work but I didn't care as the majority was sublime.

Laurel and Hardy excel in the film, especially in the first three quarters. The chemistry and timing between them always shines through in the verbal more than the slapstick. Their delivery is perfect – while Hardy was calmly pleading with Laurel in the soda shop `why did you do that, just tell me why' I was in stitches! The support cast is pretty good although the ladies are a little dull. This short is also the best example of James Finlayson at his best and a good chance for all Simpsons fans to catch the origin of the Homer Simpson `d'oh'.

Overall I was always going to love this film simply because it revolves more around the dialogue than the slapstick. The climax on the boating lake is funny but this should be watched as proof that Laurel and Hardy were more than successful fall guys – they were simply comedy genius's who were all round vaudeville entertainers.

Men O'War

[jboothmillard · 7/10 · 26 October 2009]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. At the side of a river, a woman carrying washing drops a pair of underwear without notice, and two chatting girls (Anne Cornwall and Gloria Greer) stop over them talking about men. Stopping next to them are navy sailors Stan and Ollie who immediately make them giggle looking flirty, and when they walk away the boys notice the underwear and decide to return them. One of the girls notices she's lost her white gloves, and the boys ask her to describe what she's lost, her comments make them laugh, e.g. "easy pulling them on", "imagine how I feel without them"), but then a policeman gives her the gloves, and the boys drop it. They invite the girls to have a drink with them, Stan chucks the underwear away, and realising they only have 15¢ from bank role, Ollie wants Stan to refuse a drink. Stan of course gets it wrong three times before the order is done, and when Ollie orders a sassafras soda Stan says he doesn't like "frassassas, but he still accidentally drinks it all instead of half. Ollie then gets the bill, it is 30¢, so he leaves it for Stan to pay, and hoping to get lucky Stan puts the money they have in the near fruit machine, and to the amazement of the Soda jerk (James Finlayson), he wins big. With the money they've won, the boys take the girls on a boat ride, and Stan can't get the rowing right, and Ollie joining him doesn't help much either. Staying in the same spot, a boater (Charlie Hall) hits them, and comes aboard to have a fight with them, and when a few more boats are turned over they join in too. The soda jerk sees all this, and gets a policeman (Harry Bernard) to try and stop it, and the boat is too heavy to float, so it sinks and everyone goes in. Filled with wonderful slapstick and all classic comedy you could want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Very good!

Laurel & Hardy's mishaps as sailors.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 13 July 2006]

Yet again the two boys get into some tight spots, which yet again also involves two girls who they of course try to impress and give a good time.

But what would a Laurel & Hardy picture be if everything would go right for the two boys. They get into trouble when they once more get into some budget problems and later on they get into an huge brawl on the water with a couple of other rowers.

The story is pretty weak, incoherent and simple even for a Laurel & Hardy short but those two main comical sequences I just mentioned earlier are the very reason why this movie works still extremely well as hilarious entertainment. The two sequences alone are reason enough to watch this movie.

Especially the end, set in the water in a small rowboat is a memorable and hilarious one.

Also the presence of Laurel & Hardy regulars Baldwin Cooke and especially James Finlayson make this movie an even more memorable- and hilarious one.

The movie is of course very outdated, even more than most other Laurel & Hardy comedy shorts. Some sequences don't even have sound recording which makes this movie extra old fashioned and hard to watch. However the most hardened black & white comedy short viewers will not be troubled by this.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

A Nice Effort

[hausrathman · 21 November 2011]

Sailors on leave, Laurel & Hardy try to impress two girls they meet in a park in this delightful, early sound short.

After misfiring in their first two sound shorts, Laurel & Hardy start to regain their stride in this short film. There is much to commend here. The scene with the boys meeting the girls is very cute, and the misunderstanding about a lost garment was surprisingly risqué for the time. The scene at the soda shop, where the boys, broke as usual, try to marshal their resources to buy drinks for the girls is also quite amusing. The appearance longtime foil Jim Finlayson as the soda jerk adds to the humor of the scene. In the second reel, the boys take the girls out on a small lake in a rowboat which leads to a typical tit-for-tat fight with their fellow boaters. This sequence isn't as funny as similar battles in "Two Tars" or "You're Darn Tootin'," but it shows that the boys are back on the right track.

One of my favorite shorts of this period. I think it benefited from some nice dialogue that actually seemed written. In their first two films, the dialogue seemed too perfunctorily or ad- libbed. Here, for the first time, they seem to be exploring the true possibilities of sound.