''Another Fine Mess'' is a 1930 short

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

James Parrott James Parrott (August 2, 1897 – May 10, 1939) was an American actor and film director; and the younger brother of film comedian Charley Chase. Biography Early years James Gibbons Parrott was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Charles and Blanch ...

and starring

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

. It is based on the 1908 play ''Home from the Honeymoon'' by Arthur J. Jefferson,

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

's father, and is a remake of their earlier silent film (and debut as an "official" duo) '' Duck Soup''.

Plot

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...

and

are vagrants being chased by the police. They hide in the basement of the mansion of

Allan Quatermain Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel ''King Solomon's Mines'', its one sequel ''Allan Quatermain'' (1887), twelve prequel novels and four prequel short stories, totalling eighteen works. An English professional ...

-style

adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

Colonel Wilberforce Buckshot, where they become trapped. The colonel has just departed for an African safari and the mansion is to be rented until his return, but the staff sneak off for a holiday, leaving the house empty. The house is surrounded by several policeman who are looking for Stan and Ollie, who must deceive a rich couple seeking to rent the house. Ollie disguises himself as Buckshot and Stan disguises himself as both butler Hives and chambermaid Agnes. The real Colonel Buckshot unexpectedly returns to fetch his bow and arrows, only to find the disorder that had ensued after his departure. Ollie continues his masquerade as Colonel Buckshot to the real colonel until he sees a portrait on the wall of the real owner. The colonel calls the police and Stan and Ollie escape dressed as a

wildebeest Wildebeest ( , , ), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toe ...

on a stolen

tandem bicycle A tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle (occasionally a tricycle) designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement (fore to aft, not side by side), not the number of riders. Patents relat ...

. They ride into a railroad tunnel and encounter a tram but emerge riding

unicycles A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is practice ...

because the tram has split the bicycle in half.

Cast

as Stan *

as Ollie Uncredited:

Production

The film's technical credits are recited by two girls in usherette outfits at the beginning of the film. Beverly and Betty Mae Crane performed the "talking titles" for several Hal Roach productions during the 1930–31 season as an experimental alternative to standard title cards. ''Another Fine Mess'' is the first Laurel and Hardy film to feature background music by

Leroy Shield Leroy Bernard Shield (October 2, 1893 – January 9, 1962) was an American film score and radio composer. He is best known for the themes and incidental music he wrote for the classic Hal Roach comedy short films of the 1930s, including the ''Our ...

. Several previous Laurel and Hardy sound shorts experimented with music scores, but beginning with this film, music would be heard regularly in Laurel and Hardy,

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

and

Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...

shorts and other Hal Roach productions such as ''

The Boy Friends ''The Boy Friends'' is a series of American Pre-Code comedy short films released between 1930 and 1932. The series consisted of fifteen films and was spun off from the long running '' Our Gang'' film series (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' ...

''. Although some contemporaneous Laurel and Hardy films were also produced in foreign-language versions, with dialogue spoken phonetically, none are known to exist for ''Another Fine Mess''. Exteriors were filmed at the former Guasti Villa at 3500 West Adams Boulevard in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. which still stands and is the home of the Peace Theological Seminary & College of Philosophy.

References

External links

* * * * {{James Parrott 1930 films 1930 comedy films Remakes of American films American black-and-white films Films directed by James Parrott Laurel and Hardy (film series) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Sound film remakes of silent films Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker Films set in country houses 1930s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links