''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 Blan ...

and starring Laurel and Hardy. It is based on the 1908 play ''Home from the Honeymoon'' by Arthur J. Jefferson, Stan Laurel's father, and is a remake of their earlier silent film (and debut as an "official" duo) '' Duck Soup''.

Plot

Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel 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 sp ...

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-to ...

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 because the tram has split the bicycle in half.

Cast

* Stan Laurel as Stan * Oliver Hardy 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 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''. 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 List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. 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