''Brats'' is a 1930 Laurel and Hardy comedy short. The film was 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 ...

. Laurel and Hardy play dual roles as their own children. It also inspired a helper group for the Michigan tent for

The Sons of the Desert The Sons of the Desert is an international fraternal organization devoted to the lives and films of comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The group takes its name from a fictional lodge that Laurel and Hardy belonged to in the 1933 film ''Son ...

, which is composed of all the child members of the tent. This is the first of only three films where the boys each play a

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

: the second is '' Twice Two'' and the third and last is '' Our Relations''.

Plot

Laurel and Hardy are spending a night in with the kids. The fathers are playing

checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; British English), is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers ...

and

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky po ...

, but are constantly distracted by their own incompetence and by their children, who are constantly bullying each other and trying to stay up late. The film begins with Stan and Ollie playing a game of checkers, and Stan Jr. and Ollie Jr. playing with blocks. They smash a vase and are sent to bed. Ollie Jr. is pushed into a full bath and chases Stan Jr. out (leaving the taps and the shower on), but slips on the soap causing part of the ceiling to crash onto the pool table. Stan and Ollie are furious and rush upstairs, only to find their junior versions in bed pretending to be asleep. When both boys ask for a drink of water, Oliver opens the door to the by-now flooded bathroom, and the water gushes out from the bathroom in a torrent, bowling them over in a drenched heap as the film ends.

Cast

* Stan Laurel * Oliver Hardy

Production

''Brats'' was one of four Laurel and Hardy sound shorts reissued in 1937. At that time, new background music scores 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 ...

, which were used in many 1937 Hal Roach films, were added. The films reissued that way were ''Blotto'', ''County Hospital'' and ''Perfect Day''. Additionally, ''Brats introductory title ("Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy remained at home to take care of the children---"/"Their wives had gone out for target practice--") was eliminated from the reissue prints. This is one of just two shorts to feature only Stan and Ollie in the cast; the other is the 1928 silent ''

Early to Bed Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * E ...

''. It is also the only film in which they play natural fathers. The illusion of Laurel and Hardy as children was achieved using oversized furniture. Each room of the house was re-created in large scale to achieve the effect of both duos being in the same house. Doors and staircases had to be duplicated to appear as though the "children" were child-size. The "children" are as tall as a doorknob and a sink and Stan Jr must use a stepstool to reach the tub's taps, the tub seeming more like a small pool. Ollie Jr's bulk causes him to crash through some dresser drawers. The mouse that Stan Jr. nearly shoots with a pellet gun was animated.

References

External links

* * * * {{James Parrott 1930 films 1930 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by James Parrott Laurel and Hardy (film series) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker American comedy short films 1930 short films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films