Berth Marks
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''Berth Marks'' is the second sound film 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 ...
, released on June 1, 1929.


Plot

Stan and Ollie are musicians who are traveling by train to their next gig in
Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of th ...
, a popular vaudeville performance location at the time. They manage to board, but Ollie is annoyed that Stan has left the music behind. They then antagonize a short gentleman (
Sammy Brooks Sammy Brooks (July 10, 1891 – May 16, 1951) was an American film actor. He appeared in 218 films between 1916 and 1938. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * Luke, the Candy Cut-Up (19 ...
) by sitting on him. While looking for their berth they enter a private car and frighten a woman who is dressing for bed. Her angry husband comes out and rips the coat of a man who had nothing to do with the intrusion. The man, seeing another innocent man, proceeds to tear up his coat. This leads to a tit-for-tat of clothes tearing. Stan and Ollie spend most of the trip trying to change into pajamas and get comfortable in a cramped upper berth. By the time the duo manage to sort themselves out, the train has reached their stop. In their haste to deboard, they leave their instrument behind. The clothes-tearing battle has, by now, involved the whole train, and the conductor gets stripped to his underwear and some rags trying to get through.


Cast


Production notes

''Berth Marks'' was the second sound film released by Laurel and Hardy. A silent version was also made for
cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...
s that were not yet wired to show talking pictures. Action and dialogue scripts were written mid-April 1929, with filming commencing on April 20–27, 1929. Several train sequences (included a few not used in the English release) were utilized for foreign language releases versions of ''
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case ''The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case'' is a Laurel and Hardy pre-Code comedy film released in 1930. It is one of a handful of three-reel comedies they made, running 28 minutes. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed b ...
'' in 1930. Laurel and Hardy released three different versions of ''The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case'' combined with ''Berth Marks'' for the foreign language market: * ''Feu mon oncle'' - French * ''Noche de duendes'' - Spanish * ''Spuk um Mitternacht'' - German ''Berth Marks'' was later reissued in 1936 with a music score added to introductory scenes. This is the only known surviving version and was subsequently included on the 10-disc ''Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection'' DVD set, as well as the Spanish ''Noche de duendes''.


Trivia

*The engine, as seen pulling the train, is shown as a 4-6-2 engine or an American Pacific type steam locomotive, which was the most common wheel arrangement for steam trains, during the 1800s and 1830s on American railroads until 1928. Such engines like them were given the name "American" in 1872, because a total of 25,000 were built, which did all the work on every railroad. These types of engines have twelve wheels: four leading wheels, six drive wheels, and two trailing wheels.


References


External links

* * * * {{Lewis R. Foster 1920s English-language films 1929 short films 1929 comedy films American short films American black-and-white films Laurel and Hardy (film series) Rail transport films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Short films directed by Lewis R. Foster Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker Fiction about rail transport 1920s American films Films set in Pennsylvania