''The Chimp'' is a Laurel and Hardy

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

made in 1932. It 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 ...

, produced by

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter, ...

, and distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. The second half of the film is a reworking from their last silent film '' Angora Love'' (1929), itself reworked into a short film the previous year, ''

Laughing Gravy ''Laughing Gravy'' is a 1931 short film comedy starring Laurel and Hardy. It was directed by James W. Horne, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Synopsis On a snowy winter night, Laurel and Hardy try to keep their p ...

'' (1931).

Plot

The comedy duo are working at the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

. They first appear in the

Pantomime horse A pantomime horse is a theatrical representation of a horse or other quadruped by two actors in a single costume who cooperate and synchronize their movements. One actor plays the front end, including the horse's head and its front legs, in a mor ...

and then as assistants to Destructo, a strongman. The circus goes bankrupt after the Big Top is destroyed when Laurel and Hardy cause Destructo's cannonball-catching act to go wrong. The circus can't pay them their wages so Oliver is given a

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

called Ethel and Stanley a

Flea Circus A flea circus is a circus sideshow attraction in which fleas are attached (or appear to be attached) to miniature carts and other items, and encouraged to perform circus acts within a small housing. History The first records of flea perform ...

as a payoff. Despite the film's title, Ethel isn't a chimpanzee. She is dressed in a

ballet tutu A tutu is a dress worn as a costume in a classical ballet performance, often with attached bodice. It may be made of tarlatan, muslin, silk, tulle, gauze, or nylon. Modern tutus have two basic types: the Romantic tutu is soft and bell-shaped, re ...

and hat. Stanley and Oliver need to find a room to stay in overnight and they go to a guest house. The

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...

gives them a room but refuses to let Ethel stay. A lion named MGM after the

MGM lion Leo the Lion is the mascot for the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and one of its predecessors, Goldwyn Pictures, featured in the studio's production logo, which was created by the Paramount Pictures, Paramou ...

has escaped from the circus. Stanley and Oliver try to smuggle Ethel into their room whilst avoiding MGM. They decide to leave Ethel outside for the night and go to bed. They sleep in the same bed as in all Laurel and Hardy films. Stanley falls out of bed and decides to sleep in the spare bed. Ethel climbs in through the window and gets into bed with Oliver. Ethel steals the blanket from Oliver so he decides to use the spare bed as well as Stanley. They both begin to

itch Itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Itch has resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itch has many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasant ...

and find that the flea circus has escaped into the bed. Another guest at the house puts some music on and Ethel begins to dance. The landlord has a wife called Ethel and when Oliver tells the gorilla to stop dancing the landlord thinks his wife is in the room with Stanley and Oliver. The landlord confronts Stanley and Oliver with a pistol. At the end, Ethel gets hold of the landlord's pistol and begins to shoot, scaring everyone out of the room.

Cast

The Sons of the Desert

Chapters — called Tents — of The Sons of the Desert, the international Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society, all take their names from L&H films. The Chimp Tent is in Cincinnati, Ohio.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chimp, The 1932 films 1932 comedy films 1932 short films American black-and-white films Circus films Films about gorillas Films directed by James Parrott Laurel and Hardy (film series) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker 1930s American films