''The Fixer Uppers'' is a 1935

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 ...

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 ...

, directed by Charles Rogers and produced by

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, 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, a ...

Plot

Christmas card salesmen Stan and Ollie are persuaded to help a woman (

Mae Busch Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch; 18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian-born actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, freque ...

) spice up her loveless marriage by making her husband jealous. The spouse involved, a temperamental artist played by ( Charles Middleton), is however made rather too jealous for comfort, and puts Ollie in peril when he challenges him to a duel to the death at midnight and pledges to track him "to the end of the world" if he does not show up. Stan and Ollie discuss the challenge in a nearby bar and it occurs to them that the husband cannot know where they live, so Ollie complacently telephones him to inform him he will not be there and they both insult him. They then get drunk with a neighbor of the couple (played by Arthur Housman). The police are called and finding the artist's business card with his home address in Ollie's pocket, they take Stan and Ollie to the couple's apartment and dump them on their bed to sleep it off. They are discovered when Stan starts snoring. Pistols are produced but the wife tells Ollie she has replaced the bullets with blanks. The husband shoots at Ollie, who plays dead and the pair then run for their lives and manage to give him the slip. The film ends with Ollie sighing to the camera from the back of a horse-drawn garbage truck, after having hidden in a trash can.

Cast

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 ...

as Stan *

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 ...

as Oliver *

as Madame Pierre Gustav * Charles Middleton as Pierre Gustave * Arthur Housman as the drunk man * Noah Young as the bartender

Notes

The penultimate Laurel and Hardy short comedy made at Hal Roach Studios, the film is a reworking of ''

Slipping Wives ''Slipping Wives'' is a silent comedy short film starring Priscilla Dean, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy prior to their official billing as the duo Laurel and Hardy. The team appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1951. Priscilla Dean ...

'' (1927) a silent comedy the comedians appeared in before they teamed up. ''The Fixer Uppers'' was partially remade by The Three Stooges in 1940 as ''

Boobs in Arms ''Boobs in Arms'' is a 1940 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 52nd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the co ...

''.

References

External links

* * 1935 films 1935 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Charley Rogers Laurel and Hardy (film series) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films 1935 short films American comedy short films 1930s American films {{short-comedy-film-stub