''Air Raid Wardens'' is a 1943

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

Edward Sedgwick Edward Sedgwick (November 7, 1889 – March 7, 1953) was an American film director, writer, actor and producer. Early life He was born in Galveston, Texas, the son of Edward Sedgwick, Sr. and Josephine Walker, both stage actors. At the age ...

and 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 ...

. It was the first of two feature films the duo made at

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 (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

Plot

Set during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, just after Pearl Harbor, Stan (

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 ...

) and Ollie ( Oliver Hardy) try their hand at various business ventures. Their store opens and closes in various guises but without success. They finally open it as a bicycle store, but it goes bankrupt and they close it down to enlist in the army. They fail in every attempt to succeed in the military and return to their home town Huxton only to find out that their store now is open, with a man named Eustace Middling (

Donald Meek Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903. Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't T ...

) in charge, selling radios instead of bicycles. But Middling offers them to share the space in a joint venture. Stan and Ollie don't realize that Middling in fact is a German spy, using the shop as a front to cover a base for espionage on the US Military. The pair decide to support the civil defense by becoming air raid wardens in Huxton. To complete their training, they have to take part in an advanced military drill, and Stan of course manages to get the wrong assignment—one that is far more complicated than they can handle. They set out on their mission, to rescue a very prominent banker, J.P. Norton (

Howard Freeman Howard Freeman (December 9, 1899 – December 11, 1967) was an American actor of the early 20th century, and film and television actor of the 1940s through the 1960s. Biography Freeman was born in Helena, Montana, and began working as ...

), from a fire, but fail hugely, ending up burying the banker alive in a huge load of sand. Still, they are given one more chance to prove their aptitude as air raid wardens, involving the task of ensuring that all the town citizens turn off their lights at night. They get into a quarrel with one of the more troublesome inhabitants, Joe Bledsoe (

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

), resulting in a commotion and a rumor that spy activity is taking place in Joe's home. The boys are knocked out, and in the end they are finally dismissed from the corps altogether. Back at their shop, they happen to overhear the spies speaking German, and follow them to a hide-out outside of town, where they find out Middling's real name is Mittelhause, and overhear him talking about blowing the town's magnesium plant to pieces with another spy, Rittenhause (

Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American film actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years He was born in Orange, New Jersey. Career ...

). They try to send a message to the civil defense, but instead they are captured by the German spies. The boys manage to flee and alert the civil defense, who arrive at the plant just in time to stop the sabotage. Stan and Ollie also expose Middling as a German spy.

Cast

References

;Bibliography * Everson, William K. ''The Complete Films of Laurel and Hardy''. New York: Citadel, 2000, (first edition 1967). . * Louvish, Simon. ''Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy''. London: Faber & Faber, 2001. . * McCabe, John. ''Babe: The Life of Oliver Hardy''. London: Robson Books Ltd., 2004. . * McCabe, John with Al Kilgore and Richard W. Bann. ''Laurel & Hardy''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1983, first edition 1975, E.P. Dutton. . * McGarry, Annie. ''Laurel & Hardy''. London: Bison Group, 1992. . * MacGillivray, Scott. ''Laurel & Hardy: From the Forties Forward''. Second edition. New York: iUniverse 2009 (first edition 1998). .

External links

* * * * * {{Edward Sedgwick 1943 films Laurel and Hardy (film series) American black-and-white films Films directed by Edward Sedgwick Films set on the home front during World War II Military humor in film 1943 comedy films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by Charley Rogers Films scored by Nathaniel Shilkret Films produced by B. F. Zeidman 1940s English-language films 1940s American films