''Busy Bodies'' is a 1933 short comedy 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 ...

Plot

Stan and Ollie are in high spirits as they drive in an old

Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

to their new jobs at the

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. Laurel turns on the

car radio Vehicle audio is equipment installed in a car or other vehicle to provide in-car entertainment and information for the vehicle occupants. Until the 1950s it consisted of a simple AM radio. Additions since then have included FM radio (1952), 8-t ...

(at the time a luxury item in newer cars, not expected in an old jalopy); the 'radio' is revealed to be a wind-up

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

stashed under the car hood. Arriving at the sawmill, a slapstick sequence has them repeatedly walking into planks of wood. Starting work, Stan soon traps Ollie's hands in a window frame. After freeing him, they trick a shop worker ( Charlie Hall) into smoking despite a "No Smoking" sign. Stan then tears a strip off Ollie's pants with a

plane Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * Planes (gen ...

and in the resulting 'tit for tat' dips a paintbrush in glue and sticks it onto Ollie's chin. Finding it is not possible to pull it off he prepares like a barber and shaves it with a plane. Ollie then gets propelled through a ventilator duct and out of an attic vent port. Stan climbs a ladder to help him out. A barrel of shellac is kicked down the ventilator shaft and knocks Ollie out of the vent port: the ladder topples over with them both on it. Down below, two men see the ladder falling towards them. One falls into some whitewash while the other hides in a shed, which proves to be a bad idea when the duo crash onto the shed, demolishing it. As Laurel helps Hardy out of the wreckage, there is a knocking from beneath the door. The man they help out proves to be their foreman, who was the one who sought cover in the shed. They beat a hasty retreat. The foreman would have run after them, but he was crowned by the barrel coming out of the vent port. Attempting to flee, their car gets sawed in two lengthwise by a large band saw whilst they remain seated in it. The two fall out of the collapsing wreckage. Laurel finds the phonograph still intact and plays a record. Hardy is singularly unimpressed by music now, and chases Laurel.

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 Ollie *

Dick Gilbert Dick Gilbert (July 12, 1889 – May 6, 1960), was an American actor mainly associated with the Hal Roach Studios, where he appeared in numerous Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy comedies. He appeared in 52 films between 1922 and 1952 A former ...

as Shoveler * Charlie Hall as Shop Worker *

Tiny Sandford Stanley J. "Tiny" Sandford (February 26, 1894October 29, 1961) was an American actor who is best remembered for his roles in Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin films. His tall, burly physique usually led him to be cast as a comic heavy, and o ...

as Shop Foreman *

Jack Hill Jack Hill (born January 28, 1933) is an American film director in the exploitation film genre. Several of Hill's later films have been characterized as feminist works. Early life Hill was born in Los Angeles, California. His mother, Mildred (n� ...

as Shop Worker * Charley Young as Shop Worker

References

External links

* * * 1933 films 1933 comedy films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Lloyd French Laurel and Hardy (film series) 1933 short films American comedy short films 1930s American films {{short-comedy-film-stub