''Them Thar Hills'' is a 1934 American comedy

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 ...

directed by Charley Rogers and starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.Thames, Stephanie
"Them Thar Hills (1934)"
article,

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

(TCM), Time Warner, Inc., New York, N.Y. Retrieved May 27, 2019. The film was so well received by audiences that producer

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

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 ...

made a sequel, ''

Tit for Tat Tit for tat is an English saying meaning "equivalent retaliation". It developed from "tip for tap", first recorded in 1558. It is also a highly effective strategy in game theory. An intelligent agent, agent using this strategy will first coope ...

'', which was released five months later, in January 1935.

Plot

At the advice of a doctor (

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects ...

), Stan and Ollie travel to the mountains in order for Ollie to recover from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

. They park their

travel trailer A caravan, travel trailer, camper, tourer or camper trailer is a trailer towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent (although there are fold-down trailer tents). It provides th ...

( caravan) near a deserted cabin recently occupied by a gang of moonshiners who had been raided and arrested by Prohibition authorities. Before being captured, the moonshiners tried to get rid of their illegal liquor by pouring two full barrels of it into a nearby well. Stan and Ollie now use that same well as their source for drinking water. While making a pot of coffee with the alcohol-laced water, Stan notices it has “a funny color”, but Ollie tastes it and explains that all mountain water is like that. "It's the iron in it", he says, "it's good for your nerves." A motorist couple who have run out of petrol arrives and asks for help. While the irritable and overbearing husband (played by familiar nemesis Charlie Hall) walks back to his car with Stan's spare can of petrol, the man's wife (

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, frequ ...

), appreciating the boys' affable and respectful manners as a refreshing relief from her husband's crabby belligerence, willingly joins the boys for supper and ladlefuls of the potent "mountain water". The husband returns with the car to find that the three are all roaring drunk, and his anger at Stan and Ollie triggers a "tit for tat" sequence at the end (which happens to also be the name of the "sequel" film). It culminates with the wrecking of the camper, Hall being tarred with molasses and feathered, and with a toilet-plunger stuck to his forehead. Ollie then jumps into the well because his trousers are on fire. The alcohol in the water detonates, causing Ollie's explosive ejection. He then falls to the ground head first and is left half-buried with only his legs exposed and flailing in the air as the film ends.

Cast"Them Thar Hills (1934)"

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(IMDb). Retrieved January 31, 2017.

* Stan Laurel as Stan * Oliver Hardy as Ollie *

as Mrs. Hall * "Charley" Hall as Mr. Hall Uncredited *

as doctor * Richard Alexander as moonshiner *

Bobby Dunn Robert P. Dunn (August 28, 1890 – March 24, 1937) was a comic actor who was one of the original Keystone Kops in '' Hoffmeyer's Legacy''. Early years Dunn was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Richard P. and Melissa Dunn, and attended S ...

as moonshiner *

Sam Lufkin Samuel "Sam" William Lufkin (May 8, 1891 – February 19, 1952) was an American actor who usually appeared in small or bit roles in short comedy films. Career Born in Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the W ...

as moonshiner *

Eddie Baker Eddie Baker (born Edward King; November 17, 1897 – February 4, 1968) was an American film actor. He supported Laurel and Hardy in several of their films, but is best remembered for his (uncredited) role as a boxing referee in Charlie Chaplin's ...

as officer *

as officer * Baldwin Cooke as officer

References

External links

* * * {{Charley Rogers 1934 films 1934 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Charley Rogers Laurel and Hardy (film series) 1934 short films American comedy short films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films