Hats Off (1927 film)

Hats Off
Hats Off
	Lobby poster
Directed by	Hal Yates
Written by	H. M. Walker
Produced by	Hal Roach
Starring	Stan Laurel ; Oliver Hardy ; James Finlayson ; Anita Garvin
Cinematography	George Stevens
Edited by	Richard C. Currier
Music by	Leroy Shield
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	November 5, 1927;
Running time	20 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	Silent film ; English intertitles

Last updated March 12, 2024

Hats Off is a lost silent short film starring American-British comedy double act Laurel and Hardy. The team appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1951.

Plot

Stan and Ollie are salesmen attempting to sell a washing machine; they fail constantly after several near misses. One would-be sale has them carrying the machine up a large flight of steps, only to find out that a young lady wants them to post a letter for her. The boys later get into an argument knocking off each other's hats, which eventually involves scores of others. A police van eventually carts all those involved away except Stan and Ollie, who afterwards try to find their own headgear amongst the hundreds of others lying on the street.

Cast

Stan Laurel – Stan
Oliver Hardy – Ollie
Anita Garvin – Customer at top of stairs
Jimmy Finlayson – Proprietor, Kwickway Washing Machine Co.
Dorothy Coburn – Vision
Chet Brandenburg – Pedestrian #1
Sam Lufkin – Pedestrian #2
Ham Kinsey – Pedestrian #2

Preservation status

Hats Off was an enormous success when first released, which made considerable headway in establishing the Laurel and Hardy team with the public. After being last publicly shown in Germany in 1930, Hats Off disappeared and is now considered a lost film.^[1] Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt dubbed Hats Off the "Holy Grail of Laurel and Hardy movies."^[1]

Notes

Hats Off was remade by Laurel and Hardy as The Music Box , utilizing the same flight of steps in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. While a washing machine was delivered in Hats Off, a piano would be delivered in The Music Box.^[2]
The long staircase used by The Three Stooges in their 1941 film An Ache in Every Stake (147 steps in length) is approximately two miles northeast, located at 2212 Edendale Place in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles.^[3]^[4]
Hats Off was remade by the same director (Hal Yates) in 1945 as It's Your Move , starring Edgar Kennedy, but utilizing a different staircase although located in the same vicinity where the "Music Box Steps" are in Silver Lake (known as the Descanso Stairs, they are situated at the intersection of Descanso and Larissa Drives, specifically between the residences of 3217 Descanso Dr. and 3200–3206 Larissa Dr. and one block from Sunset Blvd. which can be seen in the background in several long shots).

Related Research Articles

Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy team during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats.

The Music Box is a Laurel and Hardy short film comedy released in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a long flight of steps, won the first Academy Award for Best Live Action Short (Comedy) in 1932. In 1997, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film is widely seen as the most iconic Laurel and Hardy short, with the featured stairs becoming a popular tourist attraction.

Brats is a 1930 Laurel and Hardy comedy short. The film was directed by James Parrott. Laurel and Hardy play dual roles as their own children. It also inspired a helper group for the Michigan tent for The Sons of the Desert, which is composed of all the child members of the tent. This is the first of only three films where the boys each play a dual role: the second is Twice Two and the third and last is Our Relations.

We Faw Down is a silent short subject directed by Leo McCarey starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on December 29, 1928. It was remade in part with their film Sons of the Desert in 1933.

<i>Thicker than Water</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by James W. Horne

Thicker than Water is a short film starring Laurel and Hardy, directed by James W.Horne, produced by Hal Roach, and released in 1935 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The short also features James Finlayson and Daphne Pollard in supporting roles. It was the last two-reel comedy starring the comedy team, as Hal Roach decided to end Laurel and Hardy short films and move them solely into feature films.

Two Tars is a silent short subject directed by James Parrott starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 3, 1928

Duck Soup is a 1927 American silent comedy short film starring 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.

<i>Unaccustomed As We Are</i> 1929 short film by Lewis R. Foster

Unaccustomed As We Are is the first sound film comedy starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, released on May 4, 1929.

<i>Block-Heads</i> 1938 film by John G. Blystone

Block-Heads is a 1938 American comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Hal Roach Studios for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, a reworking of elements from the Laurel and Hardy shorts We Faw Down (1928) and Unaccustomed As We Are (1929), was Roach's final film for MGM.

The Second Hundred Years is a 1927 American silent comedy short film starring 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.

<i>Habeas Corpus</i> (1928 film) 1928 short film by Ray McCarey and James Parrott

Habeas Corpus is a silent short subject co-directed by Leo McCarey and James Parrott starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on December 1, 1928

From Soup to Nuts is a silent short subject directed by E. Livingston Kennedy starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released on March 24, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Wrong Again is a 1929 American two-reel silent comedy film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was filmed in October and November 1928, and released February 23, 1929, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Although a silent film, it was released with a synchronized music and sound-effects track in theaters equipped for sound.

<i>Thats My Wife</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

That's My Wife is a 1929 short comedy silent film produced by the Hal Roach Studios and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was shot in December 1928 and released March 23, 1929, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with a synchronized music and sound effects track in theaters equipped for sound.

Leave 'Em Laughing is a 1928 two-reel silent film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Produced by the Hal Roach Studios, it was shot in October 1927 and released January 28, 1928 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case</i> 1930 short film by James Parrott

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case is a Laurel and Hardy pre-Code comedy film released in 1930. It is one of a handful of three-reel comedies they made, running 28 minutes. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Towed in a Hole is a 1932 pre-Code comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. The "two-reeler" short was produced by Hal Roach, directed by George Marshall, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

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.

<i>The Fixer Uppers</i> 1935 American film

The Fixer Uppers is a 1935 American short comedy film directed by Charles Rogers, starring Laurel and Hardy, and produced by Hal Roach.

<i>An Ache in Every Stake</i> 1941 American short film by Del Lord

An Ache in Every Stake is a 1941 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 57th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

References

1 2 laurelandhardycentral.com
↑ Hutchinson, Pamela (March 3, 2020). "Silent witness: the Hollywood alley with the five-star reviews". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved March 3, 2020.
↑ The Three Stooges Journal # 98
↑ Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 195–197. ISBN 0971186804.

External links

Hats Off at IMDb
Hats Off at the TCM Movie Database
A reconstruction of Hats Off on YouTube

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[central-1] 1 2 laurelandhardycentral.com

[2] Hutchinson, Pamela (March 3, 2020). "Silent witness: the Hollywood alley with the five-star reviews". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved March 3, 2020.

[3] The Three Stooges Journal # 98

[Solomon-4] Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 195–197. ISBN 0971186804.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]