That's My Wife (1929 film)

Last updated

That's My Wife
L&H That's My Wife 1929.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Lloyd French
Written by Leo McCarey (story)
H. M. Walker (titles)
Produced by Hal Roach
Starring Stan Laurel
Oliver Hardy
Cinematography George Stevens
Edited by Richard C. Currier
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • March 23, 1929 (1929-03-23)
Running time
18:32
CountryUnited States
Languages Synchronized Sound
English (Intertitles)

That's My Wife is a 1929 synchronized sound short subject film produced by the Hal Roach Studios and starring Laurel and Hardy. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized orchestral musical score with sound effects. It was shot in December 1928 and released March 23, 1929, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Contents

Plot

That's My Wife (1929)

Mrs. Hardy is visibly discontented, carrying a suitcase as she confronts her husband and Stan, who sits passively on the sofa. Faced with Mrs. Hardy's ultimatum to choose between her and Stan, Ollie hesitates briefly before his wife departs in a fit of anger, disregarding his financial concerns.

The narrative continues when Stan is disguised as Ollie's wife to deceive Uncle Bernal, who arrives unexpectedly. Despite their efforts to conceal the chaos, Stan's clumsy impersonation of Ollie's wife leads to complications, particularly during a dinner outing at The Pink Pup.

At the supper club, Stan's behavior further exacerbates the situation, drawing unwanted attention from a drunken patron and a dishonest waiter who steals a diamond pendant. Subsequent misadventures on the dance floor culminate in Uncle Bernal's decision to disinherit Ollie, leaving him distraught and disillusioned.

As Ollie contemplates his misfortune outside the club, he receives a final blow when the same drunk patron from earlier spills soup on his head.

Cast

Credited:

Uncredited:

Production and exhibition

December 1928 was a frenetic month for the Laurel and Hardy unit at Roach: they had a commitment for several films, and the studio was slated to close at the end of the month for the installation of the new sound equipment. [1] The filming of the "minor masterpiece" [2] Wrong Again had just wrapped on the first, and the unit would go on to wrap its landmark Big Business just after Christmas.

Leo McCarey got the "Story by" credit, although L&H Encyclopedia author Glenn Mitchell also traces some lineage back to the 1926 Roach short Along Came Auntie , with Glenn Tryon and Oliver Hardy and a writing co-credit for Stan Laurel. [2] L&H scholar Randy Skretvedt has run down many of the "action scripts" for L&H two reelers, and the one for That's My Wife reveals a few differences between original concept and finished film. One is a sub-plot that finds the actual Magnolia Hardy at a nearby table at the Pink Pup, and she becomes the target of flirtations from Uncle Bernal. There was also an unfilmed (or unused) gag where a helium balloon tangles in Stan's wig and keeps threatening to lift it off his head. [1]

Most significant, though, is the script-to-screen evolution of the ending. On paper, Stan was to have been searched — bodily — by a female officer in the hunt for the purloined pendant; he was to refuse the manhandling, though, and leave the club after revealing the masquerade to Uncle Bernal. Ollie was then to have informed Uncle that his real wife was the woman whom Bernal had been flirting with, and, embarrassed, Uncle would promise to pony up the inheritance — which in turn would power newfound interest by Magnolia toward her rotund hubby. "The problem with this ending," writes Skretvedt, "is that it's just too happy. Ollie still has his fortune and his wife, but he's lost Stan's friendship. In the film, he loses everything but Stan's friendship — which is more like it." [1]

Critical reception

Among the run of late silent shorts which constitute some of the duo's best work, That's My Wife is an unheralded entry. Pioneer Laurel & Hardy film analyst William K. Everson wrote in 1967 "Comparatively little known, this is perhaps the funniest and best of the many films in which Laurel masquerades as a woman. The single theme is handled with infinite variety throughout...." Everson's judgment, though, might be clouded by the fact that he was writing from memory in the pre-home video days; he does, after all, write that "Laurel... makes a most fetching dame...." [3] Film critic Leslie Halliwell calls the short a "lesser-known star comedy which well sustains its basic joke and includes some splendidly timed farce in a restaurant." [4] Glenn Mitchell added "The intricacies of balancing on high heels are matched by the task of maintaining an ersatz bosom (supplied by small barbells), but Stan convinces in the role." [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurel and Hardy</span> British-American comedy duo

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurel and Hardy filmography</span> Cinematography

Laurel and Hardy were a motion picture comedy team whose official filmography consists of 106 films released between 1921 and 1951. Together they appeared in 34 silent shorts,A 45 sound shorts, and 27 full-length sound feature films.B In addition to these, Laurel and Hardy appeared in at least 20 foreign-language versions of their films and a promotional film, Galaxy of Stars (1936), produced for European film distributors.

<i>We Faw Down</i> 1928 film

We Faw Down is a synchronized sound short subject film directed by Leo McCarey starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on December 29, 1928. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized orchestral musical score with sound effects. It was remade in part with their film Sons of the Desert in 1933.

<i>Youre Darn Tootin</i> 1928 film

You're Darn Tootin' is a silent short subject directed by E. Livingston Kennedy starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released on April 21, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<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.

<i>The Finishing Touch</i> 1928 silent comedy film

The Finishing Touch is a 1928 short comedy silent film produced by Hal Roach, directed by Clyde Bruckman, and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was released on February 25, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Their Purple Moment</i> 1928 film

Their Purple Moment is a silent short subject directed by James Parrott and Fred Guiol starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on May 18, 1928.

<i>Should Married Men Go Home?</i> 1928 film

Should Married Men Go Home? is a silent short subject co-directed by Leo McCarey and James Parrott, starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was the first Hal Roach film to bill Laurel and Hardy as a team. Previous appearances together were billed under the Roach "All-Star Comedy" banner. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on September 8, 1928. McCarey is also one of the script writers for the film.

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

Habeas Corpus is a synchronized sound short subject comedy film co-directed by Leo McCarey and James Parrott starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized orchestral musical score with sound effects. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on December 1, 1928. This film is importantly historically as the first Laurel and Hardy film to be released with recorded sound.

<i>Wrong Again</i> 1929 film

Wrong Again is a 1929 synchronized sound short subject film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Laurel and Hardy. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized orchestral musical score with sound effects. It was filmed in October and November 1928, and released February 23, 1929, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Perfect Day</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

Perfect Day is a 1929 short comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy.

<i>The Bohemian Girl</i> (1936 film) 1936 film

The Bohemian Girl is a 1936 comedic feature film version of the opera The Bohemian Girl by Michael William Balfe. Directed by James W. Horne and Charles Rogers, it was produced at the Hal Roach Studios and stars Laurel and Hardy, and Thelma Todd in her final film role. This was the last of thirteen pictures of Mae Busch and Oliver Hardy together. This was also the only appearance of Darla Hood in a full-length feature produced by Hal Roach.

<i>Why Girls Love Sailors</i> 1927 film by Fred Guiol

Why Girls Love Sailors is a 1927 American comedy short silent film directed by Fred Guiol for Hal Roach Studios. It stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy before they had become the comedy team of Laurel and Hardy. It was shot during February 1927 and released July 17, 1927, by Pathé Exchange. It was considered a lost film until the 1980s.

<i>Blotto</i> (film) 1930 film

Blotto is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by James Parrott and starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The short was produced by Hal Roach and originally distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Be Big!</i> 1931 film

Be Big! is a Hal Roach three-reel comedy starring Laurel and Hardy. It was shot in November and December 1930, and released on February 7, 1931.

<i>Laughing Gravy</i> 1931 film

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>Below Zero</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

Below Zero is a 1930 short film starring Laurel and Hardy, directed by James Parrott and produced by Hal Roach.

<i>The Live Ghost</i> 1934 American film

The Live Ghost is a 1934 American comedy short film starring Laurel and Hardy, directed by Charles Rogers, and produced by Hal Roach at his studios in Culver City, California.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Skretvedt, Randy (1996). Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies. Beverly Hills: Past Times Publishing. ISBN   0-940410-29-X, pp.143-4.
  2. 1 2 3 Mitchell, Glenn (1995). The Laurel & Hardy Encyclopedia. London: B.T. Batsford. ISBN   0-7134-7711-3, p.261.
  3. ↑ Everson, William K. (1967). The Films of Laurel and Hardy. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press. ISBN   0-8065-0146-4, p.77.
  4. ↑ Walker, John, ed. (1994). Halliwell's Film Guide. New York: HarperPerennials. ISBN   0-06-273241-2, p.1182
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.