The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
Directed by	James Parrott
Written by	H.M. Walker
Produced by	Hal Roach
Starring	Stan Laurel ; Oliver Hardy
Cinematography	Walter Lundin ; George Stevens
Edited by	Richard C. Currier
Music by	Marvin Hatley ; Nathaniel Shilkret
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	September 6, 1930;
Running time	30:18 (English); 49:09 (Spanish)
Country	United States
Language	English

Last updated June 15, 2024

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case is a Laurel and Hardy pre-Code comedy horror 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.

In the film, Stan learns of the death of a supposed relative. He heads to the Laurel mansion for the reading of his kinsman's will, in hopes of inheriting part of the man's estate. After arriving at the mansion, he learns that his kinsman was murdered and that the police are gathering all of the deceased's potential heirs. The assembled family members start mysteriously disappearing. Stan and his friend Ollie engage in conflict with the murderer, but then wake up from a shared nightmare.

Plot

Set against the backdrop of a dockside, Stan engages in a leisurely fishing excursion. A newspaper notice catches Ollie's attention, heralding the demise of one Ebenezer Laurel and the subsequent inheritance of a substantial estate. Despite Stan's uncertainty regarding their relation to Ebenezer, the duo resolves to attend the reading of the will at the Laurel mansion.

Arriving amid a thunderstorm, they are greeted with the revelation of Ebenezer's murder, orchestrated by the police to gather all potential heirs and unravel the mystery of the crime. Assigned to spend the night in the very room where the murder occurred, Stan and Ollie's nerves are tested as eerie noises and spectral apparitions unsettle their slumber. A series of disappearances among the assembled relatives, orchestrated by the enigmatic butler under the guise of telephone calls, plunges the mansion into a state of paranoia and dread.

As Stan and Ollie grapple with the surreal events unfolding around them, they find themselves ensnared in a perilous trap within the study, where a concealed trapdoor leads to the disappearance of each ill-fated relative. In a climactic confrontation with the murderer, disguised in female attire, a chaotic melee ensues, culminating in a surreal struggle for survival. However, the tension dissipates as Stan and Ollie abruptly awaken from their nightmare, finding themselves engaged in a humorous scuffle over fishing gear at the dockside, eventually tumbling into the water.

Cast

Stan Laurel as himself
Oliver Hardy as himself
Frank Austin as Butler (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone as Detective (uncredited)
Bobby Burns as Nervous Relative at Window (uncredited)
Rosa Gore as Old Relative (uncredited)
Dorothy Granger as Young Relative (uncredited)
Dell Henderson as Housekeeper (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey as Chief of Detectives (uncredited)
Lon Poff as Old Relative (uncredited)
Tiny Sandford as Policeman (uncredited)

Cultural significance

Inaugurating the 1930–31 season, this initial episode exhibits a notable integration of orchestral music scoring, alternating between moments of musical accompaniment and periods of silence. Concurrently, the utilization of Leroy Shield's compositions emerges as a prominent feature within the cinematic landscape of Hal Roach's productions. Shield's musical motifs, having previously found resonance in the Hal Roach-produced Our Gang series, had undergone trial integration within select earlier Laurel and Hardy films. This transitional phase in the sound design of Laurel and Hardy's cinematic oeuvre marks the advent of Shield's compositions as a recurring element, commencing notably with their subsequent release, Another Fine Mess .

A significant linguistic milestone occurs in The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case as Oliver utters the iconic phrase, "Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." Often erroneously cited as "Here's another fine mess you've gotten me into," this utterance has transcended the confines of the film narrative, permeating into colloquial discourse. The enduring misquotation has solidified its place in everyday vernacular, attesting to the enduring cultural impact of Laurel and Hardy.

Influences and title

The film is a parody of the silent horror film The Cat and the Canary (1927).
The film is also a parody of a silent film called The Bat (1926).
The film name may be a play on words from the film The Canary Murder Case (1929), and other titles based on Philo Vance mystery novels, although the films' plots are totally different. The dash in place of an ampersand may also indicate that the title derives from the Hall-Mills murder case, a high-profile New Jersey murder trial that dominated newspaper front pages throughout much of 1926.
The 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short directed by Tex Avery, Who Killed Who? , borrowed imagery, characters and situations from the film.
If a Body Meets a Body (1945) with The Three Stooges has a similar plot, and also features actor Fred Kelsey.
The opening title says that "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy had been looking for work since 1921" which was the date their first short film was made.

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References

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v t e John Willard's The Cat and the Canary (1922)
Films	The Cat and the Canary (1927) The Cat Creeps (1930) La Voluntad del muerto (1930) The Cat and the Canary (1939) The Cat and the Canary (1961) The Cat and the Canary (1979)
Related	The Last Warning The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case