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Author
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Topic: BLOCKHEADS!! (Laurel and Hardy!)
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted June 20, 2006 11:54 AM
Here is a favorite among my Laurel and hardy collection ...
"Blockheads" ...
...the last feature L&H did for Hal Roach studios and thier last truly great feature, (in my opinion), they would do "Flying Deuces: after this, but the lads films went on a slow but sure downward spiral, after this film, sadly. This was mostly due to others then our boys having the control over they're films.
The reason why Blockheads is a favorite of mine is that, like "Sons of the Desert", it's story is perfectly done. There is no padding in the story. It feels like a glorious short subject expanded.
The film begins in World War 2. All the troops are being sent over the trench into battle, (including Ollie) and Stan is commanded to guard the trench ...
and guard it he does ....
For many a year, long after the war has ended. In fact, he only realizes that the war has ended when he accidentilly shoots down a peaceful french plane and the pilot informs him that the war is ended.
We then switch to maritual bliss, as Ollie happily talks with his wife. he is a loving husband. He heads out of the apartment only to find that on the front page of the daily paper, is Stan, finally coming home after the war.
Ollie finds out that Stan is at the veterans home, which now leads to the first great gag sequence.
Stan sits in a wheelchair, with one leg tucked up under himself. All Ollie sees is that Stan has lost a leg in battle. feeling great compassion for him, he decides to take Stan home with him a give him a great big dinner, as his wife is an excellent cook. Ollie ends up carrying Stan, falling down. Stan gets up and helps Ollie up, and Ollie proceeds to carry Stan again! They get to the car, and Ollie finally realizes that Stan can walk! Ollie then demands that Stan does something about the dump-truck in front of Ollie's car.
Stan does, he manages to completely dump the contents of said truck on Ollie, completely engulfing Ollie and Car, leaving Ollie to stare at the audience in amazement.
Ollie brings Stan home and demonstrates that he has a automatic garage door opener. Stan pays back Ollie's information by plowing the car through the automatic garage door.
(Stan is a one man wrecking crew in this film!)
Ollie now proceeds to try to bring Stan upstairs but first deals with an obnoxious child with a ball, (and his obnoxious parent), and good old very reliable Jimmy Finlayson as a highly irritable neighbor (don't figure, huh?), that Ollie challenges to a fight.
Ollie doesn't win.
Now they proceed back up the stairs and finally arrive at the apartment. Ollie's wife is not amused by Ollie bringing Stan back. She doesn't appreciate Ollie's "hoodlum friends"! and she decides to leave for awhile.
Well, at least this leaves Ollie to finally cook Stan a delicious steak, for, by gosh he promised Stan one. This means that the gas stove must be turned on! Stan takes forever to light the stove, exasperating Ollie and so Ollie lights the stove.
BOOM!! No stove, no steak ... flying Ollie!
Meanwhile, the next door neighbor comes over, she is having trouble with her husband, (the same man who played the "Pro-
-fessor" in Laurel and Hardy Oscar winning short "The Music Box" 1932), who's not home yet, (and also quite irritable, for, it seems, all the neighbors are quite irritable) Stan (or Ollie) manage to spill a complete bowl of punch on her, and Ollie gives her his pajamas for her to wear in lieu of her wet clothes.
Uh oh, the wife returns and Ollie hurriedly disguises the neighbors wife as a chair (?), hoping to move her out of the apartment and back to her own. What follows is a splendid argument in the best L&H style. If you listen close when playing, you can almost make out what each person is saying. Stan keeps on trying to get up, but is shoved back down by the wife.
While they Ollie and wife argue, Stan tries to sit in the "chair" repeatedly and gets slapped and tossed out, (the woman being hid and asked to stand like a chair).
Finally the argument is at an end. the wife leaves briefly, so Ollie places the neighbor wife in a chest and hurriedly moves her towards the door.
The neighbor comes home to find his wife missing. he comes over to joke with Ollie about being on the town with the ladies, only to have his wife pop out of the chest in Ollie's pajamas!!
The now very jealous husband gets his rifle and L&H are off and running. The film end with the neighbor shooting off his rifle outside at L&H, and seemingly hundreds of cheating men come pouring out of windows!!!
In a matter of speaking, you could say that this was among the first "modern comedies" Except for the beginning of the film (and after Ollie "picks up" Stan), the whole story takes place in a modern apartment building, with many an annoying neighbor and the other hassles of modern life, (uncooperative elevators, many staircases ect.). There is a nice use of continuing gags through out the movie ...
Ollie kicking the ball down the stairs and not once but twice hitting the same employee, for instance.
We also have a "continuation" of the systematic "demolition" of a house gag.
This film really is a great laugh riot and only 55 or so minutes long. I'd love to hear about some "deleted footage" as I'm sure that you folks out there will know about it. I think that the only place in the film where it looses momentum slightly is the whole argument at the end of the film.
My print is a Blackhawk, and it has I believe some of the richest contrasts I've ever seen on one of thier prints. The sharpness isn't quite perfect but quite passable as well. The sound is the always reliablely great Blackhawk mono. It originally came on three full 400ft. reels, but easily fits on a nice 1200 reel.
As with all these excellent comedies, this is an excellent film to add to your collection and I highly reccomend it.
[ July 21, 2009, 11:09 PM: Message edited by: Osi Osgood ]
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted June 22, 2006 05:15 PM
Very truu about the varying quality. It has been said before, but Blackhawk, (somewhere along the line) switched film labs and the earlier prints, (especially the Standard 8mm's) were exceptionally clear.
If you look at the very early standard 8mm silents of laurel and hardy, (we're talking the 2x200ft releases, in those little boxes ... WAY far back!) the sharpness is excellent.
Another thing I noticed about the later releases, is that the later prints tend to be on the brighter, almost over exposed, side. i have an earlier print (standard 8mm) of "Double Whoopee" (1929) and it's excellent in every department. The later super 8 copy is so bright it's almost unwatchable, especially compared with the earlier one.
Another interesting habit of the earlier prints (the 2x200 releases) was that quite often they had the complete original titles for reel changes and such, which are seamlessly cut out of the later 400ft. releases, but personally, i like seeing all that vintage stuff!
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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