The Music Blasters (1928)
"You're Darn Tootin'" (original title)

Members of a municipal band, Stanley and Oliver seem to be always following someone else's lead, rather than that of the temperamental conductor. Soon they're out of a job, as well as their... See full summary »

Director:

Edgar Kennedy

Writer:

H.M. Walker (titles)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Wilson Benge

Cast

Credited cast:
Stan Laurel	...	Stanley, clarinet player
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie, French horn player
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wilson Benge	...	Musician
Chet Brandenburg	...	Manhole worker
Christian J. Frank	...	Policeman
Dick Gilbert	...	Boarder
Charlie Hall	...	Musician
William Irving	...	Musician
Ham Kinsey	...	Musician
Otto Lederer	...	Bandleader
Sam Lufkin	...	Man in restaurant
George Rowe	...	Pedestrian
Frank Saputo
Rolfe Sedan	...	Drunk
Agnes Steele	...	Landlady

Storyline

Members of a municipal band, Stanley and Oliver seem to be always following someone else's lead, rather than that of the temperamental conductor. Soon they're out of a job, as well as their lodgings when the landlady finds out they've been fired. The boys try their luck at being street musicians, but the tiffs they get into with each other soon spread to passersby in general, until the street is filled with men pulling each other's pants off.

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Plot Keywords:

landlady | conductor | musician | musical instrument | hammer | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Music Blasters

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

20 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ham Kinsey, listed on the credits as "Musician", was also Stan Laurel's stand-in.

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Connections

Edited into The Golden Age of Comedy (1957)

User Reviews

The Absolute Best

You're Darn Tootin', released in 1928, is one of Laurel & Hardy's last silent shorts. There is no high-brow humor, no Andy Kaufman what's-he-really-doing-here angst, and the closest thing to sophisticated word play comes when Stan throws Ollie's horn under a steam roller and, after trying to get the now half-inch thick instrument to toot, Ollie deadpans to the camera and a placard announces "It's flat."

You can see the fine hand of legendary comedic actor Edgar Kennedy in his direction. Kennedy's fortes – the slow burn and intricate interactions with props – are the centerpieces here, from the fiddle bow and music sheet sequence early on to the gradual acceleration from annoyance to mayhem and utter anarchy at the end.

Stan and Ollie destroy a band concert, get fired, evicted, and fight with each other and everyone else who so much as passes by. The big finale is the infamous pants-ripping scene. "You're Darn Tootin'" is pure slapstick and low-brow humor. It's also the funniest twenty minutes ever committed to film.

Warning: do not watch this film without a change of underwear available.