Berth Marks (1929)

Director:

Lewis R. Foster

Writers:

Leo McCarey (writer)
H.M. Walker (writer)

Release Date:

1 June 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Tagline:

Mr. Hardy told Mr. Laurel to meet him at the Southern Pacific Station Wednesday morning -- So Mr. Laurel went to the Santa Fe on Thursday afternoon.

Plot:

Big-time (so they think) vaudeville stars Stanley and Oliver take the train to Pottsville, their next booking...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Berth | Vaudeville Act | Two Reeler | Bunk Bed

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry Bernard	...	Train passenger
Baldwin Cooke	...	Train passenger
Paulette Goddard	...	Train passenger
Charlie Hall	...	Train passenger
Pat Harmon	...	Stationmaster
S.D. Wilcox	...	Conductor (as Silas Wilcox)

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent | Mono (Western Electric System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

Paulette Goddard's film debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Stan and Ollie scramble to board the train, their fiddle is clearly smashed to pieces, yet it is intact for the rest of the film.

Quotes:

Oliver: [To Stan] I wish I'd checked you with the baggage.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Dance of the Cookoos (1982)

Now with added sound!

With their vaudeville careers slowly taking off, Messers Laurel and Hardy set off on a tour of small music halls. They arrange to meet at the train station with their instrument but find that the journey is not as comfortable or straightforward as they had first expected.

Laurel and Hardy's first short film with sound is clearly the start of a developing series of shorts. For the first few minutes there is almost no sound to speak of as they rely on their normal comedy style – it feels a little like they want to stay with what they know for a while. When the sound does kick in, it is very grainy and is given limited use for that reason. However, considering it is now over 70 years old this is understandable and it doesn't really affect the film too much.

The routines are pretty good and show a keen imagination – one running gap is left to run offscreen for five minutes before we are allowed to see it's extreme punchline! The routine in the train carriage berth has been reused to better effect by Laurel and Hardy but is still funny here. Both men are good and work well in the confines of the berth – Laurel has the better of the material here though.

Overall I enjoyed this short but must admit that the sheer age of the film did shine through in regards sound quality and even film stock at times. Regards though it was still funny although I missed the verbal wit that is part of their comedy in other shorts.