Be Big! (1931)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

James Parrott

Writer:

H.M. Walker (writer)

Release Date:

7 February 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Tagline:

Mr. Hardy is a man of great care, caution and discretion. Mr. Laurel was married too.

Plot:

On their way to the train station with their wives for a vacation in Atlantic City, Stanley and Oliver...

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | Stag Party | Hammer | Laurel And Hardy | Husband Wife Relationship

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
Anita Garvin	...	Mrs. Laurel
Charlie Hall	...	Bellboy
Isabelle Keith	...	Mrs. Hardy
Baldwin Cooke	...	Cookie
Jack Hill	...	Railway station passerby
Ham Kinsey	...	Railway station passerby
Chet Brandenburg	...	Cabdriver
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean De Briac	...	Dress extra
Gracie Doll	...	Midget Performer
Tiny Doll	...	Midget Performer
Harry Earles	...	Midget Performer

Runtime:

28 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

This film, along with Laughing Gravy (1931), were simultaneously produced in Spanish language versions, and the two shorts were edited together into one continuous film Los calaveras (1931). Laurel and Hardy read their lines from cue cards on which Spanish was written phonetically. At the time of early talkies, dubbing was not yet perfected. The same was done for a French language version, Les carottiers (1931).

Quotes:

Introductory Card: Mr Hardy is a man on great care, caution, and discretion - Mr. Laurel is married too.

Movie Connections:

Alternate language version of Laughing Gravy (1931)

5 minutes of Gold. 23 Minutes of Torture.

Can you truly go wrong with a Laurel & Hardy movie? The answer is "yes".

I learned that sad truth when I was but a lad of 9 when I saw this film for the first time. It starts out great with Hardy scheming to get out of going to Atlantic City with his wife so that he can sneak off to a lodge meeting (much like another L&H film, "Sons of the Desert"). Even though this is familiar territory, it's still really entertaining...at first.

Once Stan and Ollie have the place to themselves, everything goes downhill. The remaining 20-or-so minutes of this short revolve around two gags: getting a boot on and taking it off. Very rarely can you stretch a joke out that long and still keep it entertaining. Sadly, that's not what happened here. Even before it starts to get old, the boot routine is pretty weak. Stretching out any joke for that long can be bad enough. Stretching out a weak joke for that long is little more than torturing your audience.

I would give this 1 star, but it's not their worst film. Their worst (by far) is the atrocious and depressing "Atoll K" (also known as "Utopia"). When compared to that mess, "Be Big" shines by comparison. On it's own, however, it's still pretty lousy.