Laughing Gravy (1931)

Stan and Ollie try to hide their pet dog Laughing Gravy from their exasperated, mean tempered landlord, who has a "No Pets" policy.

Director:

James W. Horne

Writer:

H.M. Walker (dialogue)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Harry Bernard

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie

Storyline

Stanley and Oliver try unsuccessfully to keep their pet dog, "Laughing Gravy" hidden from their grumpy landlord, who throws the pooch out into the snow. The rescue and further attempts to hide the dog result in mayhem, which is interrupted by the arrival of a registered letter informing Stanley that he's inherited a fortune from his rich uncle. There's one catch, though: he has to renounce his friendship with Oliver, who the uncle characterizes as a "nitwit."

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Plot Keywords:

dog | landlord | snow | laurel and hardy | remake | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alle Hunde lieben Stan

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

31 min 20 min (original) 31 min (restored)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (A Victor Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Laurel & Hardy liked the "animal in the boardinghouse" plot. They used it prior to this movie with a goat in Angora Love and would repeat it with a gorilla in The Chimp. Many of the gags in this movie, including the bathing scene, originated in "Angora Love".

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Goofs

The snow and flower pots on Charley Hall's window sill aren't consistent from shot to shot.

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Quotes

Stan: [Referring to Laughing Gravy] Watcha gonna do with him?
Landlord: You know my rules about dogs. I'm going to throw him out!
Ollie: On a night like this?

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Connections

Remake of Angora Love (1929)

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Soundtracks

"You'll Be Sorry Just Too Late"
(1907) (uncredited)
Written by Billy Gaston
Sung a cappella by Oliver Hardy in the three-reel version

User Reviews

A great example of how a Laurel & Hardy short should be.

This is a very typical Laurel & Hardy short. It's filled with some typical and very well executed slapstick humor. This is a great example of how a Laurel & Hardy movie should be.

It's no secret that Laurel & Hardy made their best picture together in the early '30's. This movie is definitely one of their greatest and most enjoyable ones.

The first halve of the movie is mostly filled with slapstick comedy. It's most definitely the best part of the movie. The comical slapstick moments are typical and amazingly funny, mostly due to the fact how well executed and timed they are. The second halve of the movie drags on for a bit too long and doesn't rely anymore so much on its slapstick and visual humor. If only the movie would had been about 10 minutes shorter, how great than it would had been. Not saying that it isn't great or enjoyable enough now but yet the movie had more potential of becoming truly one of the greatest or most memorable Laurel & Hardy shorts.

Their mishaps with Laughing Gravy the dog are funny and provide the movie with its best moments. Also good are the comical moments with the landlord played by Laurel & Hardy regular Charlie Hall, who of course doesn't like the boys having living a dog around in his house. Still it makes me wonder why they didn't gave James Finlayson the part and why didn't Arthur Houseman played the drunk in this one? I missed the both of them in this movie and I had the feeling that the movie would had been even a more fun one with them.

A near perfect slapstick comedy, that more or less falls short of greatness in its second halve, which prevent this movie from being the best or most memorable Laurel & Hardy comedy short but nevertheless it's one of their most fun and typical comedy shorts around.

8/10

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