The Slippery Pearls (1931)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

William C. McGann

Writers:

Release Date:

4 April 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

Star-packed promotional short subject intended to raise funds for the National Variety Artists tuberculosis sanatarium...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Laurel And Hardy | Dog | Police Sergeant | Public Domain

Cast

Wallace Beery	...	Police Sergeant
Buster Keaton	...	Policeman
Jack Hill	...	Policeman
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Policeman
Edward G. Robinson	...	Edward Robinson (as Edward Robinson)
George E. Stone	...	Himself
Eddie Kane	...	Detective
Stan Laurel	...	Policeman
Oliver Hardy	...	Police Driver
Allen 'Farina' Hoskins	...	Farina (as Farina)
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard	...	Stymie (as Stymie)
Norman 'Chubby' Chaney	...	Chubby (as Chubby)
Mary Ann Jackson	...	Herself
Shirley Jean Rickert	...	Shirley Jean
Dorothy DeBorba	...	Echo (as Echo)

Also Known As:

The Stolen Jools

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:AL (DVD rating)

Company:

Masquers Club of Hollywood

Trivia:

"The Stolen Jools" is this film's original title. It was made by the National Vaudeville Artists (NVA) as part of a charity campaign and distributed free to theatres in 1931. After the showing a live speaker would come out and request donations. The film was rediscovered in 1972 in Britain, where it had been released in 1932 as "The Slippery Pearls," one of the Masquers Club comedy series for RKO. Subsequently a U.S. print was discovered and the film's true title, origin and purpose were at last known.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): On Detective Kane's pawn ticket, "saxophone" is misspelled "saxaphone."

Movie Connections:

Featured in Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)

Nice effort, considering it was for a charity

I just caught this old thing as an add-on for Dementia 13 on Haunted Hollywood (A light night movie program that shows here in Dallas). It wasn't quite the laugh riot it was intended to be, but there were several moments worth catching. Laurel and Hardy, for example, as 2 detectives that mistakenly make a final payment on their car. There was a funny bit with someone I thought was George Burns, but have found that it actually was someone else I don't know. Don't look for a solid story line, rather expect a series of gags, skits and one liners, not all of which hit the mark.. When you have half of Hollywood out for cameos, that's about all one can expect.