County Hospital (1932)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

James Parrott

Writer:

H.M. Walker (writer)

Release Date:

25 June 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Tagline:

Mr. Hardy fell on his leg and was laid up for two moths. Mr. Laurel fell on his head and hadn't felt better in years.

Plot:

In the hospital with a broken leg Ollie is visited by Stan, who brings him hard-boiled eggs, nuts, and total mayhem.

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Broken Leg | Doctor | Hard Boiled Egg | Syringe

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
Billy Gilbert	...	The Doctor
May Wallace	...	Miss Wallace, head nurse
Estelle Etterre	...	Nurse Smith
William Austin	...	Ollies' Rommate
Belle Hare	...	Nurse
Lilyan Irene	...	Nurse
Dorothy Layton	...	Nurse
Sam Lufkin	...	Policeman

Runtime:

19 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U

Filming Locations:

48th Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Laurel accidentally knocks his hard-boiled egg off the table next to Hardy's bed, you hear the splash of the egg landing in water and the "clank" as it hits the bottom of an obvious metal pan. However, when Laurel bends over to pick it up, he comes up with a large glass pitcher filled with water with the egg floating on the top of it, not a metal pan.

Quotes:

Oliver: [seeing that Stan has brought him a present] What have you got there?
Stanley: I brought you some hardboiled eggs and some nuts.
Oliver: Now, you I can't eat hardboiled eggs and nuts. If you wanted to bring me something, why didn't you bring me candy?
Stanley: They cost too much.
Stanley: What does that got to do with it?
Oliver: You didn't pay me for the last box I brought you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#8.4)" (1995)

laughter is the best medicine

OK, so the whole sequence on the street is obviously superimposed. Focus only on that and you'll miss the great stunts in the rest of "County Hospital". I'm surprised that Laurel and Hardy were able to keep straight faces during the whole sequence in the hospital room. It's the sort of situation where if you blink, you'll miss a whole lot.

I read about how, whenever something embarrassing befalls Laurel and Hardy, Hardy's downfall is greater, as he's supposed to be the smart one of the two. Such is certainly the case here. One can see how their antics may have influenced Gilligan and the Skipper. A comedy classic; that is to say, another hilarious mess that they got themselves into.