Helpmates (1932)

Oliver's house is in a shambles after a wild party, and his wife is due home at noon. He calls Stanley to help him fix the place up, and the typical catastrophies ensue. Somehow, however, ... See full summary »

Director:

James Parrott

Writer:

H.M. Walker (dialogue)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Bobby Burns

Cast

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

Storyline

Oliver's house is in a shambles after a wild party, and his wife is due home at noon. He calls Stanley to help him fix the place up, and the typical catastrophies ensue. Somehow, however, Stanley manages to complete the job by the time Oliver leaves to pick up his wife at the train station. As a finishing touch, Stan decides to start a nice fire in the fireplace, using a can of gasoline to hurry the process along.

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Plot Keywords:

fire | gasoline | party | laurel and hardy | head through drawer | 

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Taglines:

When the cats are away, the mice start looking up telephone numbers

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ajudante Desastrado

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

20 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point Stan Laurel gives out a phone number, and it was his own personal number at the time.

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Goofs

Stan has attached the drying line to the kitchen door and, when Ollie opens it, he pulls down the chimney pipe from the stove and is hit by a cloud of soot. Stan comes over and takes off Ollie's hat, and, trying to clean it , blows the soot from the top into Ollie's face. But the top of his hat was white and clean in the previous shot.

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Quotes

Ollie: Do you realise that this is the only suit I've got left? It's enough to make a man burst out crying.
[Stan starts to cry]
Ollie: Shut Up! Don't you realise my wife will be home at noon?

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Connections

Featured in Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story (2002)

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Soundtracks

"The Moon and You"
(1930) (uncredited)
Written by Leroy Shield
Played often as background music

User Reviews

Absolutely the Classic it's made out to be

Helpmates has laughs from beginning to end, replete with the slapstick and wordplay that are the trademarks of the greatest film comedy team ever. It's twenty minutes of delight and each gag builds on the one before and sets up the next, a crazy crescendo in a symphony of sublime silliness. The comic Lou Costello was once asked who he thought was the greatest comedy team of all time and he unhesitatingly named Laurel and Hardy. Helpmates is worth many watches. This 1932 short nearly equals their Oscar winning short, The Music Box. See it. Then visit the Boys again and again. Laurel and Hardy - except for their mishandling by Fox in the 1940s -- are, as the great Steve Allen once said - ALWAYS funny.