Helpmates (1932)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

James Parrott

Writer:

H.M. Walker (dialogue)

Release Date:

23 January 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Fire | Gasoline | Party | Laurel And Hardy | Head Through Drawer

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S (1959) | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Ollie: Listen, I'm in a slight predicament. My wife's coming home at noon today unexpectedly. And just look at this house.
Stan: [sees the mess] What's the matter with it?
Ollie: What's the matter with it? You never met my wife, have you?
Stan: Yes, I never did.
Ollie: What do you mean "Yes I never did"?
[shows him wedding photo]
Ollie: That's my wife.
Stan: Isn't she sweet.
Ollie: Charming.
Stan: Where is your wife?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Crazy World of Laurel and Hardy (1967)

Soundtrack:

The KuKu

Not The Classic it's Made Out To be

'm slightly puzzled by the high regard HELPMATES is held in . Some people have described it as Stan and Ollie's masterpiece while just about everyone class it as being well above average . BBc 2 showed it immediately after THE CHIMP which had me laughing out loud but this one merely amused me . I guess like so much in life a Laurel and Hardy film is subject to personal opinion

The film starts with Ollie waking up with a hangover finding his house in a mess after a wild party something his wife will literally kill him for so he phones up Stan asking him to come on over and help clear up the mess . It's at this point logic disappears out of the window . If you needed a hand to do something would Stan Laurel be the first name to come to mind ? Likewise there's little evidence Stan attended the party , if a mate asked you to help clear up a mess the day after a party that you weren't invited you what would your response be ? Exactly . The humour then centres around pratfalls and Stan getting bullied by Ollie which comes across as rather unpleasant , of course Ollie might regret his authoritarianism by the end which he does but with the exception of Stan saluting Ollie's change of clothes there wasn't much here that made me laugh