The Tree in a Test Tube (1943)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Charles McDonald

Genre:

Short | Documentary

Plot:

Laurel and Hardy demonstrate the uses of wood in this World War II propaganda film.

Plot Keywords:

Wood | Test Tube | Propaganda | Laurel And Hardy | Public Domain

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Oliver
Pete Smith	...	Narrator for first half of film (voice)
Lee Vickers	...	2nd Narrator (voice)

Runtime:

UK:5 min | USA:6 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:T | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Trivia:

Laurel & Hardy's bit was filmed one day on their lunch hour.

Quotes:

Narrator for first half of film: Let's see the rest of your junk... I mean your nice things.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Classic Comedy Teams (1986) (V)

Stan and Ollie on their lunch break

It's surprising how old Laurel and Hardy look in this wartime propaganda short. They were only a few years past the prime of their career, but they looked like that period was about twenty years behind them.

Made in their lunch hour according to IMDb's trivia section, you can't help thinking they could have probably found more interesting ways of filling their time. The film consists of Pete Smith's voice telling them all about the different things wood is used for. There must have been a reason the US government felt it was important that the country should know about this, but you have to wonder why. Was it so people would be kinder to wood? Or perhaps they wanted people to stop hoarding it. Whatever the reason, the boredom quotient of the subject matter is counter-balanced by Stan and Ollie's presence - they're definitely the best thing about this short.