As a kid during the Fifties, I tried to catch as many of these Laurel and Hardy films shorts I could; they were shown on TV fairly regularly. One of Stan's quips I picked up on I used for the longest time because it sounded so funny to me, and if you asked me before today what picture it came from I wouldn't have been able to tell you. But in this 'murder' case, he comes out with the 'Septober, Octember, No Wonder' line and it managed to crack me up all over again. So I'll probably be using it again.
Like most comedy teams through the decades, this one features a version of a haunted house scenario, as the boys are confined to an old, dark mansion after they become suspects in a murder mystery. One can't help but notice the over the top delivery of the Chief of Detectives (Fred Kelsey) in this one. His portrayal epitomizes what for many actors coming out of the silent era must have been the need to over-enunciate and over dramatize their role for it's intended effect on the viewer. The other character that was a real hoot here was the Laurel Mansion butler (Frank Austin). Man, didn't he just give you the creeps? That scene with the teeth was a horror film delight.
The picture utilizes a lot of the standard clichés of the era; besides the creepy butler you've got your black cat, the ghost lamp gimmick and the bat in the bed sheet to keep the would be millionaires on edge. The notion that all of this might have been a dream didn't bother me here as a lot of movies have managed to do, because all those other flicks didn't have Laurel and Hardy in them. It's no wonder I could watch these guys all day.
Like most comedy teams through the decades, this one features a version of a haunted house scenario, as the boys are confined to an old, dark mansion after they become suspects in a murder mystery. One can't help but notice the over the top delivery of the Chief of Detectives (Fred Kelsey) in this one. His portrayal epitomizes what for many actors coming out of the silent era must have been the need to over-enunciate and over dramatize their role for it's intended effect on the viewer. The other character that was a real hoot here was the Laurel Mansion butler (Frank Austin). Man, didn't he just give you the creeps? That scene with the teeth was a horror film delight.
The picture utilizes a lot of the standard clichés of the era; besides the creepy butler you've got your black cat, the ghost lamp gimmick and the bat in the bed sheet to keep the would be millionaires on edge. The notion that all of this might have been a dream didn't bother me here as a lot of movies have managed to do, because all those other flicks didn't have Laurel and Hardy in them. It's no wonder I could watch these guys all day.