This sweet little adorable comedy was the first time that Oliver Hardy had been once out his partner Stan Laurel since the silent era. Instead of Stanley, he has silent comic Harry Langdon and the affectionate elephant known as Zenobia. As a kindly doctor who lives on a plantation in the south, he's apparently anti-slave even though he has several well-treated servants played by Stepin Fetchit, Hattie McDaniel and Philip Hurlic, a youngster he explains his ideas of freedom to. They may be dated ideals, but they are obviously liberal for their time and come from the ideals of the film's creator, Hal Roach.
Medicine show entertainer Langdon is worried about Zenobia who is ailing, and at Hurlic's suggestion, asks Dr. Hardy to treat him. All that's bothering Zenobia really is that his tail has somehow become tied, and when Hardy fixes that, Zenobia for some reason takes a shine to him and wants to abandon Langdon and carry around the aggravated Oliver.
Hardy is married to the ditzy Billie Burke, busy worrying about her daughter Jean Parker who is engaged to James Ellison but dealing with the snootiness of Ellison's mother, Alice Brady. She would prefer that her son marry June Lang, but her son only has eyes for Ms. Parker. Brady (in her second to last film) tries to humiliate Parker by having her sing at a lavish party, but as it turns out, Jean does indeed have a lovely voice even though she thinks she doesn't. But Brady obviously doesn't want an elephant in the family so she continues to scheme, and Langton sues Hardy for alienations of affections.
This fantasia on the life of the Old South makes it look like a happy place for everybody, but it's pretty obvious that Brady doesn't treat her servants or slaves as well as Hardy and Burke do. Stepin Fetchit is his typical slow-witted lazy character, but fortunately McDaniel and Hurlic get to play more realistic characters. In fact, outside of Parker and Ellison, McDaniel is the most intelligent character in the film, while 12 year old Hurlic is wise behind his years, even reciting the declaration of Independence. That's a sweet touch to a surprisingly liberal film during a not-so-liberal era. Zenobia of course is a lot of fun, and being a civil war elephant, you wonder if he was sent over by the King of Siam as for the letter written for him by Mrs. Anna.
Medicine show entertainer Langdon is worried about Zenobia who is ailing, and at Hurlic's suggestion, asks Dr. Hardy to treat him. All that's bothering Zenobia really is that his tail has somehow become tied, and when Hardy fixes that, Zenobia for some reason takes a shine to him and wants to abandon Langdon and carry around the aggravated Oliver.
Hardy is married to the ditzy Billie Burke, busy worrying about her daughter Jean Parker who is engaged to James Ellison but dealing with the snootiness of Ellison's mother, Alice Brady. She would prefer that her son marry June Lang, but her son only has eyes for Ms. Parker. Brady (in her second to last film) tries to humiliate Parker by having her sing at a lavish party, but as it turns out, Jean does indeed have a lovely voice even though she thinks she doesn't. But Brady obviously doesn't want an elephant in the family so she continues to scheme, and Langton sues Hardy for alienations of affections.
This fantasia on the life of the Old South makes it look like a happy place for everybody, but it's pretty obvious that Brady doesn't treat her servants or slaves as well as Hardy and Burke do. Stepin Fetchit is his typical slow-witted lazy character, but fortunately McDaniel and Hurlic get to play more realistic characters. In fact, outside of Parker and Ellison, McDaniel is the most intelligent character in the film, while 12 year old Hurlic is wise behind his years, even reciting the declaration of Independence. That's a sweet touch to a surprisingly liberal film during a not-so-liberal era. Zenobia of course is a lot of fun, and being a civil war elephant, you wonder if he was sent over by the King of Siam as for the letter written for him by Mrs. Anna.