Another Fine Mess (1930)

Two homeless vagabonds hide out in a vacant mansion and pose as the residents when prospective lessees arrive and try to rent it.

Director:

James Parrott

Writer:

H.M. Walker (dialogue)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Harry Bernard

Cast

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

Storyline

Homeless, penniless and one step ahead of the police, Stanley and Oliver take refuge in the home of big-game hunter Colonel Buckshot while the owner is on safari. When Lord and Lady Plumtree call to enquire about renting the house, Oliver pretends to be Colonel Buckshot, while Stanley masquerades as both butler and maid. All goes as well as can be expected, with Lady Plumtree and Stanley, in his guise as "Agnes," engaging in girl talk, until the real Colonel Buckshot returns unexpectedly.

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Plot Keywords:

cross dressing | laurel and hardy | scam | slapstick comedy | pushing | 

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Taglines:

Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy have many ups and downs -- Mr. Hardy takes charge of the upping, and Mr. Laurel does most of the downing.

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Laurel and Hardy: Another Fine Mess

Filming Locations:

West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

29 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System) (A Victor Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite this picture's title, Oliver Hardy (I)'s signature line was always "another nice mess". There were other variations, but "fine mess" wasn't one of them.

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Goofs

Going by the story line it takes place over one or two days but then again it seems only over a short time as the police are still waiting outside the house.

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Quotes

Ollie: I beg your pardon, Lord Figtree!
Lord Leopold Plumtree: Plumtree, my dear fellow, Plumtree. My card.

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Alternate Versions

The original UK VHS edition of this film (released on the Virgin/VVL label in 1991) omits 16 seconds in the scene where Hardy is looking for his billiard room. He opens the door and escorts Plumtree into a room and says "Now what did I do with that billiard room?" The scene runs from 18:32-18:48 on the UK DVD. The scene is restored in its entirety in the DVD edition.

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Connections

Referenced in The Dukes of Hazzard: To Catch a Duke (1981)

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Soundtracks

Ku-Ku
(1928) (uncredited)
Music by Marvin Hatley
Played during the opening credits

User Reviews

An Enjoyable Remake

This is an enjoyable remake of the silent feature "Duck Soup", which had played such an important role in establishing Laurel and Hardy as the great comic duo that is now so well- known. This feature follows the same story setup, and expands it slightly while adding in a number of new gags that would not have worked as well on the silent screen.

Once again, Stan and Ollie find themselves forced to impersonate an absent homeowner and his servants, while hosting a prospective renter. The main story is also framed by a brief opening sequence and an interesting, nearly surreal finale. In the main part of the movie, they get a lot of mileage out of the basic situation, and Laurel plays his multiple role in an amusing fashion. James Finlayson gets a couple of good moments near the end, although he does not get as much to do as he did in some of their earlier features.

It packs a lot of material into a little under thirty minutes of running time, and there are a handful of moments when you can just tell that it was an early sound-era movie. But, as this example shows, Laurel and Hardy had little difficulty in successfully adapting their style to the new era.