Their First Mistake (1932)

Mrs. Hardy is irate that her husband Oliver spends more time with his friend Stanley than with her. Oliver decides to adopt a baby, hoping that it will keep his wife occupied so that he and... See full summary »

Director:

George Marshall

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
Mae Busch	...	Mrs. Arabella Hardy
Billy Gilbert	...	Process Server

Storyline

Mrs. Hardy is irate that her husband Oliver spends more time with his friend Stanley than with her. Oliver decides to adopt a baby, hoping that it will keep his wife occupied so that he and Stanley can continue to carouse. But upon returning home with the infant, they find a process server with a divorce summons, and spend a sleepless night caring for the squalling baby.

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | 1930s | baby | divorce | mousetrap | 

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Taglines:

Mr. Hardy was married. Mr. Laurel was unhappy too.

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Their First Mistake

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

21 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point, Ollie instructs Stan that if he "must make a noise, make it quietly." This line was previously spoken by Stan, which disgusted Ollie, in Brats (1930), another Laurel and Hardy short in which they're stuck taking care of noisy children.

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Goofs

Stan takes a letter out of his pocket to confirm his identity but doesn't look at it.

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Quotes

Stanley: The baby's crying.
Oliver: Of course he's crying. Will you put that floor lamp over here!
Stanley: But it won't reach.
Oliver: Certainly it won't reach. You have to pull the plug out of the socket. Here
[hands him baby's milk bottle]
Stanley: [immediately starts drinking from it]
Oliver: [grabs the cord and literally yanks it so hard that the socket casing comes out of the wall. A wierd noise is heard and a second later the socket casing hits him in the nose!] Ooooh!
Stanley: [...]

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Alternate Versions

There is also a colorized version.

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Connections

Featured in The Celluloid Closet (1995)

User Reviews

2 men and a little baby.

Seems like I am one of the few but I think that this movie is one of the best Laurel & Hardy comedy shorts.

For some reason I find the mishaps of Laurel & Hardy with a little baby very amusing. The boys get themselves into some hilarious silly situations when they decide to adopt a baby to save Oliver's marriage. That way Mrs. Hardy (Mae Busch) would be occupied all day and Mr. Hardy will have more time to spend with his good pal Stanley.

The situations with the little baby are all very original and hilarious as well. There luckily also is room for some good slapstick humor in the movie, which I love so very much about Laurel & Hardy movies. Most of the comical situations in the movie are rather stretched out, especially the ones with Stan Laurel but in this particular case even the stretched out moments in the movie remain funny throughout.

The dialog is well written and forms one of the most funniest aspects of the movie. The movie as a whole is filled with some good and typical Laurel & Hardy situations. Everything combined makes "Their First Mistake" one of the most pleasant and enjoyable Laurel & Hardy shorts.

8/10

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