Babes in Toyland (1934)

Opposing the evil Barnaby, Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum try and fail to pay-off Mother Peep's mortgage and mislead his attempts to marry Little Bo. Enraged, Barnaby's boogeymen are set on Toyland.

Directors:

Gus Meins, Charley Rogers (as Charles Rogers)

Writers:

Frank Butler (screen play), Nick Grinde (screen play)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Virginia Karns

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Virginia Karns	...	Mother Goose
Charlotte Henry	...	Bo-Peep
Felix Knight	...	Tom-Tom
Florence Roberts	...	Widow Peep
Henry Brandon	...	Barnaby (as Henry Kleinbach)
Stan Laurel	...	Stannie Dum
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie Dee

Storyline

Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum try to borrow money from their employer, the toymaker, to pay off the mortgage on Mother Peep's shoe and keep it and Little Bo Peep from the clutches of the evil Barnaby. When that fails, they trick Barnaby into marrying Stanley Dum instead of Bo Peep. Enraged, Barnaby unleashes the bogeymen from their caverns to destroy Toyland.

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Plot Keywords:

toy soldier | toy maker | forced marriage | sheep | fairy tale land | 

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Taglines:

1 and 1/2 hours of laughter!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

March of the Wooden Soldiers

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min 73 min (re-release) (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The six minutes formerly missing from the film have been restored and the complete and uncut original version can be seen on Turner Classic Movies, beginning with the original 1934 Production Code Seal, and the MGM/NRA (National Recovery Act) logo; the other restorations include the song "Go To Sleep," and a beautifully photographed sequence in the underground caves.

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Goofs

The three little pigs are in their nightgowns - like everyone else in Toy Land - when Stan and Ollie return with Tom Tom and Bo-Peep. When the three little pigs close the blinds to their houses when the bogeymen are attacking, two of them are shown with their regular clothes on. Eventually they are seen with their nightgowns again when Toy Land is fighting the bogeymen.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Chief of Police: Come, come, children. On your way to school.

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Crazy Credits

The titles appear on a child's toy building block that falls into position onscreen.

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Connections

Version of Babes in Toyland (1961)

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Soundtracks

Never Mind, Bo Peep
(1903) (uncredited)
Music by Victor Herbert
Lyrics by Glen MacDonough
Sung by Felix Knight, Johnny Downs, Jean Darling, Virginia Karns, Charlotte Henry and Chorus

User Reviews

Victor Hebert + Mother Goose = Big Screen Operetta

Old King Cole … Little Miss Muffett … The Cat and the Fiddle … Little Jack Horner … Mother Goose. And Tom-Tom loves teenager Bo-Peep, who keeps losing her sheep. Mother Goose characters inhabit Toyland, as do Stannie Dumb (Stan Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy). Stan and Ollie are toy makers who rent a room in the shoe of the widow Peep. Meanwhile, creepy landlord Silas Barnaby – played with a relish by Henry Kleinbach (Brandon) – is especially angry because Bo Peep, widow Peek's daughter, has rejected his marriage proposal. The spurned and lecherous Barnaby then comes to evict the Peeps from their shoe house, as he is armed with their overdue mortgage payment. With mean Barnaby it is either marriage with Bo-Peep or eviction. In a blundering way Stan and Ollie try to come to her aid, hoping to borrow the funds from their boss. But they are fired from the toy factory because they messed up Santa Claus' order of 600 toy soldiers one-foot tall. They made 100 soldiers six-feet tall; the soldiers are stored in the toy warehouse.

Stan and Ollie again get into trouble as they try to thwart sleazy Barnaby's continuing evil designs; and Ollie is punished by being dunked in the village pond. Yet they are ultimately successful in preventing Barnaby's marriage to Bo-Peep. And they uncover the real kidnapping of Elmer, one of the three pigs, to the schemes of Barnaby (who had blamed Tom-Tom). In revenge Barnaby, all-along in league with the monsters of underground Bogeyland, unleashes his demons against the inhabitants of Toyland. Utilizing their large darts to good advantage, Stan and Ollie are Toyland's prime defenders. But the evil forces make headway, and Barnaby carries Bo-Peep away. Then the boys remember the soldiers, and in a climatic scene enlivened with a rousing musical score . . . Well, watch it and find out. It's worth the time! The Stan and Ollie version of Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland remains unequaled, whether in black and white or colorized. The sets are great, the story entertaining, and the songs nicely done. For those who are young or for those who think young. Recommended.