Our Relations (1936)

Two pairs of long-lost twin brothers experience high jinks involving a valuable ring, cases of mistaken identity, and gangsters.

Director:

Harry Lachman

Writers:

W.W. Jacobs (suggested by story "The Money Box" by), Richard Connell (screen story)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Alan Hale

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stan Laurel	...	Stan Laurel / Alf Laurel
Oliver Hardy	...	Oliver 'Ollie' Hardy / Bert Hardy
Alan Hale	...	Joe Grogan -Denker's waiter
Sidney Toler	...	Captain of SS Periwinkle
Daphne Pollard	...	Mrs. Daphne Hardy
Betty Brown	...	Mrs. Betty 'Bubbles' Laurel (as Betty Healy)
James Finlayson	...	Finn - The Chief Engineer
Iris Adrian	...	Alice
Lona Andre	...	Lily
Ralf Harolde	...	Gangster Boss
Noel Madison	...	Second Gangster at Pirate's Club
Arthur Housman	...	Drunk

Storyline

Unbeknownst to Stanley and Oliver, their long-lost twin brothers, sailors Alfie and Bert are in town on shore leave carrying a valuable pearl ring entrusted to them by their ship's captain. All four get involved in multiple cases of mistaken identity as a gang of hoodlums try to steal the ring Stanley and Oliver wind up with their feet in cement, about to be dumped into the harbor.

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Plot Keywords:

mistaken identity | doppelganger | husband wife relationship | sailors | twin brothers | 

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Taglines:

Two Innocent Sailors on a Holiday...But They Ended Up All at Sea...

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

30 October 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sailors' Downfall

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min 68 min (colorized)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had previously played their own sons in Brats (1930) and each others' wives in Twice Two (1933) before playing their own twins in this film.

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Goofs

Stan throws a stone which hits Fin on the head, but Fin is then seen holding his nose.

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Quotes

Alice: [At Denker's Beer Garden] Joe, who are these men?
Joe Grogan: When they were here before, they called themselves Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy.
Mrs. Daphne Hardy: [Slaps the table] That's all I want to know!
[to Ollie]
Mrs. Daphne Hardy: Pay the check and let's get outta here.
Alice: Yes, pay it! We've been waiting two hours for you to bail us out. Bye-bye, baby face!
Mrs. Daphne Hardy: So, you went to a Punch and Judy show, huh!

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Alternate Versions

All available prints removed the opening MGM lion.

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Connections

Referenced in Kovanaama (1954)

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Soundtracks

Ku-Ku
(uncredited)
(Laurel & Hardy Theme Song)
Music by Marvin Hatley
In the score often the film

User Reviews

Laurel & Hardy At Their Very Best!

At this point in the history of Hal Roach Studios, Mr. Roach wanted to progress beyond the "two reeler" concepts and begin to compete with MGM and the other large studios by making feature films exclusively. His main concept was to produce what he termed "streamlined" comedies which would run just about an hour or a little more. The purpose being that he could produce feature length films on a shoestring budget and therefore be more competitive with the large studios. Not a bad idea, in concept. With "Our Relations" Stan Laurel wanted to show that if Roach would allow them to spend more money on production, that he and Ollie could make "A" grade comedies instead of just the quicky type two-reelers. Stan produced this film and the next one to follow, "Way Out West", and it shows what he had been after for a very long time. "Our Relations" is a breezy, fast paced comedy that shows L&H not only capable of the 'ol slapstick bits but also most capable of handling situational comedy as the type Cary Grant and other similar stars were performing at this time. There's lots of original gags and lines in this film demonstrating the apt writing of one of the old masters by this time, Felix Adler, who also wrote for numerous Three Stooges shorts. In a way I'm saddened by this film because it was one of the very few times in L&H's careers that production values were not a concern and they obviously had absolute creative control over their performances. It's a shame that Hal Roach didn't appreciate them enough to keep them on past 1940 and continue with their logical progress toward even greater things. Had he done that, there would have been much more to enjoy from them and maybe they might have even given Abbott & Costello a real run for their money. Whatever the case, if you enjoy L&H, don't miss this one!