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IMDbPro

The Dancing Masters

  • 19431943
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 3m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1K
YOUR RATING
Oliver Hardy, Robert Bailey, Stan Laurel, and Trudy Marshall in The Dancing Masters (1943)
Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Play trailer1:24
1 Video
14 Photos
ComedyRomance
Two bumbling dance teachers help an awkward inventor sell his new invention and facilitate his romance with a beautiful socialite.Two bumbling dance teachers help an awkward inventor sell his new invention and facilitate his romance with a beautiful socialite.Two bumbling dance teachers help an awkward inventor sell his new invention and facilitate his romance with a beautiful socialite.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1K
YOUR RATING
    • Malcolm St. Clair
    • Scott Darling(screen play)
    • George Bricker(suggested by a story by)
  • Stars
    • Stan Laurel
    • Oliver Hardy
    • Trudy Marshall
    • Malcolm St. Clair
    • Scott Darling(screen play)
    • George Bricker(suggested by a story by)
  • Stars
    • Stan Laurel
    • Oliver Hardy
    • Trudy Marshall
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 19User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Dancing Masters
    Trailer 1:24
    Watch The Dancing Masters

    Photos14

    Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, and Trudy Marshall in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, and Trudy Marshall in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Trudy Marshall, and Lillian Porter in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, and Trudy Marshall in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Robert Bailey and Trudy Marshall in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy, Robert Bailey, Stan Laurel, and Trudy Marshall in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy, Robert Bailey, Stan Laurel, and Trudy Marshall in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy, Robert Bailey, Stan Laurel, and Trudy Marshall in The Dancing Masters (1943)
    Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in The Dancing Masters (1943)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Stan Laurel
    Stan Laurel
    • Stan
    Oliver Hardy
    Oliver Hardy
    • Ollie
    Trudy Marshall
    Trudy Marshall
    • Trudy Harlan
    Robert Bailey
    Robert Bailey
    • Grant Lawrence
    Matt Briggs
    Matt Briggs
    • Wentworth Harlan
    Margaret Dumont
    Margaret Dumont
    • Louise Harlan
    Allan Lane
    Allan Lane
    • George Worthing
    Sam Ash
    Sam Ash
    • Pianist
    • (uncredited)
    Louis Bacigalupi
    • Dental Patient
    • (uncredited)
    Brooks Benedict
    Brooks Benedict
    • Sidewalk Barker
    • (uncredited)
    Ruth Brady
    Ruth Brady
    • Secretary
    • (uncredited)
    Chet Brandenburg
    Chet Brandenburg
    • Bus Passenger
    • (uncredited)
    Chick Collins
    • Bus Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Jimmie Dundee
    Jimmie Dundee
    • Cop Who Slips on Banana Peel
    • (uncredited)
    Edward Earle
    Edward Earle
    • Clerk at Airport
    • (uncredited)
    William Haade
    William Haade
    • Truck Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Sherry Hall
    • Dentist
    • (uncredited)
    Jack W. Johnston
    Jack W. Johnston
    • Board Member
    • (uncredited)
      • Malcolm St. Clair
      • Scott Darling(screen play)
      • George Bricker(suggested by a story by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A young Robert Mitchum has an uncredited bit part as a fraudulent insurance salesman.
    • Goofs
      When the bricks begin to rhythmically hit Hardy on the head, the sound effect can be heard prior to the bricks making contact.
    • Quotes

      Trudy Harlan: You boys believe that Grant has a great future as an inventor, don't you?

      Oliver Hardy: Well, I believe that Grant'll be an inventor of the first rank.

      Stan Laurel: What's rank?

      Oliver Hardy: You are! SHUT UP!

    • Connections
      Featured in Living Famously: Laurel & Hardy (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Loin de bal (Echoes of the Ball)
      (1888) (uncredited)

      Written by Ernest Gillet

      Played at the dancing school

    User reviews19

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    5/10
    The bumbling masters
    Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's appeal, as has been said quite a number of times, has always been completely understandable. They had such great comic timing and memorable contrasting and distinct personalities. The chemistry was considered legendary, seeing them in their prime there is a very good reason for that. Their best material, both verbal and particularly physically, was amusing to hilarious, with quite a fair share of classics.

    Unfortunately, Laurel and Hardy had a drastic decline in the post-Hal Roach period post-1940 (know that a few of the late 30s films were less than great but not to this extent). A period when Laurel and Hardy became underused, they and their material on the most part were tired, they were put in settings that they didn't gel in, the films seemed to forget what made Laurel and Hardy's prime period as great as it was, a lot of the verbal humour was dumb and trite, the supporting casts were variable and a few were too plot-heavy and the plots were far from great. Some of that can be seen in one of the lesser films from this period 'The Dancing Masters'. As one can see from my average/mixed feelings rating, it is not a terrible film but it could have been much better.

    Laurel and Hardy are the best things about it. They have great comic timing that makes one remember what made them so great in their prime, they actually feel like leads instead of being underused and too sidelined amidst less interesting material, their personalities are interesting and entertaining and most importantly they are a lot of fun to watch. They also seem to be enjoying themselves and their chemistry sparkles. Their material here is also great fun, none of it classic but it amuses and it doesn't veer too much into silliness. Also liked that there is more emphasis on the physical comedy than them utterly trite and insultingly dumb one-liners heard in some of their other post-Hal Roach films. The locked safe, rhetorical angle and the hiding from Margaret Dumont scenes fare the best.

    Dumont and the cameo from Robert Mitchum are the supporting cast standouts, the only ones who stood out for me. Some of the film is nicely photographed.

    However, 'The Dancing Masters' is lacking elsewhere. The worst thing about it is the story, which is a muddled mess, with too much going on over-complicating the action and some of it adds nothing. The bus chase sequence, as well as looking particularly cheap, is utter illogical chaos.

    Too much of the dialogue is trite and other than some of the photography 'The Dancing Masters' is one of the worst looking Laurel and Hardy films, not just from this period but throughout their filmography. Especially the editing, with the rollercoaster scene inducing nausea, and some blatantly obvious back projection in the bus chase. Other than Dumont and Mitchum, the rest of the supporting cast don't stand out in any way.

    In conclusion, watchable but lacking in a lot of areas. 5/10 Bethany Cox
    helpful•2
    0
    • TheLittleSongbird
    • Jan 8, 2019

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 19, 1943 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official Site
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 3 minutes
      • Black and White

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