Soitenly
Moronika
The community forum of ThreeStooges.net

You're Darn Tootin' (1928) - Laurel and Hardy

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline metaldams

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019607/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_161_You-re-Darn-Tootin
http://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/yourdarn.html

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5z_Tl-1CthM

Watch YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN' in the link above



      YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN' is a film I have very similar feelings about as IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE.  I'm not too hot about the beginning, but the film gets better as it goes on and it has an absolutely classic ending.  The latter has arguably the greatest pie fight in film history while the former has one of those classic Laurel and Hardy reciprocal punishment gags that builds into every man in town getting involved, the bit of business here being clothing being torn.
 
      I say the beginning is not so hot because it's one of those bits that I just don't find very funny.  Stan and Ollie are clarinet and French horn players, respectively, in a band, and basically they play bad music, get their sheet music mixed up, and eventually the chairs of the entire orchestra end up falling to the ground.  It just doesn't come off well for reasons I can't exactly pinpoint.  Perhaps it's a sequence that would have benefitted better with sound.  After all, part of the humor is the fact they are bad musicians who are messing up the orchestra, perhaps hearing the cacophony would've added to the humor?  Hard to say.  Even the whole bit of Ollie trying to get his sheet music off from under the stomping foot of the conductor comes off flat, and that on paper should work in a silent comedy.  For whatever reason, this bit just doesn't catch fire with me.

      The whole short doesn't really catch any fire until they are thrown out of their house for not being able to pay rent and are out on the street trying to earn money as street musicians.  There are some funny bits thrown in, especially the stuff involving the sewer man holes.  I love the camera set ups and the way you see a comedian just plummet into a hole from what seems like out of nowhere.  They don't set an expectation at all, these falls are very sudden.  It's especially funny watching Ollie's legs flail in the air as he's stuck in that man hole.

      The clothes ripping sequence, however, is the real reason to watch this short.  On paper, this kind of thing should not work, as ripping off clothes can be very one dimensional, but these Laurel and Hardy films are great at taking simple premises like this and making them work through genius timing, build up, and variation.  Things start out with Stan and Ollie alone taking turns ripping each other's clothing apart with great intensity and a desire to top one another.  My favorite bit here is the variation when they ruin their hats, I won't give away the punchline in case anyone watches this short for the first time.  Eventually, the whole town gets involved, and it's a pile of bodies tearing off each other's clothes.  It builds like a symphony, and the ending gag with Stan and Ollie getting away, which again I won't spoil for first time viewers, is a classic.

      One more thing I'd like to add is if I seem a little rough lately on the Stooges for having gags that while funny, sometimes seem sidetracked, it's from watching these Laurel and Hardy films.  Even a film like YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN', not an all-time classic but a good short, is better constructed than SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS.  Every gag in this film either advances the story or if not doing that, at least builds the tension a little.  When that classic finale happens in YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN', it feels like a major tension reliever due to everything that previously transpired.  I don't get that same feeling of tension you'd expect when your business can be shut down the next day in this week's Stooge short.  In the Stooges defense, they had much less time and lower budgets to work with than Laurel and Hardy, which is a shame.  Pro-Stooges, however, SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS is a consistently funnier film than YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN', even if nothing tops the finale of the latter.  Essentially the pros and cons of both films balance out, so I also rate this film an....

8/10
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Paul Pain

  • Moronika's resident meteorologist
  • Bunionhead
  • ******
  • The heartthrob of millions!
This is where I am divided on these.  I hate the silence, but I believe I prefer silence over listening to Stan's accent.
#1 fire kibitzer


Offline metaldams

This is where I am divided on these.  I hate the silence, but I believe I prefer silence over listening to Stan's accent.

Do you hate silence in silent comedy in general?
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

...and since you commented on Stan's accent, what talkies are you familiar with?
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Paul Pain

  • Moronika's resident meteorologist
  • Bunionhead
  • ******
  • The heartthrob of millions!
...and since you commented on Stan's accent, what talkies are you familiar with?

I don't need to hear it.  I have a passionate distaste for the English accent, and I say that as someone who is half English.  I think Laurel and Hardy lost a lot of potential as a result of the comedies being silent.  Yet somehow Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are marvelous BECAUSE they are silent (OK, the two bits I have watched).

Part of this I believe is because much of the stuff used came from Vaudeville, which meant there was trial and error in adapting plots to film.
#1 fire kibitzer


Offline metaldams

I don't need to hear it.  I have a passionate distaste for the English accent, and I say that as someone who is half English.  I think Laurel and Hardy lost a lot of potential as a result of the comedies being silent.  Yet somehow Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are marvelous BECAUSE they are silent (OK, the two bits I have watched).

Part of this I believe is because much of the stuff used came from Vaudeville, which meant there was trial and error in adapting plots to film.

I actually love the British accent, even thinking it's attractive on women.  I'm an Anglophile in general, loving Hammer Horror movies, British Invasion and NWOBHM rock, and Monty Python.

It's interesting your comment that Laurel and Hardy lose something in silence but Chaplin and Keaton gain because of it.  I always wonder how these Laurel and Hardy silents play to people not familiar with their talkies, so good comment.  There are parts in these silents where they are interacting that I find funny because I know what they sound like, so I can insert their dialogue and delivery in my head, but to someone not familiar with the talkies, it must be a very different experience,

Definitely check out BIG BUSINESS when we get to that one.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Seamus

There are parts in these silents where they are interacting that I find funny because I know what they sound like, so I can insert their dialogue and delivery in my head, but to someone not familiar with the talkies, it must be a very different experience,

Finally watched this a few nights ago and I had the same experience.  Their characters are so fully formed by the time they did this short that I could pretty much hear their voices in my head in some scenes.  (I've seen all the L&H talkies but few of their silents.  I need to start following up on Metal's YouTube links).  It's interesting how - unlike most silent-era comedians, who had the rug pulled out from under them when sound came in - L&H had voices and deliveries that were absolutely perfect for their characters and eventually became integral to their comedy, but audiences had now way of knowing until technology caught up.  Must have been frustrating to the production team hearing them exchange dialog on set knowing it would never get heard in theaters.

I don't need to hear it.  I have a passionate distaste for the English accent, and I say that as someone who is half English.  I think Laurel and Hardy lost a lot of potential as a result of the comedies being silent.  Yet somehow Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are marvelous BECAUSE they are silent (OK, the two bits I have watched).

I can't imagine Stan without his dull English voice.  The only time English accents bother me is when an American tries to put one on, especially if they do it while quoting Monty Python.  I love Python (and a lot of other British shows and movies), but hearing an American quoting from the Holy Grail is fingernails-on-the-chalkboard stuff.


Offline metaldams

Finally watched this a few nights ago and I had the same experience.  Their characters are so fully formed by the time they did this short that I could pretty much hear their voices in my head in some scenes.  (I've seen all the L&H talkies but few of their silents.  I need to start following up on Metal's YouTube links).  It's interesting how - unlike most silent-era comedians, who had the rug pulled out from under them when sound came in - L&H had voices and deliveries that were absolutely perfect for their characters and eventually became integral to their comedy, but audiences had now way of knowing until technology caught up.  Must have been frustrating to the production team hearing them exchange dialog on set knowing it would never get heard in theaters.

I can't imagine Stan without his dull English voice.  The only time English accents bother me is when an American tries to put one on, especially if they do it while quoting Monty Python.  I love Python (and a lot of other British shows and movies), but hearing an American quoting from the Holy Grail is fingernails-on-the-chalkboard stuff.

Seamus, good to hear from you!  Got about six silents left, then the talkies.

Yeah, it's true, never have silent comedians had voices more suited to their characters than Laurel and Hardy.  Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, while I have since gotten used to their voices, I did a double take on all of them the first time I heard them speak.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Seamus

Thanks man.  I'd hoped to throw in more in these silent short discussions, but apparently I'm so bad at time management that I can't make time to watch a 20 minute YouTube a week.  (It's logistics - when I'm at the computer I'm usually working, and when I'm kicking back in the evening I'm catching up on DVR'd movies).  I finally managed to catch a few shorts when TCM aired them as part of their Silent Sunday Nights last week (including BIG BUSINESS, which was terrific).


Offline metaldams

Thanks man.  I'd hoped to throw in more in these silent short discussions, but apparently I'm so bad at time management that I can't make time to watch a 20 minute YouTube a week.  (It's logistics - when I'm at the computer I'm usually working, and when I'm kicking back in the evening I'm catching up on DVR'd movies).  I finally managed to catch a few shorts when TCM aired them as part of their Silent Sunday Nights last week (including BIG BUSINESS, which was terrific).

Did you just see BIG BUSINESS for the first time?  I actually think that short makes a great introduction not just to Laurel and Hardy, but silent comedy virgins in general.  Can't wait to review that one in a few weeks!
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Seamus

Yeah, first time seeing that one.  So good, right up there with some of their best talkies.


Offline Paul Pain

  • Moronika's resident meteorologist
  • Bunionhead
  • ******
  • The heartthrob of millions!
metaldams, you got me hooked. 

You said it all pretty much, but the second half makes up for a slow first half.  I'll call it 8/10.
#1 fire kibitzer


Offline Umbrella Sam

  • Toastmaster General
  • Knothead
  • *****
    • Talk About Cinema
I do like the opening, though I'll admit that it's not perfect. I do like when Stan and Ollie are fighting with each other, when Stan's clarinet is falling apart, and even the part with Ollie trying to get the paper from the bandleader. However, I'll admit that the orchestra falling out of their chairs is not executed very well and I don't think that Otto Lederer makes for a good foil to Laurel and Hardy's antics. I don't think that he was a bad actor; I just feel like he was miscast here, as I don't think that he sells the frustration aspect as well as, say, Edgar Kennedy or Billy Gilbert.

Even with that said, I do still have to agree that the second half is better than the first. Again, I do like the first half, but the second half is hilarious. Stan and Ollie falling in holes is great, but the real selling part is the ending fight. The energy of everyone in this scene is staggering and it continues to get larger and larger as they ruin each other's clothes. Much like metaldams, my favorite part is the bit with their hats. I also really like when Stan is on the sideline watching them tear each other's clothes off despite him having partly insinuated the fight in the first place.

It's not as good as the previous two shorts, but it's still fun to watch.

9 out of 10
“I’ll take a milkshake...with sour milk!” -Shemp (Punchy Cowpunchers, 1950)

My blog: https://talk-about-cinema.blogspot.com


Offline HomokHarcos

Despite not being able to hear Stan and Ollie playing their instruments, I still thought the beginning was very funny with them obviously not playing the music correctly. It might be a gag that works better in sound, but you it's still funny looking at them messing up their parts on the instruments. Actually, maybe for our ears it is better that we cannot hear what they are playing. It was great when their former conductor was playing in the window, so they went along with it!

Then we get to the part where everybody is kicking each other. By now you'd think Stan and Ollie would be well known for causing havoc with their hat fights and pie fights, now they have people on the streets kicking their neighbors! I love seeing these street scenes in silent comedies.


Offline metaldams

Just rewatched this one.  I don’t know what it is, but this time the intro worked better for me.  Perhaps it’s just Laurel and Hardy, the actors, selling the situation, that make it work.  I really got a kick when Ollie realized he had Stan’s music and vice versa yet Stan refused to part with what’s in front of him.

The rest of my review I pretty much stand by.  Notice that director’s credit - Edgar Kennedy!
- Doug Sarnecky