Topic: The Hoose-Gow (1929) - Laurel and Hardy

[metaldams]

http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_225_The-Hoose-Gow
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019999/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
http://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/hooseg.html


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24v6nk_the-hoose-gow-b-w-1929-laurel-hardy_shortfilms

Watch THE HOOSE-GOW in the link above



      The final talking Laurel and Hardy film released in the twenties, and from a technological standpoint, the camera seems to be a bit freer in this one than the previous talkies.  The space where the prisoners do labor is pretty open and the shot where it pans up to show the height of the tree the guard is in feels like an advancement.  The shorts and upcoming features will improve even more so as we get further into the thirties.

      This feels like a prototypical eight out of ten for me.  An eight film is a film I enjoy, more than the average piece of entertainment, but concerning the comedians involved, they've done better.  There's nothing wrong with THE HOOSE-GOW, but it has no special character touches or situations that ring a bell with me and no comedy routines that stand as all time classic stuff.  Then again, nothing bores me either, I am completely entertained throughout and find it pleasurable to watch Stan and Ollie in this one.

      Best parts?  The aforementioned tree part where the tree gets chopped down and lands near the prisoners is a great visual and displays their stupidity perfectly.  Stan had the right idea going for the little piece of wood and I smile when Ollie admonishes him for not thinking bigger.  In this case, Ollie thinks too big!  I enjoy Stan and Ollie's little kicking battle at the beginning of the film that ends when larger cop Tiny Sanford gets kicked.  I just love the timing and the reactions of each kick, hard to describe in writing.

      As for the rice fight?  Not bad at all, but again, a deal where this kind of thing has been done better in other films.  Since this is a Stooge board, one of the two ladies with the governor is none other than Symona Boniface!  She gets no lines, but when the other lady gets rice on her face, Symona does this giddy, maniacal laugh which very much reminds me on IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE.  Symona then gets a wet rice pice in the face herself!  A shame she was underused in Hal Roach films, Columbia wins the battle as far as Symona usage.  Oh, and the extended close up and reaction of Oliver after he gets a rice pie in the face is priceless.  I'm glad the camera stays on him because Ollie sure takes advantage of it.

      A fun but admittedly non descript Laurel and Hardy film, not the best kind to write about.  There will be more classics coming up for sure, however, as next week, we start the thirties!

8/10

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

This should be funnier than it is, but I'm not quite sure why.  It might be because, like last week, the dialogue is pretty weak.  They still haven't discovered the Cuckoo theme, either - this week's opening theme is called "That's My Weakness Now".  The closing theme became a stock Hal Roach theme whose name I don't know.

[Seamus]

This should be funnier than it is, but I'm not quite sure why.  It might be because, like last week, the dialogue is pretty weak.

I know what you mean.  This one and PERFECT DAY felt a little flat to me this time around, and I think you might be on to something when you attribute it to the weaker dialogue.  I enjoyed MEN O' WAR a lot more than these last two, partly because the verbal shenanigans kept me engaged.

The biggest laughs for me included the precisely 0.00003 seconds that passed between Ollie handing Stan a shovel declaring, "You can't do any harm with this," and getting knocked in the head with said shovel, and the arrival of Finlayson at the prison decked out like the Monopoly Man (really, all he has to do is show up and I'm already laughing).  Also enjoyed Ollie's finger-work when he's cleaning the rice mush off his face.  Mostly though, HOOSE-GOW was L&H arsing about with pick-axes and pepper shakers without the spark and style we'd get from them later, so didn't do much for me.

[metaldams]

I like good dialogue in Laurel and Hardy (and Three Stooges) films and feel it can add to the situation, but witty jokes have never felt as necessary to me in these films as they do, say, The Marx Brothers.  The line deliveries, gags, characters, and situations always feel more important to me than the content of the dialogue itself.

[Paul Pain]

This is much like this week's Stooge short, SPOOKS, in that it is a short that you will watch and laugh, but it isn't classic either.  The early scenes leave a lot on the table.  The highlight is the felling of the tree.  Thinking too big there!  A little rice fight at the end made things a little interesting, but not everything can be perfect.

8/10

[Tony Bensley]

In my opinion, THE HOOSE-GOW is a very decent effort, especially for a late 1929 early Talkie.  Whenever the early Hal Roach sound shorts were filmed outdoors, they seemed better able to breath, so to speak!

That said, this one certainly isn't perfect.  I find the part where Stan swallows an apple whole to be rather uncomfortable viewing, and the film doesn't seem to have a real ending.

Apart from the above nitpicks, I do rather enjoy this one.  Yes, Ollie's "Think bigger!" advice to Stan does indeed, lead to bigger, and hilarious disasters!

Symona Boniface's appearance in the "Rice Fight" does rather nicely (And messily!) preface her many later Three Stooges appearances, but it's Jimmy Finlayson's presence that I always anticipate in the Laurel & Hardy Films of the late 1920's - 1930's.

7.5/10 for me.

CHEERS! 

[Umbrella Sam]

I’ve got to agree with the consensus on this one. It’s a good enough short, though it does feel like it could have been done better. I totally agree with Tony about the apple. That was just very discomforting to watch. Still, the short does have its fair amount of funny moments. Laurel and Hardy with the picks and shovels is pretty good and I love the moment with the tree falling. The rice fight is a pretty good finale, though, yes, it would be done way better in other films. It’s an enojoyable film, but Laurel and Hardy have done better.

8 out of 10

[Dr. Mabuse]

"The Hoose-Gow" remains among the best Laurel and Hardy two-reelers from the talkie transition. Shot entirely outdoors, this early sound effort avoids the stage-bound claustrophobia that plagued "Berth Marks." Stan and Ollie handle the familiar slapstick with gusto — highlighted by a messy rice-throwing brawl. No match for the team's silent classics, but undeniably funny.

8/10

[HomokHarcos]

Strangely I forgot all about this film, something that hasn't happened to any of Laurel and Hardy's other worked. That's despite me actually enjoying it. It was funny when they got locked out and Stan wanted to go back inside the prison! I like seeing them be able to poke fun at prison workers and police, something Laurel and Hardy did a few times. I'm actually impressed how good the camera work and sound is for 1929, compare this to The Cocoanuts that came out the same year and this looks miles ahead.

This is the last of their 1920s talkies. Starting from 1930 they would have probably the best run in short subject history.