So, I’ll admit that after watching the silent version, LOVE ‘EM AND WEEP, I was actually a bit skeptical about this short. Don’t get me wrong; this is definitely the kind of situation I’d expect Hardy to get into. It was mainly the idea of Hardy being successful enough to run for mayor that made me skeptical, since in so many other cases Hardy could never even come close to that amount of success. Yeah, it is weird to see him like that, but I don’t care; this short is funny! There’s a great running gag of James Finlayson constantly agreeing to take a bribe and laughing with Hardy as a result. This laughing is much more tolerable than the laughing in ANOTHER FINE MESS.
I think it is interesting to note that there is a lot of Ollie and Stan working solo in this film than you’d expect, but in a good way. Ollie is fittingly nervous throughout the party, even crashing into Finlayson at one point (and having to bribe him again as a result), but the real stand out scenes are with Stan in Mae Busch’s apartment. Unlike in the silent version, where they’re at a restaurant and she makes a small scene, here Busch goes all out against Laurel, to the point that his phone calls to Hardy continue to show an increasing amount of distress and that fight outside of the apartment building is just fantastic.
I guess the one minor problem I have with this short is the same thing metaldams mentioned: Thelma Todd should have played the old flame while Mae Busch should have played Mrs. Hardy, though both did well enough in their roles, especially Busch in the apartment, so I won’t mark the short down at all for it.
The Spanish version of CHICKENS COME HOME is POLITIQUERIAS. Much like the Spanish version of THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE, this is extended to feature film length, but unlike the Spanish MURDER CASE, this actually consists of entirely new material. One thing I will give this film credit for over the original is Linda Loredo as Mrs. Hardy, who is much more furious at Oliver at the party and even gets a funny scene where she’s standing outside the door, unbeknownst to Oliver. Besides, this, though, the rest of this is much like the other Spanish versions in that the main actors give weaker performances due to their struggling to learn another language. This is even worse, though, because it’s expanded to feature length.
Much like in BLOTTO, a lot of filler is added with some random acts performing at Oliver’s party. One of them is a magician who does a decent job, though still feels like a very pointless addition. The other is a professional regurgitator. I honestly do not know what people saw in this kind of act; I just find it really disturbing.
English Version: 10 out of 10
Spanish Version: 5 out of 10