Topic: Tit For Tat (1935) - Laurel and Hardy

[metaldams]

http://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/tittat.html
http://www.lordheath.com/menu1_151.html

      Today is the 54th anniversary of the death of Stan Laurel.  R.I.P. Stan. Don't read below if you don't want spoilers, watch the film first.

      This may as well be the same film as THEM THAR HILLS.  It is, in actuality, a direct sequel.  Stan and Ollie open up a store and greet their neighbors.  Their neighbors just happen to be "Charley" Hall and Mae Busch, the same couple they ran into in THEM THAR HILLS.  Stan recognizes Mr. Hall, Mr. Hall recognizes them both, and Mae Busch sings "The Old Spinning Wheel (In the Parlor)," (thanks Big Chief).  Now that everyone recognizes one another, no mutual apology is accepted, and tensions build back up.

      A great sight gag of a sidewalk elevation propelling Ollie on a ladder up to the neighbors window (due to Stan's mistake, of course), makes Ollie's only way down through the upstairs window and down the stairs, and he's let in by Mae Busch.  As they walk down and talk cordially, it gives the impression Ollie and Mae may have been doing more.  Charley Hall witnesses this as well as Ollie's line that he's never been in that position before to Mae, which I can't believe made a code film!  Charley, seeing them walking down the stairs and hearing Ollie utter that line, thinks Ollie was with his wife, Ollie feels his character has been attacked, no apology from Mr. hall is forthcoming, so the rest of the short is reciprocal retaliation time!

      The reciprocal retaliation stuff is all very funny.  The very image of Charley Hall with fifty pounds of lard on his head is one of my favorite all-time comic images, but I can simply name off every other bit they do, it's all good.  I will give special mention to Mr. Hall putting alum in the marshmallows Stan and Ollie have been consistently eating - it was good planning with a gag telling a story, and they even got mileage out of it in the end with the police officer.  Speaking of gag mileage, the guy who consistently steals from Stan and Ollie's store is great, the heist getting bigger and bigger until the very end, he has a moving truck to clear out the place!  Very well done, and I love the way he is so casual throughout the short.

      Great performances by everyone here.  It should be noted Ollie is thinner here than usual and in my opinion, Mae Busch was never lovelier than here.  One of my all-time favorites, hope you guys enjoy.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

As I get it, there have been cinema showings of Them Thar Hills and Tit for Tat as a double feature.  Would I ever love to see that once in a real theater.  I bet the audience screams.  Until then,  when L & H are about to eat the marshmallows and turn to show them in a nyah-nyah-nyah gesture to Charlie Hall, their timing and posing are so precise it's like ballet.  This is no coincidence - it's more like a gift from God.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Incidentally,  in the upper left-hand corner of the picture above, in the cast list appears " Titra Shqip ".  Titra Shqip?

[metaldams]

Incidentally,  in the upper left-hand corner of the picture above, in the cast list appears " Titra Shqip ".  Titra Shqip?

The whole video is subtitled in another language.  Perhaps Tit For Tat in that language?

[Umbrella Sam]

Well, from a story standpoint, this is a sequel to THEM THAR HILLS, though keep in mind that the reciprocal retaliation only takes up the last few minutes of that short. This is a bit more similar to BIG BUSINESS in that it builds up for the majority of the short. Though not quite as interesting as BIG BUSINESS, TIT FOR TAT is nevertheless a solid short.

The setup involving Hall and Busch doesn’t take too long, which is good for people who have already seen THEM THAR HILLS, though I suppose for people who haven’t, it could get quite confusing having Hall hate them from the start. I also agree about Hardy’s line going down the stairs. It really does surprise me that that made it into a film made after the Code was established.

After that, it’s basically reciprocal retaliation. Like I said, it’s not as interesting as BIG BUSINESS, since it doesn’t get as extreme, but they make up for that with a great running gag involving a guy stealing from Laurel and Hardy’s shop. What I especially love about this is that not only is he so casual to them, but they seem to notice at first what he’s doing, yet do nothing to stop him. As they get even more engrossed in what’s happening, they actually seem happy to see him. I also really like how the officer decides to step in only after Laurel and Hardy drop eggs on Hall’s head, rather than after the crowd gathers after seeing the windows to their own shop destroyed.

Really no problems with this short. The reciprocal retaliation is good for what the budget allowed and there’s some nice variety with that running gag.

10 out of 10

[Umbrella Sam]

The whole video is subtitled in another language.  Perhaps Tit For Tat in that language?

The guy running this channel has other videos listing it, so it might have something more to do with subtitles in general.

[HomokHarcos]

This is a very rare sequel from Laurel and Hardy, their movies almost never had any continuity. I actually like this even better then Them Thar Hills, mainly due to the awesome city shop location. Mae Busch is here very friendly to Ollie, they actually seem to get a long a lot better when they are not married. It was funny when Ollie said "I've never been in a position like that before!" which makes it very clear what Charlie Hall thinks happened between them. My favorite part is the men stealing from their shop that do it in a friendly way. Stan and Ollie certainly don't care.

[Dr. Mabuse]

Because of my admiration for "The Fixer Uppers," I do not consider "Tit for Tat" to be the last classic L&H two-reeler. Released in January 1935, this inspired follow-up to "Them Thar Hills" was Stan and Ollie's final Oscar-nominated short (losing to Robert Benchley's "How to Sleep").

Often acknowledged as the sound equivalent to "Big Business," the reciprocal mayhem in "Tit for Tit" doesn't quite reach the iconic stature of that 1929 silent, but it works brilliantly as a continuation of "Them Thar Hills." Though you don't need to watch "Tit for Tat" immediately after "Them Thar Hills," it certainly doesn't hurt.

In regard to Hardy's golf-related weight loss (also evident in "The Live Ghost" and "The Fixer Uppers"), Roach expressed concern when viewing the rushes and asked Ollie to re-establish the "fat and skinny" dynamic. Quite frankly, I never had a problem with a thinner Hardy — for the sake of his health and longevity, I wish he hadn't put back on the pounds.

9.5/10

[metaldams]

Because of my admiration for "The Fixer Uppers," I do not consider "Tit for Tat" to be the last classic L&H two-reeler. Released in January 1935, this inspired follow-up to "Them Thar Hills" was Stan and Ollie's final Oscar-nominated short (losing to Robert Benchley's "How to Sleep").

Often acknowledged as the sound equivalent to "Big Business," the reciprocal mayhem in "Tit for Tit" doesn't quite reach the iconic stature of that 1929 silent, but it works brilliantly as a continuation of "Them Thar Hills." Though you don't need to watch "Tit for Tat" immediately after "Them Thar Hills," it certainly doesn't hurt.

In regard to Hardy's golf-related weight loss (also evident in "The Live Ghost" and "The Fixer Uppers"), Roach expressed concern when viewing the rushes and asked Ollie to re-establish the "fat and skinny" dynamic. Quite frankly, I never had a problem with a thinner Hardy — for the sake of his health and longevity, I wish he hadn't put back on the pounds.

9.5/10

If Roach indeed pressured Hardy to put back on some weight, that’s horrible.  Surely their make up or costume department could have found creative ways to make Hardy look bigger on screen rather than jeopardise his health.