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Saps At Sea (1940) - Laurel and Hardy

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Offline metaldams

http://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/saps.html
http://www.lordheath.com/menu1_248.html



      So ends our journey of the Hal Roach era Laurel and Hardy films.  We still have Fox, MGM and one foreign film to go but SAPS AT SEA to a lot of fans is the last film they'll even acknowledge.  I'm not one of them, but I will admit, of course, the Roach era is why I'm a fan for the most part.

      SAPS AT SEA is for the most part a perfectly entertaining Laurel and Hardy that slightly sags towards the end.  The opening horn factory scene is reminiscent of Chaplin in MODERN TIMES with workers going crazy in loud and fast paced factory environments.  The car scene outside the factory is excellent.  It's Stan and Ollie performing in front of an amused audience, in this case street goers with fun results.  What really makes this scene work is how oblivious Stan is to the onlookers around him and the nonchalant way he acts to the entire engine leaving the car.  Also a nice little subtle bit the way he gets in the car.  A normal person would simply open the front door and sit in the front seat.  Stan jumps over the back seat door and then over the front seat to get to the front, totally roundabout.

       We also get a nice "mama" doll gag done in a few other comedies we love and a wonderful all around scene of Stan trying to take care of an ailing Ollie with doctor James Finlayson thrown in for good measure.  All good stuff that climaxes with another wonderful Hal Roach kitchen explosion.  Nobody does those explosions better and yes, once again, I laughed hard.  As a bonus, a sneeze causes some destruction to the room as well, a very nice touch.  Ollie's frustration watching his neighbor's radio turn into a fridge and vice versa is another fun bit as is Ollie going downstairs to get a black eye for his trouble and throw a line or two to give us an excuse for some Charlie Hall double takes.

       Really, up until the synthetic food gag, I like SAPS AT SEA.  Richard Craymer does an excellent job as the escaped convict and I do agree with the general praise other reviews have given him.  Still, the synthetic food gag just goes on too long with Craymer getting the boys to eat the food.  It's an uncomfortable one note gag which would have worked with a quick resolution, yet not worth the several minutes it is allotted.

      Ollie beating up Craymer to the sound of the horn is symbolism to me that Stan and Ollie's time as leading comedians may be coming to an end.  Due to entering film at a later date for slapstick comedy, The Three Stooges use gags that have been done by other comedians a lot.  Well here, the tables have turned.  It's 1940, The Three Stooges are in their prime and Ollie beating up the villain due to external stimuli was done before by Curly on multiple occasions, be it "Pop Goes the Weasel," Wild Hyacinth, or tassels.  The external stimuli brings out Curly's unique and manic comic persona.  With Oliver Hardy, he simply beats up the bad guy.  Curly can do things Ollie can't do and vice versa, and in this case, Ollie is in territory better suited for Curly.  Oh, and one of the writers?  Felix Adler.  There's also some other comedy team about to be taking over who we'll be discussing next.

      A nice film overall that would be great with a better ending as well as the swan song of Stan and Ollie's salad days.  Any classic character actor they've worked with we will no longer see going forward, I believe (somebody correct me if I'm wrong), with the sole exception of Edgar Kennedy.   It's been a great ride at Roach and we shall next discuss Fox.  It should be interesting.

     
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Tony Bensley

http://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/saps.html
http://www.lordheath.com/menu1_248.html



      So ends our journey of the Hal Roach era Laurel and Hardy films.  We still have Fox, MGM and one foreign film to go but SAPS AT SEA to a lot of fans is the last film they'll even acknowledge.  I'm not one of them, but I will admit, of course, the Roach era is why I'm a fan for the most part.

      SAPS AT SEA is for the most part a perfectly entertaining Laurel and Hardy that slightly sags towards the end.  The opening horn factory scene is reminiscent of Chaplin in MODERN TIMES with workers going crazy in loud and fast paced factory environments.  The car scene outside the factory is excellent.  It's Stan and Ollie performing in front of an amused audience, in this case street goers with fun results.  What really makes this scene work is how oblivious Stan is to the onlookers around him and the nonchalant way he acts to the entire engine leaving the car.  Also a nice little subtle bit the way he gets in the car.  A normal person would simply open the front door and sit in the front seat.  Stan jumps over the back seat door and then over the front seat to get to the front, totally roundabout.

       We also get a nice "mama" doll gag done in a few other comedies we love and a wonderful all around scene of Stan trying to take care of an ailing Ollie with doctor James Finlayson thrown in for good measure.  All good stuff that climaxes with another wonderful Hal Roach kitchen explosion.  Nobody does those explosions better and yes, once again, I laughed hard.  As a bonus, a sneeze causes some destruction to the room as well, a very nice touch.  Ollie's frustration watching his neighbor's radio turn into a fridge and vice versa is another fun bit as is Ollie going downstairs to get a black eye for his trouble and throw a line or two to give us an excuse for some Charlie Hall double takes.

       Really, up until the synthetic food gag, I like SAPS AT SEA.  Richard Craymer does an excellent job as the escaped convict and I do agree with the general praise other reviews have given him.  Still, the synthetic food gag just goes on too long with Craymer getting the boys to eat the food.  It's an uncomfortable one note gag which would have worked with a quick resolution, yet not worth the several minutes it is allotted.

      Ollie beating up Craymer to the sound of the horn is symbolism to me that Stan and Ollie's time as leading comedians may be coming to an end.  Due to entering film at a later date for slapstick comedy, The Three Stooges use gags that have been done by other comedians a lot.  Well here, the tables have turned.  It's 1940, The Three Stooges are in their prime and Ollie beating up the villain due to external stimuli was done before by Curly on multiple occasions, be it "Pop Goes the Weasel," Wild Hyacinth, or tassels.  The external stimuli brings out Curly's unique and manic comic persona.  With Oliver Hardy, he simply beats up the bad guy.  Curly can do things Ollie can't do and vice versa, and in this case, Ollie is in territory better suited for Curly.  Oh, and one of the writers?  Felix Adler.  There's also some other comedy team about to be taking over who we'll be discussing next.

      A nice film overall that would be great with a better ending as well as the swan song of Stan and Ollie's salad days.  Any classic character actor they've worked with we will no longer see going forward, I believe (somebody correct me if I'm wrong), with the sole exception of Edgar Kennedy.   It's been a great ride at Roach and we shall next discuss Fox.  It should be interesting.

   
Insofar as main classic supporting characters, yes. Here are a few minor players that appeared in at least one Roach and Post Roach film in which Laurel and Hardy also appeared:

Bobby Burns - THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE (1930), PARDON US (1931), numerous other L&H Roach era apperances, and AIR RAID WARDENS (1943) MGM.
Edgar Dearing - TWO TARS (1928), THE MIDNIGHT PATROL (1933), plus several other L&H Roach era shorts, and A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO (1942) and THE BIG NOISE (1944) 20th Century Fox.
Jack Norton - PICK A STAR (1937), and THE BIG NOISE (1944).

Chet Brandenburg, Eddie Dunn and Charley Rogers also appear in Laurel and Hardy films from both Roach and Post Roach eras.  Chet Brandenburg appears in the first of the latter in GREAT GUNS (1941), as one of the new recruits in the Mess Hall.

Source: Another Nice Mess (www.lordheath.com).

CHEERS!  [pie]



Offline metaldams

Insofar as main classic supporting characters, yes. Here are a few minor players that appeared in at least one Roach and Post Roach film in which Laurel and Hardy also appeared:

Bobby Burns - THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE (1930), PARDON US (1931), numerous other L&H Roach era apperances, and AIR RAID WARDENS (1943) MGM.
Edgar Dearing - TWO TARS (1928), THE MIDNIGHT PATROL (1933), plus several other L&H Roach era shorts, and A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO (1942) and THE BIG NOISE (1944) 20th Century Fox.
Jack Norton - PICK A STAR (1937), and THE BIG NOISE (1944).

Chet Brandenburg, Eddie Dunn and Charley Rogers also appear in Laurel and Hardy films from both Roach and Post Roach eras.  Chet Brandenburg appears in the first of the latter in GREAT GUNS (1941), as one of the new recruits in the Mess Hall.

Source: Another Nice Mess (www.lordheath.com).

CHEERS!  [pie]

Thanks!  I just watched the audio commentary, if not the actual film of GREAT GUNS today and Chet Brandenburg was pointed out.  So it does seem like a few people, but no Fin, Charlie Hall, Mae Busch, Billy Gilbert type major players, other than Edgar Kennedy.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Umbrella Sam

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Pretty much agreeing with you, metaldams. Up until the last 10 minutes, SAPS AT SEA is a really entertaining film, especially regarding the apartment scenes.

Which isn’t to say that the opening at the horn factory isn’t good. The bit with Stan trying to get the car to work is pretty funny, especially Stan’s tendency to go through the back door (you can tell Ollie doesn’t let Stan drive often). I could have done without the whole audience gathering behind them (feels a bit too much like a laugh track), but otherwise it is a good showcase for Stan’s abilities as a comic actor.

The apartment scenes are the highlights of the film. We get treated to several great supporting players who we won’t see again after this (James Finlayson, Charlie Hall, Ben Turpin in his last film). Finlayson especially gets some great moments to work against Stan who constantly causes him frustration and confusion with every little thing he does (the doll, wrecking his ridiculous balloon invention). Honestly, I’ve got nothing bad at all to say about the apartment scenes. They’ve got pretty much everything that I can ask for in a Laurel and Hardy comedy. Great supporting cast, great physical comedy and, of course, an explosion just for good measure.

Things don’t go downhill right away. There still are a few funny moments when Laurel and Hardy first get on the boat (Laurel trying to read Hardy a story, both failing to understand the concept of milking a goat). But once they get stranded, everything just falls apart. Now, Laurel and Hardy can work fine with limited resources. TOWED IN A HOLE is a great example of this. However, TOWED IN A HOLE also took place on land, so Laurel and Hardy still had some room for good physical comedy. Here, they’re trapped in the middle of the ocean where all they can really do is run around a small boat. While Richard Cramer is a fine choice for this role, this limited space also doesn’t give him a whole lot to work with besides threatening them with “Nick Junior.”

The synthetic food scene is just painful to watch. I can kind of see what they’re going for given Laurel and Hardy’s expressions and this kind of thing did work well with the Three Stooges (anyone remember the “coughing up feathers” gag?). When it came to expressions, though, Hardy was a lot better at expressing frustration and confusion while Stan also excelled in confusion (his crying was funny if it wasn’t used for very long). Here, they’re just miserable...and that’s it. Even if it were just a minute, I probably wouldn’t have found this memorable at all, but at several minutes, it’s just tedious.

The horn finale isn’t terrible, but like metaldams says, it’s one that works a lot better with the Three Stooges. Like I’ve mentioned, the space is incredibly limited and mainly amounts to Hardy running around and a couple shots of Hardy punching Richard Cramer. PUNCH DRUNKS actually had tension in its finale, with Larry having to run through the streets to find a radio playing “Pop Goes The Weasel.” Here, all it amounts to is Stan somehow not being able to put a trombone back together.

Not a bad way to end their run with Hal Roach, I just wish that there was a better actual conclusion to this film. Well, let’s see if the post-Roach stuff is truly as bad as it’s made out to be.

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

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


Offline Tony Bensley

Not really a review, but an interesting tidbit. Apologies in advance for any slight inherent spoilers!

Ollie's last line from Laurel and Hardy's last Hal Roach and 20th Century Fox films; and their final film ATOLL K (1951): "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" (Followed by Stan sobbing, of course!)

Gotta love that element of consistency in the ending of each of Stan and Babe's cinematic eras!

CHEERS!  [pie]


Offline metaldams

Not really a review, but an interesting tidbit. Apologies in advance for any slight inherent spoilers!

Ollie's last line from Laurel and Hardy's last Hal Roach and 20th Century Fox films; and their final film ATOLL K (1951): "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" (Followed by Stan sobbing, of course!)

Gotta love that element of consistency in the ending of each of Stan and Babe's cinematic eras!

CHEERS!  [pie]

That is a good bit of trivia and probably something I'd never notice.

I seem to remember the Fox films getting better as they went on.  We shall see.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Tony Bensley

That is a good bit of trivia and probably something I'd never notice.

I seem to remember the Fox films getting better as they went on.  We shall see.
Bowery Boys aficionados should be on the lookout for William "Whitey" Benedict, who appears in GREAT GUNS (1941) as a Recruit at the corral.

Oh, and of course there's Sheila Ryan, who would later appear in GOLD RAIDERS (1951), which starred The Three Stooges!
 
CHEERS!  [pie]


Offline metaldams

Bowery Boys aficionados should be on the lookout for William "Whitey" Benedict, who appears in GREAT GUNS (1941) as a Recruit at the corral.

Oh, and of course there's Sheila Ryan, who would later appear in GOLD RAIDERS (1951), which starred The Three Stooges!
 
CHEERS!  [pie]

Sheila Ryan I knew about but Whitey I didn’t catch.  Interesting.  There’s someone else in that movie of interest as well, though not from comedy.  I’ll get to it in the review,  I’m going to get to GREAT GUNS either tonight or tomorrow.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Dr. Mabuse

"Saps at Sea" looks like a pair of three-reel comedies stuck together, but the result is undiluted Laurel and Hardy. The Boys make the most out of thin material. Memorable appearances by Jimmy Finlayson, Richard Cramer and Ben Turpin add to the fun. Superior to the team's mostly dispiriting post-Roach efforts. It's interesting to note that both Roach/UA releases do not credit the supporting cast.

8/10


Offline Tony Bensley

"Saps at Sea" looks like a pair of three-reel comedies stuck together, but the result is undiluted Laurel and Hardy. The Boys make the most out of thin material. Memorable appearances by Jimmy Finlayson, Richard Cramer and Ben Turpin add to the fun. Superior to the team's mostly dispiriting post-Roach efforts. It's interesting to note that both Roach/UA releases do not credit the supporting cast.

8/10
That's probably my biggest disappointment associated with Laurel and Hardy's two Hal Roach/UA efforts; plus the appearance of the title cards are a bit too MGM like for my taste.

Overall, I agree with your review. Undiluted Laurel and Hardy is the main ingredient that more than compensates for any shortcomings in this, their Hal Roach Swansong.

CHEERS!  [pie]


Offline HomokHarcos

Ollie acts like Curly here in Punch Drunks. When the horn is blown he gets violent and beats people up. Curly did it much better than Hardy and Shemp. I'm wondering if The Three Stooges actually did inspire that gag. Saps At Sea is a fun movie, with a good cameo from Ben Turpin mixing up the water pipes. The sea part is certainly not as good as the first two reels, but at least it still focuses on Stan and Ollie, something we'd be seeing less when they left Roach.


Offline Steveb

What's strange is that SAPS AT SEA looks like a contractual end-of-contract quickie, but it wasn't supposed to be L&H's last Roach film. They had been contracted for two more, and Roach tried to get them back to make them. UA wanted the additional two L&H films as well. But Laurel apparently never wanted to set foot on the Roach lot again, and stalled until the end-of-contract date passed. The disappointing box-office performances of CHUMP and SAPS may have put Roach off of resigning Stan and Babe as well, and Roach was having serious financial trouble by 1940 and had to temporarily stop production in 1941(then the Army commandeered the studio in 1942). L&H were leaving a sinking ship anyway(or an un-seaworthy  boat!)


Offline Tony Bensley

What's strange is that SAPS AT SEA looks like a contractual end-of-contract quickie, but it wasn't supposed to be L&H's last Roach film. They had been contracted for two more, and Roach tried to get them back to make them. UA wanted the additional two L&H films as well. But Laurel apparently never wanted to set foot on the Roach lot again, and stalled until the end-of-contract date passed. The disappointing box-office performances of CHUMP and SAPS may have put Roach off of resigning Stan and Babe as well, and Roach was having serious financial trouble by 1940 and had to temporarily stop production in 1941(then the Army commandeered the studio in 1942). L&H were leaving a sinking ship anyway(or an un-seaworthy  boat!)
From what I recall reading about the boys' final two Hal Roach Features, they both performed well enough at the box office, but everything else in your post rings true, to me.  Hal Roach simply couldn't afford to pay Laurel & Hardy the salary they commanded at 20th Century Fox, which they needed, as it turned out.

Based on Scott MacGillivray's LAUREL & HARDY: FROM THE FORTIES FORWARD, Laurel & Hardy were supposed to contribute four four-reel streamliners, which ended up being two six-reel features, instead.

CHEERS!  [pie]


Offline Big Chief Apumtagribonitz

I'm of course years late to this party, but I want to say that I think Umbrella Sam nails it when he says that the synthetic food bit fails because there's no real comedy, there's just Stan and Ollie looking miserable.  Exactly.  IMHO, this is also what's wrong with Joe Besser eating cigars in the Stooges' Quiz Whizz.  That bit was apparently a feature of Besser's live act and got big laughs, but it for sure didn't translate to the screen.  He just looks miserable, then turns chalk white and looks even more miserable.  Neither version works.