My least favorite Stooge film, HORSING AROUND, involves sentimentality with a horse. My least favorite Laurel and Hardy film, NOTHING BUT TROUBLE, involves sentimentality with a child (though so does one of my favorite Chaplin films, it must be said). Well, guess what? IT AIN’T HAY has both horse and child sentimentality all rolled into one. So yeah, of the films we’ve discussed to date, this would be my least favorite one so far and possibly my least favorite overall. I say possibly because so many of these films I’ve only seen once or twice and it’s been so many years. If IT AIN’T HAY is my least favorite, it’s not a bad film to be the worst, as it does have its moments.
Still, there’s a lot you have to get through to get to those moments. The film opens with our leading lady and leading man as passengers on a horse carriage by our singing leading child star, played by the 12 year old Patsy O’ Connor. She’s not Boy King level bad like in NOTHING BUT TROUBLE and I suppose carries herself well for what the role is - it’s just that I feel the role doesn’t belong in an Abbott and Costello film. The main problem is when Lou interacts with her, they’re on the same intellectual and emotional level, and it’s just bizarre seeing a physically grown man act like that. Lou has always had a child like quality, but in other films he’s attracted to a grown woman or showing some hidden street smart (think “boxcars.”). There’s a balance between child and adult. Here, the childlike quality goes too far. As far as the couple, not much of a role. A brief story how he has to raise money for a variety show. He’s military and no doubt was used to stir up patriotism during the war. The leading lady role is just pretty girl decoration. No knock on Grace McDonald, it’s just that she didn’t dramatically have an interesting role.
We do get a dying horse, a Lou sympathy scene where everyone blames him for it and a very uncomfortable slap. In a fairly dramatic bit, Bud slaps Lou after calling him a horse thief. After that, the film goes directly into a dramatic scene with the couple, complete with sentimental music. A slap like that needs to feel comic and the fact that Lou is more child like than usual here makes the slap feel that much more uncomfortable. I can’t find one Moe Howard slap in the entire Stooge canon I feel that way about. Oh yeah, Shemp is in this one too, playing the role of (coughs, clears throat) Umbrella Sam. Again, wasted just like he is in any role I’ve seen him in at Universal. He’s one of three comic quasi gangsters who gets overshadowed by one of his partners, played by Eddie Quillan. Seriously, check out the faces the guy makes. It’s closed captioning for, “I’d like a slice of ham.” Quite fascinating.
There are some good things. Bud and Lou, in spite of the child like Lou bits, are in high energy form here. No scenes that are all time classics, but I do enjoy greatly the scene in the cafeteria where Lou can’t pay and also the scene where Bud and Lou are trying to get the horse in the stable. Not bad for a team to have what I perceive to be one of their worst films with scenes of this quality. Also, I love Eugene Pallette in just about anything he’s in and IT AIN’T HAY is no exception.
So my least favorite film so far and to be honest, with the films going up to the mid 40’s (pre quasi-split and Lou wanting to be experimental), I really don’t know what to expect as it’s been so long since I’ve seen them. It should be interesting, I’m curious if any of these films will stand out. Next week is the final Laurel and Hardy film and from there we’ll pick up the pace with Bud and Lou and start discussing their films weekly. Looking forward to it,
