hausrathman
Ollie hatches a plan to sneak henpecked Stan out for a night on the town with Mrs. Laurel's hidden bottle of liquor. Unfortunately, Mrs. Laurel, played by the always reliable Anita Garvin, overhears the plot and substitutes the liquor for a distasteful combination of her making.Fans and critics tend to be dismissive of film, but I have always found this film to be one of my favorites of their early talkie shorts. There isn't much of a plot, but the sequences are very well-constructed and funny. The interplay between Stan and Anita is very funny. (I like her much better than Linda Loredo, who plays the same role in the Spanish language version.) I also really enjoy Ollie's solo bits on the telephone. Those people who dismiss him as being Stan's straight man should watch that scene. His mannerisms and expressions are priceless.The nightclub sequence is very funny as the boys proceed to get "drunk" on the illicit "alcohol." The best moment is when Stan is reduced to tears by a melancholy song. The boys would go on laughing jags later in the other films, but nowhere is it funnier than in this film, which also ends effectively with a big car gag -- as so many Laurel and Hardy films do!Others may disagree, but I consider this a classic Laurel & Hardy short.
pastry0512
I second an earlier poster who wishes "Blotto" was available here in the U.S. I've been longing to see this movie for years because I understand there's a scene where the boys smash hundreds of pieces of glassware. Oddly enough this type of glass, known as Ruba Rombic and made by the now-defunct Consolidated Glass Co. in Penna., is highly collectible and worth a fortune these days. It was pretty avant garde in its day, borrowing its design from cubism.Anyway, if someone knows where to obtain "Blotto" on VHS, please post. It is a testament to the comic skills of Laurel and Hardy that they can make almost any story or situation, no matter how slight, really funny.
MartinHafer
The basic plot of this Laurel and Hardy short has been seen in movies and especially TV by other comedians. I remember a HONEYMOONERS episode that "liberally borrowed" from this short and I recall a few other shows that also reproduced the main idea. I assume that even before Laurel and Hardy, there probably were other comedy shorts with the same plot as well! Stan is a very henpecked husband. He wants to sneak out to "play", but his wife is keeping a close eye on him. Ollie calls and convinces Stan to lie to his wife so they can both sneak off to a night club. Stan tells Ollie his wife has been hiding a bottle of liquor (since it is Prohibition) and he'll smuggle it out of the house. However, the wife is quite nosy and overhears the plan, so she substitutes cold tea in the bottle.What follows is a not particularly surprising segment where Stan and Ollie think they are getting drunk, so they start to behave very obnoxiously at the night club. In the meantime, the wife arrives with a brand new gun she purchased to shoot her husband for lying to her(that seems awfully extreme and ridiculous, I know). However, despite this being a completely stupid plot element, the final scene where she shoots at the pair is still a great sight gag.A very familiar theme that was executed very, very well with the usual Laurel and Hardy style and grace.
rbverhoef
This is a nice Laurel & Hardy short film, although you can not say there is a story. Laurel is married and wants to go out but his wife forbids him. Hardy calls Laurel a couple of times and after a while he speaks to Laurel's wife. She is nice instead of angry but has a plan of her own. She pretends to be in the kitchen while Laurel is talking but she also grabs a phone and learns about a plan the men have. This is the first part of the short.The second part is the actual plan of Laurel & Hardy. They are on a night out but they have brought their own bottle of liquor. What happens there with the wife who knows where they are and their own bottle of liquor I will not reveal but it is a nice piece of comedy.Maybe the premise doesn't sound very good, but there are a lot of laughs here. Especially Stanley Laurel is great and he manages to get a smile out of the most simple situations. Still, this is definitely not one of their best. Because it has no story it gets a little boring. Fortunately the final moment is hilarious and makes sure you will enjoy this short film from start to finish.
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