On the Loose

It looks like Hal Roach was attempting to popularise the pairing of the gorgeous Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts here by including cameos by Laurel & Hardy and their occasional nemesis Charlie Hall. This film actually re-works a number of ideas from one of Laurel & Hardy's silent shorts - mostly in the Coney Island funfair locations - even using the same shaky hand-held shots.

The film is quite good of it's kind and Todd and Pitt work well together - especially in the scene in which they reminisce about all the losers who have taken them to Coney Island - their least favourite destination - on dates. Billy Gilbert also stands out as the camp dressmaker who finds it impossible to describe his creations without embarrassing himself and hides his true character behind his effeminate manner. And of course, a film only needs ninety seconds of Laurel & Hardy to be lifted immeasurably.

Zazu and Thelma impart great chemistry as best friends, a precursor of Laverne and Shirley one might say; unfortunately, as in the case of the latter pair, they are dependent on quality material from one script to the next, and this basic story line is pretty mundane: a millionaire playboy splashes mud on the girls and makes good by buying them new ensembles and taking them to Coney Island (to the playboy, slumming is chic, but we've established in an earlier scene that Thelma and Zazu are sick to death of cheapskate boyfriends taking them to Coney). Jokes just don't hit right even when they have potential, like the effeminate coutourier who talks like a cigar-chewing mug whenever the customers aren't around, or the cameo by Laurel and Hardy that drags a bit (in all fairness, these comedies were probably edited to anticipate audience response, with long silent pauses in order to avoid talking over the laughter). What works for a modern audience is the girls' friendship and their ability to laugh at their own dilemma -- a surprisingly believable reaction, although the microphone doesn't consistently pick up the humorous asides they're sharing. Also valuable is the slice-of-life account of a Coney Island visit, circa 1931. Chicagoans will no doubt also shed a nostalgic tear, recalling the now-defunct Riverview amusement park, which offered a lot of the same rides we see here, not to mention authentic sense of carnival atmosphere. Thelma is lovely, and obliges the camera with a little cheesecake as she gets ready for bed; the fact that she would die a few years hence adds a languid touch to the fun she seems to have onscreen. I'd like to research the "mystery" surrounding her alleged suicide, or at least see the 1991 TV movie about it starring Loni Anderson.

The comedy team of of Pitts and Todd find themselves unable to get a date to anywhere but Coney Island but feel they are headed uptown when a Euro bon vivant in his flashy car splashes them with mud. He springs for new duds and asks them out on a date with his pal to where else but.

The girls are their usually entertainingly clumsy clownish selves but this time with a decided advantage over their cad pursuers. The girls and the rubes play well off each other harmlessly and the pair have a fun scene in the dark bonding over past jaunts to Coney but Billy Gilbert's effeminate dress designer is outrageously hilarious especially if you are familiar with his extensive career of playing blustery, frustrated characters. With a surprise ending regarding their last pair of dates suggesting they go to you guessed it makes On the loose a pretty tight short.

On the Loose (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Zasu Pitts and Thelma Todd are tired of all their dates taking them to Coney Island. They finally meet a couple gentlemen who they think highly of but the surprise date turns out to be another trip to Coney Island. Pitts and Todd really don't bring too much to this film but things pick up once they arrive at Coney Island. The biggest laugh comes from the cameo by Laurel and Hardy.

Along Came Auntie (1926)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Screwball comedy has a woman wanting to inherit $100,000 from her aunt so she must pretend to be married to her first husband (Oliver Hardy), which doesn't sit too well with her new husband. There's nothing overly funny or original here but the rather violent fighting gets a few laughs and Hardy is as energetic as ever.

I've long known about this Hal Roach-directed short because of its inclusion in a book about a famous comedy team but the actual stars of this one were Thelma Todd and Zazu Pitts, a female version of that other famous comedy team. In this one, the girls are tired of another date to Coney Island. The next day they get splashed mud by a car that happened to pass them by. A man sees them and offers to buy them new clothes. He then gets a date with one of them and offers his friend for the other. I'll stop there and just say this was quite a treat to watch especially when we see where they end up in and also the reveal of that famous comedy team when it's almost all over... P. S. What a treat to also see such familiar faces like Billy Gilbert and Charlie Hall here!