Double Whoopee

"Must" viewing for all Stan and Ollie fans, as they make short shrift of an upscale hotel. It's also worth viewing for what is surely the only erotic moment in a Laurel & Hardy fan, as Stan causes Jean Harlow to inadvertently lose her dress. In R-rated terms it's nothing, but for 1929, it's pretty darn

DOUBLE WHOOPEE is one of the last silent Laurel & Hardy shorts made before the advent of the talkie era. This one sees the pair taking up employment as doormen at a swanky hotel, where they fall foul of European royalty as well as glamorous actresses, policemen and irate staff members.

This short is effectively a tribute to the silent film era and there's much to recommend it, from the Eric Von Stroheim impersonator to the early appearance of Jean Harlow who's accidentally stripped by a clumsy Laurel. The focus of the short is inevitably on the slapstick, with characters blundering into accidents and a descent into farce as the duo's antics lead to widespread brawling.

As ever with these silent efforts, I miss hearing the sound of the famous pair, but DOUBLE WHOOPEE is good enough to make you forget the shortcomings of the era. It's also distinctive enough to be a worthwhile watch, even if it isn't one of their best works.

Nothing too remarkable just some good old fashioned entertainment.

The story of this movie is definitely not the strongest and is quite simple as well as formulaic, especially in the beginning. Luckily the movie later turns into a more slapstick like filled silent comedy shorts, with as a result some memorable funny sequences.

There are certainly some good comical sequences in this movie, which help to distinct this movie from other early Laurel & Hardy silent comedy shorts. Also the characters are fun and deliciously over-the-top. I especially liked the prince and his prime minister, for who at first our two boys were mistaken. The moments with them were the one's that made me laugh the most, despite the fact that it mostly was just nothing more than a constantly returning continuity joke.

The famous Jean Harlow also plays a part in this movie. Her presence works uplifting for the movie and also probably help to make this movie more of a memorable one than it in fact truly is on its own.

Not the best or most interesting Laurel & Hardy silent comedy shorts but enough things present to make this movie a better than average one.

7/10

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The Sound Era was fast, crashing down on the movie industry in when DOUBLE WHOOPEE (Hal Roach/MGM, 1929) was released on May 18th of that year. The Laurel & Hardy show had just about hit its pinnacle; following years of trial and error after their accidental pairing in 1926. The two distinguished members of the Hal Roach All-Stars, Stan & "Babe", had truly found their destinies for immortality together.

Stan's penchant for slowly and meticulously working out gags, slowing down the pacing in order to milk all of the situations of their maximum laugh potential. Working closely with the Boss Man, Hal Roach and Writer/Director and later Supervising Director, Leo McCarey and his principle of "Reciprocal Destruction", the Laurel & Hardy style was established and known. Now, polished both on the surface and on the inside, the Team was ready to conquer other worlds. But first, they had to complete the last of their Silent Shorts.

OUR STORY………..DOUBLE WHOOPEE begins with a double case of mistaken identity. With the Hotel's receiving word of the anticipated arrival of the 'Prince' and his Prime Minister, Stan & Ollie are falsely believed to be them. Every courtesy is extended to them; up to the point of being overly obsequious.

The Hotel Manager (William Gillespie) was right on hand to supervise the Front Desk Clerk (Rolf Sedan) in his registering the visiting "Royalty." The first extended gag of the picture occurs here as Ollie insists on the proper etiquette of having his hat removed while signing the register. The team s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s out the whole bit with Hardy's unsuccessful attempts to get Laurel to do the same.

Eventually the Royal Party does arrive, with the Prince (Hans Joby), an Eric Von Stroheim look-alike and Prime Minister (Charley Rogers). At that time the boys present a letter from their employment agency concerning the pair's limited abilities and competence as the Hotel's new Doorman (Babe) and Coachman (Stan).

The bulk of the film was occupied with the boys having troubles with the Prince and the Elevator, their interplay with a couple of Cabbies (Charlie Hall, Ham Kinsey) and their confrontation with the Cop pounding' the Beat (Stanley J. 'Tiny' Sandford). As Doorman, Ollie has a brief encounter with a lovely Blonde Bombshell (Jean Harlowe). Arriving by way of another Taxicab, the lovely Miss Harlowe (Woo, woo, woo, woo!) is greeted by 'Babe'with the line: "Might I presume that you would condescend to accept my escortage?" Then, offering his arm to her, he walks her to the revolving door, while catching the train of her dress in the Cab's door! DOUBLE WHOOPEE was one film that was even a little slower than most other L&H's, but by the same token, it was an excellent example of the Roach/McCarey/Laurel brand of slow moving, carefully designed and meticulously fashioned laugh schtick! And it appears to have been filmed at nighttime, after dark in and about areal, fancy old Hotel.

Along with BIG BUSINESS (Hal Roach/MGM, also 1929) gave the Laurel & Hardy silents a great send-off, with top notch, out door and beautiful looking shorts. They had successfully developed their style, routines and could practically "hear" the characters. Now that sound had arrived and other actors struggled with their real vocal gyrations; the danger being that the voice wasn't fit for the sound screen. Of course that was no problem for "the Boys" as their voices fit their screen persona perfectly.

After a few slow starts in sound, Stanley & Oliver regained their stride and never looked back. They would shortly conquer the new medium. They were then and now tops in the field! POODLE SCHNITZ!!

I just rewatched two versions of this Laurel & Hardy comedy short: the original silent one on YouTube with an organ score and the sound-dubbed one on VHS with Chuck McCann providing the voices from a script (of which one of the lines is perhaps one of the earliest instances of Ollie saying "Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into") by Al Kilgore mostly matching the lip movements of the players and music provided by Miles Kreuger (with of course Marvin Hatley's L & H theme of "The Cuckoo Song" mixed in). Both are pretty hilarious whichever version you watch especially when the tit-for-tat shenanigans come in. And what a great scene when the about-to-become-legendary star Jean Harlow makes her appearance and then has her dignity almost shattered! Actually, her first take was supposedly even more revealing but I've yet to see any evidence of that. Oh well! Unlike later entries when Stan usually accepts some of Ollie's abuse, he gives it as well here which is often refreshing to see. Also providing a good turn is usual L & H nemesis Charlie Hall as a taxi driver who gets more than enough of Ollie's whistle. I also liked Tiny Sandford as a policeman and especially Captain John Peters as the von Stroheim-like Prince who was actually his double in his movies. About the voices: Chuck got Mr. Laurel's right but is a bit off concerning both Mr. Hall's and Mr. Hardy's, especially concerning the latter's laugh. Still, like I said, both versions of Double Whoopee is highly recommended.