Zenobia

Oliver Hardy shines as a small town doctor in this amusing comedy set in the Old South. After tending to an ailing elephant Hardy can't get rid of the beast since she is so appreciative and an elephant never forgets. It's a fun path as Zenobia follows the portly doctor just about everywhere he goes. This is one of the few times that Hardy appeared in a film without his partner Stan Laurel however he handles it quite well. Co-starring are Jean Parker, James Ellison, Alice Brady, Billie Burke as the doctors befuddled wife and the ever dependable Hattie McDaniel. It's available on VSH folks.

Since this is Black History Month and I'm reviewing African-Americans on film in mostly chronological order, let's start my review of Zenobia by mentioning three of the players: Stepin Fetchit, Hattie McDaniel, and Philip Hurlic. Stepin (spelled Step'n in the credits) is Zero-the butler. He's quite funny with his talking under his breath about his thoughts every time he gets ordered. Having seen quite a few of his performances now, I have tolerated his presence a bit more because of some of the subtle brightness he brings to his parts. Hattie (whose last name has an 's' added in the credits) brings the same commanding presence that I last saw in Show Boat, which I just watched this morning. And Philip, the kid here that I just saw in The Green Pastures, as Zeke proves to be the most intelligent one in the movie when he recites The Declaration of Independence with the reward being a quarter from Oliver Hardy's character of Dr. Tibbett. They all were fine performances here despite some of the stereotypes they're forced to play. Now, with Hardy briefly split from Stan Laurel (because of the latter's dispute with Hal Roach), he's the carrier of this movie and he does just fine especially in his scenes with Harry Langdon and an elephant, Zenobia, that Langdon-as Professor McCrackle-owns. Those scenes are the most "Laurel and Hardy"-like in the film. Also in fine form were Billie Burke as Hardy's wife, Bessie Tibbett, Olin Howard as Attorney Culpepper, and J. Farrell McDonald, another supporting player from my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life (he played the old man whose tree was hit by George Bailey's car), as the Judge. One other note: Jean Parker who plays Hardy's daughter Mary Tibbett here, would later in the year play his potential fiancée in The Flying Deuces which marked Laurel and Hardy's re-teaming. So on that note, I highly recommend Zenobia. Oh, and having just seen the Hall Johnson Choir in The Green Pastures, it's nice hearing them here too.

Zenobia (1939)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Oliver Hardy plays a country doctor's whose life gets turned upside down when his daughter is about to marry into a rich family that doesn't want her. To make matters worse, the doctor is asked by a circus man (Harry Langdon) to look at his sick elephant. The doctor cures the creature but then the elephant refuses to leave his side. This was Hardy's first and only starring role without Stan Laurel but the screenplay really seems like it was originally meant for the two. Langdon, a silent screen star, fills in for Laurel and one can't help but think the duo could have made this film together but didn't for whatever reasons. The film takes place during the Old South and features a lot more than just laughs as the doctor always talks about he Declaration of Independence and how important that is to him. The battles between rich and poor as well as black and white are dealt with in a pretty honest manor considering the type of film this is. There's one sequence where a black boy asks Hardy if he'll ever be white so that he will be able to do more things. The response Hardy gives him makes for some good drama but it's also interesting in what's said. I was surprised at how honest they looked at the racial tensions but some of them are nearly thrown to the side with Step'n Fetchit playing his normal slow slave character. He's certainly very good at what he does but the performance does go against some of the speeches in the film. Hardy proves that he could carry a movie on his own and delivers many laughs including a very funny sequence where he tells Langdon that he isn't an elephant. Langdon's comeback is great and he also manages to do his part quite well and add plenty of laughs. I didn't care too much for any of the other supporting performances as I found them very annoying due to how they were written in the screenplay. This film certainly isn't a masterpiece or even a classic but it makes for a mildly entertaining 70-minutes.

While this certainly isn't a great movie and is in many ways pretty forgettable, it is a decent time-passer and worth seeing from a historic sense. This is the only film that Oliver Hardy starred in for Hal Roach Studios without Stan Laurel since they became a team in the late 1920s. However, when Laurel's contract expired he refuses to re-sign as he and Hardy (who was still under contract) wanted to explore other career options other than to continue with Hal Roach Studios. So, Roach decided to try pairing Hardy with a new partner--hoping he and Hardy would catch on and Hardy would soon re-sign with the studio.

Unfortunately, the film lacks the balance of a true Laurel and Hardy film, as Hardy is definitely in the leading role. And, fortunately, Hardy does a pretty good job as the kindly doctor who is befriended by an elephant and he's able to carry this amiable film. Additionally, the movie is very interesting because in a supporting role (one that could have been played by Stan Laurel) was the silent film comedian, Harry Langdon. As there are few of his films still in existence, this is one of the rare chances you'll get to see,...as well as hear him. The story itself is pretty silly but handled so well, you probably will forgive this.

Despite being a story about an Elephant that falls in love with Hardy, you may not like about the film is Stepin Fetchit--the horribly stereotyped Black actor who made a career out of playing some who is dumb and lazy. It's quite a contrast to the role played by Philip Hurlic as 'Zeke'--a smart, precocious and cute Black child. At least there were contrasts, as most of Fetchit's earlier roles provided nothing to balance the negative image.

I had always been interested in watching this curiosity (Oliver Hardy without Stan Laurel!) - however, it finally came about by way of a colorized and atrociously-dubbed version on Italian TV! I don't know if it was intended as such but, rather than Harry Langdon, the character that was made to fill Stan's shoes, as it were (complete with the Italian voice typically associated with him), was Billie Burke - playing Hardy's wife - but she came off as such an irritating dim-wit that I wanted to strangle her!! To make matters worse, with the story taking place in the Old South, we're treated to the unenviable comic relief of Stepin Fetchit (though his antics proved reasonably tolerable, under the circumstances).

Hardy's character, then, isn't the pompous, bumbling and flustered one we'd come to love! Langdon, as the owner of a traveling medicine-show and a pachyderm, is okay (especially during his scenes in court - having learned his deposition by heart, every time he's asked to speak he starts from the very top!); this was only his second Talkie that I've watched - the first occurred only recently with HALLELUJAH, I'M A BUM (1933). Jean Parker and James Ellison provide bland romantic interest and the supporting cast also features Oscar winners Alice Brady and Hattie MacDaniel, but their stereotypical characters - snooty matriarch and black cook, respectively - add very little of substance to the proceedings!

In the end, while the elephant's persistent and awkward devotion to doctor Hardy for having cured her (even disrupting a society party and following him into the court-room!) provides some undeniably charming moments, I think I'd still prefer Laurel & Hardy's maligned vehicles of the 1940s over it...