Tiembla y Titubea

The euphoniously titled Tiembla y Titubea (which roughly translates as "Shivering and Shaking" in Spanish) is an alternate version of the Laurel & Hardy short Below Zero, an early talkie which was made at a time when neither dubbing nor subtitling had been perfected. Producer Hal Roach chose to have his stars remake their films in various European languages for the foreign markets, a smart business move at a time when Hollywood dominance was threatened in the non-English speaking world. Roach's comedians memorized their Spanish, French, and/or German dialog phonetically, and also relied on what might be called a rudimentary teleprompter system, i.e. chalkboards just outside of camera range. But although this particular film is the Spanish edition of Below Zero, that doesn't mean the two are identical in content. Tiembla y Titubea is longer by about eight minutes, and features sequences not found in the English language version. I've always liked Below Zero, which may be L&H's bleakest and most fatalistic comedy, but in a number of respects I feel this adaptation is an improvement. It's plotted more intricately, and its tone, which is even darker than the more familiar version, enhances the impact.

Our story unfolds during the freezing winter of 1929, as the boys struggle to earn a living as street musicians: Stan plays a portable keyboard, backed by Ollie on stand-up bass. (And although it's never mentioned, the recent Wall Street Crash is an undercurrent; in a way, the mood of desperation which pervades this short dramatizes the early days of the Great Depression.) Despite the snow and bitter cold, the boys doggedly perform "In the Good Old Summertime" to passersby whose reactions range from indifference to open hostility. The team's musical career is brought to an abrupt halt when a large woman smashes their instruments, but their luck suddenly changes for the better -- or so they think -- when they find a wallet in the snow. Almost immediately they are menaced by a thug, and their good fortune is threatened, but a policeman rescues them. Generously they offer to treat him to a meal, and escort him to a nearby restaurant, only to discover post-meal that the wallet belongs to him. And the consequences, to put it mildly, are dire.

A friend of mine who generally likes Laurel & Hardy finds Below Zero "just too sad" to enjoy. While that response is understandable, personally I rank it with their most representative shorts, because I feel it perfectly demonstrates the boys' relationship with the cold, cruel world they inhabit. They try their best, and we want to see them succeed, or at least survive, but they're surrounded by bullies, crooks, and sour-pusses. And, it must be added, they tend to make fatally bad decisions. When they DO meet a decent guy, like the police officer, they make an enemy of him. If they'd simply handed over that wallet in the first place he'd have appreciated their honesty, and when he realized it was his own he'd have been surprised and delighted, and probably given them some cash as a reward. Instead the boys make the wrong choice, a VERY wrong one, and they pay dearly for it.

The additional scenes in Tiembla y Titubea (which were also filmed for the English language version, but ultimately deleted) really twist the knife, dramatically speaking, for the policeman's character is built up and his wallet is given greater significance. The Spanish version begins with a scene explaining that the cop is a hero who has captured a dangerous bandit, and is therefore given a $500 reward. That, of course, is the money Stan and Ollie will later choose to appropriate. When the boys are rescued from the thug, the cop pulls his gun and, in an act not found in Below Zero, calmly fires three shots at the menacing figure, off-camera. He remarks "This one here won't bother you again," but the punch-line comes when the thug (still off-camera) fires back! The heroic policeman in Tiembla y Titubea is friendlier than his English-speaking counterpart, so when he sees his wallet in Ollie's possession and jumps to the obvious conclusion, it's almost painful. Another difference: in the Spanish version, when the boys are about to get clobbered at the finale of the restaurant sequence, the suspense is heightened with several additional shots of sinister bouncers coming at them, rolling up their sleeves and grabbing weapons. It's scary, yet so over-the-top in its awfulness, we can only laugh.

There are other variations between the two films, most noticeably concerning the expanded role of the bogus "blind man" the boys confront. In the Spanish version, Ollie comes off as petty in dealing with a person he believes (erroneously) to be blind, and he is soundly punished for his behavior; but the encounter in the English language version is reduced to a mere throwaway gag. Both films conclude with the same, unforgettable freak ending, the sort of finale Stan Laurel particularly relished. But whatever the similarities, Tiembla y Titubea is, over all, the stronger and more atmospheric short. It may be "just too sad" for some viewers, but it's an absolute must for Laurel & Hardy buffs.

In the early days of the talkies, Laurel and Hardy were extremely popular around the world due to the universality of their silents. However, Hal Roach Studios wanted to continue marketing the team abroad and hit upon the idea of making versions in other languages. The problem was that dubbing wasn't yet perfected and so the team had to recreate their films--saying the dialog phonetically. Versions were made in German, Italian, French and Spanish (like this one). Oddly, these international versions often were longer and had significant padding--sometimes for the worse and sometimes for the better.

Here we have the duo recreating BELOW ZERO with, again, an extra reel of film compared to the original. Interestingly, the song "In the Good Old Summertime" is translated to "In the Beautiful Springtime"--though the sentiment is much the same as is much of the film. There are, due to some padding, a few differences. I don't remember the blind man from BELOW ZERO or the snowball fight, but my memory could just be a bit hazy. But what was obvious is that this is still a terrific short--perhaps a touch less so than the original--but not much.

FYI--If you watch, often the bass is playing and Ollie isn't plucking! Also, the snow that the lady smears in their faces looks like ice cream, not snow.

Tiembla Y Titubea (1930)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Spanish version of Below Zero has the same storyline of the American version but this one here features a few additional scenes as well as an extended ending, which was cut from the American version. Like other Spanish L&H films, this here doesn't quite work because you can tell the two aren't really comfortable speaking Spanish. The added joke at the end however is the best gag and it's a shame it was cut from the American version.

Below Zero (1930)

*** (out of 4)

Street musicians Laurel and Hardy find a wallet full of money in the street so they offer to take a policeman to dinner. After eating they discover that the wallet belongs to the cop. Here's an entertaining short, which doesn't rank as one of the duos best or funniest but it remains fun throughout.