Their First Mistake

This is a remarkable short, seldom talked about. The boys have been spending too much time having a good time. Ollie's wife, the wonderful though threatening Mae Busch, has had enough. She files for divorce and names Stan for alienation of affections (I wonder if there ever were any affections). She take off, but before this, Stan talks the big guy into adopting a baby, thinking it will soothe things. I guess there was a sale on babies at the local baby market. This is no help because now they have an infant child to take care of. From then on, it's nuttiness because the are so utterly incompetent and yet endearing in their efforts to do right by the child. As is usually the case, they begin to demolish the apartment through their carelessness and stupidity. There is one precious scene when Ollie tries to feed the baby without looking to see where it is. Some have criticized this film because of its open endedness, but with all that goes on, who cares. When one realizes how much these guys could do in fifteen or twenty minutes of screen time, they were even more amazing.

Mr Hardy is married, his wife disapproves of his friendship with Mr Laurel and sees neither of their lives going anywhere. When Hardy tries to sneak out with Laurel without letting her know she snaps and a large fight ensues. Laurel has the idea that a baby in the family will distract and placate Mrs Hardy and the pair go off to adopt. Returning home with the baby, Laurel and Hardy find that Mrs Hardy has left and is filing for divorce, leaving them, quite literally, holding the baby.

I love Laurel and Hardy. I found something wonderful about the fact that their shorts were made before even my parents were born but yet ¾ of a century later I'm still watching (and enjoying) their films. The fact that the humour is so universal is shown in the way they not only travel well but have transcended generations. Laugh for laugh this is not one of their best shorts, the reason being the lack of really strong routines.

The plot only allows for basic knockabout stuff and the final scene is not anywhere near strong enough to finish on. The only really strong bit is the `lights out' sequence but the rest is quite ordinary. Happily we have a talent like Hardy to lift things – for me he made this better than it was. His constant double-takes and looks of amazement to camera are worth the price of this film alone. Even lacking several strong physical scenes, he plays the dialogue for all it's worth and makes Laurel's clowning funnier than it is by complimenting it with double takes etc. That's not to say Laurel is lesser, but here he is much more clearly in a supporting role than in other films.

Overall this has some good moments and is carried through the rest by a well used and on-form Hardy, but it is not one of their better efforts – too much of it is ordinary and lacking their inspired wit.

"Their First Mistake" is restricted to just 3 very simple sets and the comedy does the rest. Released in 1932, Ollie's wife leaves him after she accuses him of deserting her for Stan. An almighty argument occurs at the beginning which leads to the early exit for Mae Busch as the irate wife. Stan convinces Ollie that adapting a baby would solve his marital problems but it is still too late. The boys are left to fend for themselves, baby and all. They truly need to rely upon each other as Ollie is being sued for divorce and thinks all his friends will ostracise him. Moments like this are more like drama and it compliments the comedy perfectly. Stan and Ollie in their efforts to care for the baby are so funny! It is a case of lurching from one disaster to another. The comedy builds very carefully but surely, just like with all Laurel and Hardy talkie films.

Mae Busch, Oliver Hardy's wife, thinks he spends too much time with Stan Laurel. They decide that what she needs is a baby, so they go out and adopt one. When they return to the apartment, they find Mae is suing Ollie for divorce and Stan for alienation of affection. All well and good but what are the Boys going to do with a baby.

This is sometimes cited as the 'gayest' of the Laurel & Hardy shorts, and there;s something in that, but if so, it raises the implication only to make fun of it. Stan and Ollie are almost all the movie; the baby gets one close up to establish it as real, Miss Busch is gone after the first minute, Billy Gilbert plays a process server, and director George Marshall appears briefly as a neighbor.

THe gags are good, but there's no real ending. Apparently Stan and Ollie improvised so many gags, there wasn't time.

I suspect that a few years after its released "Their First Mistake" might've not been allowed to show all the things that it did. Much of it is Stan and Ollie doing their usual stuff - with Ollie constantly irritated at Stan's idiocy - but their is a scene showing them in bed together with the baby. Maybe it was more acceptable since this was a comedy and thus not to meant to get taken seriously, but I can imagine that a number of people would've found it extreme back then.

Aside from that, it's a funny short, with no shortage of the pair's typical mishaps. As always, Hardy suffers the most due to Laurel's incompetence. The best scenes involve the lamp.

Good one.