Smithy

One of the tragedies of the first World War -- the bloodiest war in history, up till that time -- was that thousands of the men who'd survived through the Armistice came home to discover that their civilian jobs were no longer open, and other jobs were not easy to find. 'Smithy' is a comedy -- a fairly lowbrow one, at that -- yet it touches upon that real and tragic situation. There's a dialogue exchange here which was probably meant as comedy, yet which I found genuinely poignant. When former doughboy Smithy (Stan Laurel) applies for work on a construction crew, the foreman asks 'Are you an ex-soldier?' ... to which Laurel replies 'For the rest of my life.'

The film starts with Smithy in the 372nd Infantry of the A.E.F. I'd expected some routine army gags, but I sat up and took notice when I saw that Stan Laurel's sergeant is played by the brilliant James Finlayson. I was all set for some of that legendary interplay between 'Fin' and Stan -- surely worth seeing even without 'Babe' Hardy to complete the formula -- but, alas, it doesn't happen. Finlayson is little more than a straight man here. A few years ago, while attending a performance of Alan Ayckbourn's play 'Comic Potential' in London, I was delightfully surprised by a line of dialogue paying tribute to the great Jimmy Finlayson: too bad that 'Smithy' wastes his talents. Charlie Hall, who also wreaked comedy mayhem in several Laurel & Hardy movies, is here too but likewise wasted.

Cut to a scene in the construction company's office, where the very handsome Glenn Tryon plays an executive named Smith. We know instantly what's going to happen: the workers receive orders that Mr Smith is to take over the construction project, and of course they think this means Smithy: the gormless naff played here by Laurel. Sure enough.

From here it's strictly by-the-numbers house-building slapstick, of the type which was perfected by vaudevillains Willie, West & McGinty. Laurel has one clever bit of physical comedy when he walks along the building site with a long plank of timber balanced on his head, extending fore and aft: when he suddenly does a volte-face and walks back the other way, the plank maintains its orientation instead of turning with him. Doesn't sound funny, but it's hilarious. I also laughed at one amusing gag performed by Laurel astride a ladder while carrying a roll of tar-paper. Amazingly and unexpectedly, the crew under Laurel's supervision actually get the house built. I was expecting it to be a crazy-quilt construction like the house Buster Keaton built in 'One Week' ... but Smithy and his work gang get the job done, to order. When the 'real' Mr Smith shows up, Smithy's loyal workers point out that the 'wrong' Smith still deserves credit for a job well done ... and then comes the final gag. I was expecting something here, but the visual punchline -- a surprisingly elaborate and expensive gag in this low-budget comedy -- was totally unexpected, and therefore hilarious.

I'll rate 'Smithy' 7 out of 10. It feels as if it's meant to be the first instalment in a series of comedies starring Laurel as this character: in the event, it was a one-off. Stan was good here, but he never truly became a first-rate screen comedian until he shared the screen with Oliver Hardy.

Just watched this early Stan Laurel comedy short produced by Hal Roach on the "American Slapstick" DVD collection. In this one, Stan plays the title role as a discharged soldier looking for work. So he gets a job in construction. James Finlayson plays his sergeant who later resurfaces as a co-worker in the building. If you're a Laurel & Hardy fan who's also an admirer of Finlayson's work with them (like me), you should find plenty to like here as Stan botches several attempts at his new job with Fin being hit several times as a result! I especially liked the ladder bit when Laurel keeps losing his hat and heavy roll he's carrying with him. Not to mention a scene involving a wooden board, a saw, and wobbling board between the two frequent co-stars (and another person holding said wobbling board) that I thought was pretty hilarious. I've said enough so I'll just recommend Smithy. P.S. I just watched the short again and the gag of a board staying on Stan's head after he turns around is nowhere to be found in the version I saw. Obviously, I've been watching an edited version.

The film begins at a US Army camp just following WWI. Surprisingly, it is NOT a military comedy, though, as he is given his discharge papers--making you wonder why they bothered having the film begin this way at all. Once out, he finds a job doing construction and mostly he spends his time dropping things and making a mess, though I will admit that his ladder routine was interesting. But apart from that the film just doesn't have that many laughs. Fortunately, it ends with a nice sight gag, but other than that it just didn't seem funny compared to his later "Stan and Ollie" days.

While many reviewers have said that Stan Laurel's films without Oliver Hardy were bad, this isn't quite true. Many, like this one, were not especially good but he also made a few very funny films--so don't give up after watching this listless film. Try DR. PYCKLE AND MR. PRYDE--it's a very good Stan Laurel film and is actually better than most Laurel and Hardy films.