Il circo è fallito

The boys find themselves inheriting a chimp named Ethel in this classic comedy short that features a wonderful dance sequence with the chimp Ethel, wearing a tutu.

Sorry to see that Bob The Moo found this to be one of the weaker L&H shorts . By no means a classic compared to something like MURDER CASE it is very amusing . I guess if Bob saw this before watching THEIR FIRST MISTAKE we might have found this the superior short ?

If THE CHIMP has a problem it's down to the internal logic and coincidence involved . For example if a circus went bust wouldn't the owner sell the animals to a zoo rather than give them away free to his now unemployed staff ? it's also strange that a lion can roam around an American city all day without someone calling the police , and what's the chances of a chimp arriving at a hotel where the landlord's wife has the same name as it ?

Maybe you have to suspend disbelief a couple of times too often but I certainly found it very funny and well paced

Only true Laurel and Hardy addicts will appreciate this sub-standard short that has the boys doing their best to demolish a circus tent with explosive gun powder, after which STAN LAUREL is given a flea circus for a parting gift, and OLIVER HARDY, a chimp called Ethyl.

Naturally, when they decide to look for lodgings they get a hard time from landlord BILLY GILBERT who refuses to have them under his roof when he spies the chimp. Gilbert is already in a dither because his wife hasn't come home yet--his dear Ethyl.

The rest of the short has the boys getting into one sticky situation after another, but the laughs are meager and the obvious use of a man inside an ape costume takes a lot away from the gags. Funniest line has Stan sighting a loose lion on the prowl and Oliver asking him what's the matter. "I've seen MGM," is his straight answer.

But the slapstick happenings are not on par with the duo's best comedy shorts. This is strictly an early Laurel and Hardy featurette from Hal Roach that needed a much better script. At least BILLY GILBERT gets to do his customary energetic job as the irate husband who overhears Hardy telling the chimp, "Come to bed, Ethyl."

Good potential material, but it should have been a lot funnier.

It's really difficult to rate this movie. The movie beginning very promising and solid but soon descents to a lower level, due to some improbable moments and dragging humor.

Reason why I still decided to rate this movie a 7 is due to the first halve of the movie which is set in a circus. The humor and slapstick moments in the first halve are extremely well placed and executed by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Also the presence of James Finlayson as the ringmaster is a reason to consider this movie an above average Laurel & Hardy picture. Finlayson delivers some fine comical lines in this movie and adds to the amusement level of the movie.

The second part of the movie in which the boys have a some mishaps with their chimp (a guy in a monkey-suit) too often gets too ridicules and simple to consider it funny all of the time. The humor is for most part dragging, also because of this very reason. Definitely not Laurel & Hardy finest moment.

The first halve and some other minor things still however make sure that this movie is an above, although slightly, average movie from Laurel & Hardy by director James Parrott, who in the same year also directed the far more classic Laurel & Hardy short movie; "The Music Box".

Entertaining enough but could had been far more classic, if the rest of the movie was just as good and solid as the first halve.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

This is my all-time favorite L&H episode! Ollie and James Finlayson are my favorites. But what I don't like about this is Stan Laurel. He acts too whiny and emotional and for a comic genius he takes his role as a childishly innocent man way too far!

A brief synopsis: Stan and Ollie get laid off from the circus in which they were working, Stan gets a flea circus and Ollie gets a chimp named Ethyl. Along the way they encounter a frustrated landlord whose wife shares the same name as the chimp, and a lion on the loose.

The funniest part was when Ollie asked why Stan was so scared and Stan screamed, "I saw MGM"! When I heard that I laughed myself sick and almost fell off my chair! James Finlayson's role as the ringmaster in this was exceptionally awesome as was his other roles in L&H movies and episodes.

So, if any of you are L&H fans, please check this one out!