The Tree in a Test Tube

It's surprising how old Laurel and Hardy look in this wartime propaganda short. They were only a few years past the prime of their career, but they looked like that period was about twenty years behind them.

Made in their lunch hour according to IMDb's trivia section, you can't help thinking they could have probably found more interesting ways of filling their time. The film consists of Pete Smith's voice telling them all about the different things wood is used for. There must have been a reason the US government felt it was important that the country should know about this, but you have to wonder why. Was it so people would be kinder to wood? Or perhaps they wanted people to stop hoarding it. Whatever the reason, the boredom quotient of the subject matter is counter-balanced by Stan and Ollie's presence - they're definitely the best thing about this short.

This brief wartime educational short is remembered today for one reason only: it offers the rare sight of Laurel & Hardy in color. (They also appear briefly in a surviving color trailer for the lost feature The Rogue Song, and in some 8mm home movie footage from the 1950s.) The Tree in a Test Tube was produced to promote wood conservation on the home front, and for some reason Stan and Ollie were recruited to appear in one sequence. If you're a die-hard fan it's worth a look, but be forewarned, it's a pretty depressing experience. The guys were past their prime, they didn't age well, and they seem quite out of place in the world of the 1940s.

The Laurel & Hardy sequence opens this film and was shot silent, with music and overbearing narration added later by Pete Smith of the "Pete Smith Specialties." Smith's films are generally amusing on their own terms, but the wise guy delivery he employs here is at odds with Laurel & Hardy's childlike style of humor. While the guys dutifully display various items in their wallets made from wood and wood by-products, narrator Smith yammers instructions at them like a drill sergeant; worse still, Stan and Ollie are the butt of his sarcastic quips. The closest we get to a gag comes when Stan finds a pair of nylons -- presumably Mrs. Laurel's property -- in his wallet, and feigns embarrassment while Smith chides him. The nagging narration evokes the spirit of the times, while the aging comedians seem like throwbacks to another era.

For what it's worth, the redness of Stan's hair and the blueness of his eyes are quite apparent here, even in the somewhat washed-out 16mm print I saw, while Babe Hardy's face appears far more tan than he ever looked in any of their black & white films. This short possesses historic value for its offbeat subject matter and the color cinematography, but for entertainment I'd much rather watch in the guys in their youthful prime in something like You're Darn Tootin' or Busy Bodies, great comedies that don't require any narration from Pete Smith or anyone else.

This bland historical curio is, as others have also pointed out, really only of any interest at all because it is the only color movie made by the great comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The movie itself, though, is hardly worthy of their talents. Even though it only runs for about five minutes, it quickly becomes boring, and it could have made all its points in a fraction of the time.

Most of the movie consists of Stan and Ollie being prompted by a narrator as he points out the many familiar articles that include wood or other tree products, beyond the ones that are obvious. The script gives the two comedians almost no opportunities to do anything. Aside from a couple of relatively amusing gestures and expressions, there's only dead time.

The subject surely has some interesting points somewhere, and it's hard to believe that they couldn't have written a much better script if they had tried harder. Laurel and Hardy could make almost anything entertaining, given the chance. But unfortunately they really don't get a chance here, and as a result this movie really has no strengths.

This was part of a 3-DVD box-set, and this disc came with the Laurel and Hardy shorts Mud & Sand, Just Rambling Along, Oranges and Lemons and the Three Stooges ones Brideless Groom and Sing a Song of Six Pants; it also came with Malice in the Palace, and the features Atoll K(or Utopia) and Flying Deuces. It is the only L&H piece in color, and that makes it interesting for collectors. All they do is show what products they have on them for the jackass of a narrator to claim are made from trees, and it was reportedly shot on their lunch-break. For being propaganda, it could be far worse(no one is hugging the ground in an effort to protect themselves from a nuclear blast, for one thing). This was made during WWII, and during war-time, certain governments decide that lying to their people is fine. With five and a half minutes just barely edited at all, this probably won't inspire any laughter; it's silly and at times suggestive, but never funny. It does bear the distinction of, for what it is, not being terribly offensive or embarrassing today. The title is awkwardly fit in so that they could call this something catchy. This is a great cure for insomnia, as it is astonishingly dull. I recommend this solely for those curious of it. 5/10

Regard Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy with great affection. They were very funny, often hilarious, and likeable with interesting distinct personalities that really shone when the material in their work played to their strengths (which it mostly did). They had a distinctive comedic style and their partnership was deservedly iconic. Much of their films, short and feature, were decent to wonderful, and most of their lesser efforts were still watchable to some degree. Misfires were in comparison to the rest of their filmography were not many.

'The Tree in a Test Tube' is one of their misfires. It is not only very bad Laurel and Hardy that in no way does them justice, it is also far from good on its own. As others have noted, the one notable thing about 'The Tree in a Test Tube' is the historical curiosity value. Aside from being a wartime educational short, it is most notable for being Laurel and Hardy's first and only short film in colour. Another reason to see it perhaps is if you are trying to see every Laurel and Hardy film for completest sake, being very fond of them that was my reason. That it was made very quickly and with not much care is obvious.

Will say that there is the odd very mildly amusing moment, though really just in the gesturing, and a couple of facts do educate.

Laurel and Hardy do try their best with severely wanting material and the music rouses.

However, both Laurel and Hardy are poorly served both individually and as a duo. None of what they are given plays to their strengths, like it was forgotten what made them so great, and they both look tired and bored and like they did it for a favour and money. They look very out of place in the war setting and even their chemistry is tired. One can tell visually that 'The Tree in a Test Tube' was made in a rush, with the garish colour not being kind to the duo and the photography indicating that those involved didn't have the proper time and resources to do it.

Next to nothing is funny here in a short where attempts at humour are far too few, apart from the odd gesturing, as said what made Laurel and Hardy so great seems to have been forgotten about and it is every bit as tired as the duo themselves. Not much is interesting, with things getting dull too early, and very little is educational, was only illuminated a few times while everything left me unsurprised and not very interested. It is also very heavy-handed, a common trap for war-time shorts, and the narration is both unnecessary and patronising.

Concluding, lacklustre at best and a deeply disappointing misfire. 4/10 Bethany Cox