Zenóbia

For those looking for the magic of Laurel and Hardy, "Zenobia" offers an alternative that occurred because of Laurel's contract negotiations. Made the same year as "Gone With The Wind", Zenobia takes place in a time before the Civil War, where a small Southern plantation town at peace, is disrupted when the excitable traveling promoter (Harry Langdon), seeks aid for his ailing partner. A beloved country doctor (Oliver Hardy) is surprised and resists, but is coerced into treating a fully grown elephant for a terrible condition. Proving that a good deed never goes unpunished for Hardy, the patient, attempting to say 'thanks', relentlessly follows the good doctor and there is no place to hide, not even a formal social gathering. With the town in an uproar and his wife (Billie Burke) embarrassed at the spectacle, Dr Tibbetts is the focus of laughter, ridicule and a lawsuit. Twelve year old Philip Hurlic turns in a memorable performance that needs to be seen in the context of today.

Langdon is little known by most and seems very much like Buster Keaton, but just a bit more shy. Although, Langdon is not as appreciated for his works as Stan and Ollie, his touching performance in "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!" when he meets Joan Crawford, the girl of his dreams, face to face for the first time is something to behold. If you can look past Laurel's absence in this rare partnership, Zenobia will have you laughing at a moment in time when fate put two funny men and an elephant on a collision course. On such paths they prove there is just no dignified way to get around a loving elephant.

Since this is Black History Month and I'm reviewing African-Americans on film in mostly chronological order, let's start my review of Zenobia by mentioning three of the players: Stepin Fetchit, Hattie McDaniel, and Philip Hurlic. Stepin (spelled Step'n in the credits) is Zero-the butler. He's quite funny with his talking under his breath about his thoughts every time he gets ordered. Having seen quite a few of his performances now, I have tolerated his presence a bit more because of some of the subtle brightness he brings to his parts. Hattie (whose last name has an 's' added in the credits) brings the same commanding presence that I last saw in Show Boat, which I just watched this morning. And Philip, the kid here that I just saw in The Green Pastures, as Zeke proves to be the most intelligent one in the movie when he recites The Declaration of Independence with the reward being a quarter from Oliver Hardy's character of Dr. Tibbett. They all were fine performances here despite some of the stereotypes they're forced to play. Now, with Hardy briefly split from Stan Laurel (because of the latter's dispute with Hal Roach), he's the carrier of this movie and he does just fine especially in his scenes with Harry Langdon and an elephant, Zenobia, that Langdon-as Professor McCrackle-owns. Those scenes are the most "Laurel and Hardy"-like in the film. Also in fine form were Billie Burke as Hardy's wife, Bessie Tibbett, Olin Howard as Attorney Culpepper, and J. Farrell McDonald, another supporting player from my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life (he played the old man whose tree was hit by George Bailey's car), as the Judge. One other note: Jean Parker who plays Hardy's daughter Mary Tibbett here, would later in the year play his potential fiancée in The Flying Deuces which marked Laurel and Hardy's re-teaming. So on that note, I highly recommend Zenobia. Oh, and having just seen the Hall Johnson Choir in The Green Pastures, it's nice hearing them here too.

Oliver Hardy stars as a small-town doctor in Mississippi who hits on hard times when he insults the local rich woman (Alice Brady). Meanwhile his daughter (Jean Parker) is engaged to the rich woman's son (James Ellison). Brady will not have Parker as a daughter-in-law because the the family's low social standing. Hardy's wife (Billie Burke)invites everyone to dinner to try to smooth thing over. Disaster.

When Hardy is summoned to come help someone who is sick, he races across town only to find that the patient is an elephant (Zenobia) in a traveling carnival. Zenobia's owner (silent comic great, Harry Langdon) helps Hardy figure out how to treat an elephant. Zenobia is so grateful, she falls in love with Hardy and refuses to leave his side. Langdon gets mad and sues Hardy (with the help of mean-spirited Brady). There is a good court room scene and the usual ending.

The cast works well in this mild but pleasant comedy. Many will be disappointed by Langdon's standing in for Stan Laurel, but it's interesting to see Langdon in a talkie. Definitely a B film, but not without its good points.

Hardy is very good in a comic role that allows him a little room to act. Burke and Brady are total pros, and Jean Parker is pretty and pleasing. Ellison is a blank.

Hattie McDaniel plays the cook, J. Farrell McDonald is the judge, Olin Howland is the lawyer, Hobart Cavanaugh plays a patient, Philip Hurlic (as the kid) has a great scene, June Lang plays a rival, and Stepin Fetchit plays himself. William Bakewell can be spotted in a bit part.

Zenobia (1939)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Oliver Hardy plays a country doctor's whose life gets turned upside down when his daughter is about to marry into a rich family that doesn't want her. To make matters worse, the doctor is asked by a circus man (Harry Langdon) to look at his sick elephant. The doctor cures the creature but then the elephant refuses to leave his side. This was Hardy's first and only starring role without Stan Laurel but the screenplay really seems like it was originally meant for the two. Langdon, a silent screen star, fills in for Laurel and one can't help but think the duo could have made this film together but didn't for whatever reasons. The film takes place during the Old South and features a lot more than just laughs as the doctor always talks about he Declaration of Independence and how important that is to him. The battles between rich and poor as well as black and white are dealt with in a pretty honest manor considering the type of film this is. There's one sequence where a black boy asks Hardy if he'll ever be white so that he will be able to do more things. The response Hardy gives him makes for some good drama but it's also interesting in what's said. I was surprised at how honest they looked at the racial tensions but some of them are nearly thrown to the side with Step'n Fetchit playing his normal slow slave character. He's certainly very good at what he does but the performance does go against some of the speeches in the film. Hardy proves that he could carry a movie on his own and delivers many laughs including a very funny sequence where he tells Langdon that he isn't an elephant. Langdon's comeback is great and he also manages to do his part quite well and add plenty of laughs. I didn't care too much for any of the other supporting performances as I found them very annoying due to how they were written in the screenplay. This film certainly isn't a masterpiece or even a classic but it makes for a mildly entertaining 70-minutes.

While this certainly isn't a great movie and is in many ways pretty forgettable, it is a decent time-passer and worth seeing from a historic sense. This is the only film that Oliver Hardy starred in for Hal Roach Studios without Stan Laurel since they became a team in the late 1920s. However, when Laurel's contract expired he refuses to re-sign as he and Hardy (who was still under contract) wanted to explore other career options other than to continue with Hal Roach Studios. So, Roach decided to try pairing Hardy with a new partner--hoping he and Hardy would catch on and Hardy would soon re-sign with the studio.

Unfortunately, the film lacks the balance of a true Laurel and Hardy film, as Hardy is definitely in the leading role. And, fortunately, Hardy does a pretty good job as the kindly doctor who is befriended by an elephant and he's able to carry this amiable film. Additionally, the movie is very interesting because in a supporting role (one that could have been played by Stan Laurel) was the silent film comedian, Harry Langdon. As there are few of his films still in existence, this is one of the rare chances you'll get to see,...as well as hear him. The story itself is pretty silly but handled so well, you probably will forgive this.

Despite being a story about an Elephant that falls in love with Hardy, you may not like about the film is Stepin Fetchit--the horribly stereotyped Black actor who made a career out of playing some who is dumb and lazy. It's quite a contrast to the role played by Philip Hurlic as 'Zeke'--a smart, precocious and cute Black child. At least there were contrasts, as most of Fetchit's earlier roles provided nothing to balance the negative image.