A Pair of Tights

This is my review of the third and final short starring the comedy team of Anita Garvin and Marion "Peanuts" Byron. I had first seen parts of this one in one of Robert Youngson's silent comedy compilation films, When Comedy Was King. It seemed amusing enough. Now that I've watched the whole thing, it's even funnier than I anticipated, that's for sure! It seems the two women are very hungry so Marion mentions that her boyfriend (Stuart Erwin) is bringing his boss (Edgar Kennedy) over to their apartment and they may take them out to dinner. But when Edgar sees them, he doesn't want to spend so much money on them so when during a car ride, Marion suggests getting ice cream cones, Edgar gives her the suitable amount of change he has in his pocket. The main hilarity involves those ice cream in those cones that Marion keeps losing though there's also a cop trying to keep the car three of those four are in from being parked illegally to add to the fun as well as a teen boy and his father in the apartment above harassing them. It seemed to lose steam near the end but otherwise, A Pair of Tights was a near-perfect comedy in the usual Hal Roach style. After this one, Anita Garvin was back in supporting roles including in a few more Laurel & Hardy ones during the talkie era. One of her last appearances in film was in The Three Stooges' Coocoo Cavaliers before retiring to tend to her husband Clifford "Red" Stanley and their two kids. She'd eventually be honored by the Sons of the Desert society-which is dedicated to the celebration of Laurel & Hardy-during the late '70s and '80s. She died on July 7, 1994. Marion "Peanuts" Byron left Hal Roach after this and in subsequent years, found her parts getting smaller and smaller. Her last film appearance was in 1938's Five of a Kind which was co-written by her hubby Lou Breslow who'd subsequently write the first two of L & H's features at 20th Century-Fox. She and Lou had two sons and remained together until she died on July 5, 1985.

It can be difficult to be a silent film fan. You have to deal with so many silly misconceptions, like the idea that every woman in silent cinema was a damsel lashed to the rail road tracks. Pure bunk! Another silly misconception is that there were no female comedians during this period either, that they were too concerned with physical beauty to be able to do anything goofy on film. Also bunk. There were a number of comediennes during the silent era, the most beloved nowadays being Mabel Normand and Marion Davies.

A Pair of Tights (1929) is a late silent short which features a female comedy pairing: Anita Garvin and Marion Byron (best remembered for working with Buster Keaton in his last independent feature, Steamboat Bill Jr). Garvin's imposing physique and tough attitude pair wonderfully with Byron's petite frame and girlish disposition. In this short, the two are hungry and hope their dates will take them out to dinner. Unfortunately, their male consorts are tightwads, only willing to get them ice cream cones. Of course, being a Hal Roach film, you know this won't end well: fate itself seems to conspire to make sure nobody gets a single lick off those cones as Marion finds them constantly knocked out of her hands in increasingly silly ways.

It's a cute short, full of personality and relate-able situations for anyone who's ever been on a crummy date. However, it does get a little repetitious in the last five minutes. I also prefer the quieter first half with more character-based gags than the hectic second, complete with cops and obnoxious preteen boys, but it's still so much fun. If only Garvin and Byron had been allowed to do more shorts than the few collaborations they managed!

The second half of thsi film is well known from its inclusion in Robert Youngson's WHEN COMEDY WAS KING(1960)---and may be more enjoyable to watch tere due to the wonderful musical score the film gives it---it uncannily matches the action.

The slow first half can be found on YOU TUBE---Anita Garvin and Marion Byron get stuck with a couple of dead-end blind dates---Garvin and Edgar Kennedy detest each other on sight. But as usual when all you know what breaks loose in a Roach film,there's a long warm up before the explosion.

A simple chore--buying 4 ice cream cones turns into Walpurgis Night times ten.

Edgar Kennedy's famous temper tantrums not only fit in well but are justified. And there's a cop who becomes increasingly unhinged when he fails to nail Edgar for double parking(and gets run over several times in the process).

Best bit is when trying to duck the cop;they get into a fender bender with Charlie Hall---who dumps the cones on Edgar's head and gallantly pays for the next round.

Then enter Spec O'Donnell,whose own ice cream gets repeatedly wrecked and is determined to do the same to the ladies.

Oliver Hardy-like,Anita Garvin sez she'll handle things---and promptly gets a flowerpot dumped on her head. Several good nose tweaks follow.

And at the end,the quartet(STILLminus the ice cream) crawl towards the car on t heir hands and knees,hoping to avoid the riot behind them.

I realize this very funny picture was produced by Hal Roach and starred a comedy team, but I don't see how anyone can believe that Kennedy and Erwin played roles intended for Laurel and Hardy. The two men do little more than drive around the block for more than half the picture while Peanuts Byron gets all the gags. If anything, Stan and Ollie would have played the girls' parts and would have been more of a team than Peanuts and Anita were. The ice cream routines with Spec O'Donnell are highlights, as is the final "reciprocal destruction" scene, but it's unfair to compare this delightful short with a true Laurel and Hardy picture. Forget The Boys, watch The Girls; they're funny, too.

"A Pair of Tights" is a Laurel & Hardy movie without Laurel or Hardy. This short comedy was put into production by Hal Roach at the beginning of Laurel and Hardy's best period, but the stars of the film are Edgar Kennedy and Stu Erwin as a couple of tightwads ("tights"), cast in parts that were clearly written for Laurel (Erwin's role) and Hardy (Kennedy's role). Fortunately, Edgar and Stu had the sense to play the roles their own way, rather than imitating Stan and Ollie. Apparently Laurel and Hardy were so busy at this point, they didn't have time to appear in every movie that was planned for them. This movie even LOOKS like a Laurel and Hardy film, with various members of the Laurel & Hardy stock company (Charlie Hall, Anita Garvin, Kennedy himself) prominently featured. The good news is that it's pretty funny in its own right. I'll rate "A Pair of Tights" 8 out of 10.