Laurel & Hardy - Air Raid Wardens / Nothing but Trouble
by Edward Sedgwick, Sam Taylor
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Edgar Kennedy, Jacqueline White, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Stephen McNallyDirector: Edward Sedgwick, Sam Taylor
Brand: Warner Brothers
Writer: Bradford Ropes
Writer: Charley Rogers
Writer: Harry Crane
Writer: Jack Jevne
Writer: Margaret Gruen
Writer: Martin Rackin
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 136 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-21
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Laurel & Hardy - Air Raid Wardens / Nothing but Trouble
Movie Review: Home Front Rallying movie with Laurel and Hardy
Summary: 2 Stars
The backstory of this film has been told many times: the original script was a successful blend of traditional L & H and a story about a typical small town in the homeland which tries to do its' part in Civil Defense despite the blunders of a couple of well-intentioned but hopelessly confused shopkeepers who sign up as Air Raid Wardens.
What was removed from the screenplay has never been located to my knowledge, so what we have is a good story, but one which features much humourless, belabored slapstick. The more demanding 1943 ticket-holders would have to turn one of the many Laurel and Hardy revivals - a more representative Stan & Babe movie like "Way Out West" might be in circulation just down the street.
The 1943 MGM offer is the best of the two on this set: Actually a well-crafted light comedy which, on the other hand, uses two comedy legends with next to no regard for their established screen characters. The troupers make due with tired, downbeat material, although there are inexcuseable gaffs in direction: the camera dollies in on Stan's struggle to write his own name on a document; Ollie tosses (what appears to be) a brick out of camera range, we hear a crash, and they flee. Edgar Kennedy smashes them both on the head with a wine-bottle, as they cower underneath covers apparently in Kennedy's guest room - the bottle breaks and fragments are left on the cover. Stan and Ollie are knocked unconscious. Terrible stuff.
On the other hand, there are some nice touches, a stray pooch (maybe a descendant of "Laughing Gravy"?) enters the scene, and accompanies them to the first meeting of the local Civil Defense organization. Although the seriousness of the meeting deflates any laughs here.
Some fans may enjoy seeing the shooting location where their famous in-color one-reeler short subject was filmed, "Tree In a Test Tube" - far better than the movie they were shooting.
The plot moves along though, has some interesting segments about a period in our history which should be studied. It's too bad that Laurel and Hardy are forced into playing *unsympathetic* characters - unlike the Hal Roach films, which certainly did not invite the audience to sympathize with the supporting cast!
Their final MGM film is the companion, "Nothing But Trouble", well constructed and once again, refreshingly, having no saccharine romance to work through. Script is better than fans might expect, though, let's face it, almost devoid of laughs.
Interesting that these movies were not "escapist" - the movie companies wanted to engage the populace and a theatre was a great place to reinforce the seriousness of the times.
Although it's still mystifying that Stan Laurel would allow such third-rate stuff and not defiantly write in some memorable dialogue, we must remember that surreal slapstick was on the wane (save some good Three Stooges opuses) and that a more fast-paced and realistic style was popular. So lengthy passages displaying masterful technique were not gonna fly. Brilliant mimes needed careful, sensitive direction and framing, and Stan and Ollie were now B-movie contract players. Shoot the script so we can get outta here.
Cinematography is very good. Sound effects, badly done; no music in ARW, other than the theme; next to none in NBT.
Summary of Laurel & Hardy - Air Raid Wardens / Nothing but Trouble
Whether serving their country in wartime or serving multicourse mealtime mayhem, Laurel and Hardy serve up laughs in this classic twofer. First, the nation calls out in its hour of need, Stan and Ollie answer...and Uncle Sam changes his mind. Rejected by the military, our heroes become Air Raid Wardens. Lights-out laughs include a donnybrook with slow-burn comic Edgar Kennedy and a run-in with a nest of spies. In Nothing but Trouble, the boys fuss and finagle as World War II-era domestics who rally 'round an exiled boy king when danger arises. Sam Taylor, co-director of Harold Lloyd's famed hanging-from-the-clock-high-above-city-traffic movie Safety Last!, guides this romp that includes a gem of a ledge-hanging sequence. Hold tight for fall-down funny fun.Comedy DVD Video
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