An interesting and satisfying movie on several counts. First and most important, it is funny. Second, this was the year Mr. Laurel finally figured out who his movie character actually was: he went back to his days when he was understudying Chaplin in the Fred Karno pantomime troupe and did the solo drunk act, as Chaplin had in ONE A.M. Clearly, the characters -- Chaplin's drunk and Laurel's drunk -- are related. however, if I were to ask which is the best movie of the two, I would have to claim it is this one. Laurel, at his peak, was the better gag technician than Chaplin and he does it with fewer props than Chaplin: no haunted Murphy beds, no clocks with pendulums that obstruct an entire wall, no herd of stuffed animals as Chaplin used in ONE A.M., just a slightly askew set of evening clothes that shrink in water, a rolled umbrella that seems to be made of rubber and a couple of relatively innocent players to be caught up in the madness.
Do yourself a favor. See this one.
Do yourself a favor. See this one.