Review of Pardon Us

I don't care what the detractors say, this is one of my favorite L&H feature-length films, , as well as their first such film. Not bad for a picture that originally was conceived as just another comedy short. Part of the reason I like it so much is the occasional presence of 2 charismatic supporting actors. One is Walter Long, cast as 'The Tiger': leader of attempts to break out of prison and stage a prison riot. He certainly had a distinctive 'tough guy' face and demeanor. However, he wasn't always as tough in his behavior. Of course, Walter played tough guys in several other L&H shorts and features. .......The second charismatic supporting actor is Jimmy Finlayson, also frequently seen in other L&H comedy shorts and features. Here he plays the prison schoolmaster, and is hysterically funny, with his signature squinty-eye double takes. Stan gives imaginative answers to some of his questions. For example, Jim asks what a blizzard is. Stan answers "The insides of a buzzard". Jim asks what a comet is. Stan says "a star with a tail on it". Jim : "Can you give an example?" Stan says "Rin Tin Tin"! ........Periodically, Stan gets in big trouble for making a raspberry-like sound, supposedly with a loose tooth. At one point, a prison guard takes him to the dentist(Otto Fries) to cure the problem. But, initially, the dentist gets confused, when Ollie sits in the dentist's chair to demonstrate how simple it will be, to the fearful Stan. Yes, the dentist asks no questions, and pulls Ollie's tooth. Stan then gets his turn, but the raspberries continue, as most dramatically illustrated when responding to the pardon the boys received for(accidentally) aiding in foiling the prison riot. The warden went ballistic, as he did when that happened at their first meeting..........Incidentally, the boys were sent to prison for illegally selling home brew.(This was still the Prohibition Era). Stan tried to sell some to a policemen, whom he thought was a streetcar conductor! After the warden's pardon speech, stupid Stan invited him to try some of their brew!..........Things get very hectic when Stan doesn't understand why a Thompson submachine gun was passed to him under the dining table. He pulls it out, and, pointing at Ollie, asks "What is this for?" Ollie's shocked response resulted in it being fired in the air, causing the inmates to run for their lives. This also alerted the authorities that a prison riot was imminent. Later, when The Tiger-led rioters wanted to get through a prison gate, first Stan, and then Ollie, fired the gun into the floor or walls, causing the rioters to retreat from the gate. Eventually, when they ran out of bullets, the state militia was at the gate, to save them and quell the riot...........Although some reviews don't like the inclusion of musical numbers, as interruptions of the action, as a fan of musical comedies, I saw this as a welcomed break in the harshness of the prison scene...........While picking cotton, the Etude Ethiopian Chorus sang several spirituals that are not included in the 'Soundtracks' section at this site. This was followed by a rendition of "Lazy Moon", by a blackfaced Ollie, backed up by the Hall Johnson choir. Stan did a bit of dancing to it. ........Later, after the boys were back in prison, the Avalon Boys, while in the exercise yard, sang Irving Berlin's "Wish I Was in Michigan Again", a keeper song for me. Judy Garland sang it in the musical "Easter Parade". Again, this song is not listed under 'Soundtracks' at this site, apparently, because neither Stan nor Ollie was involved. Incidentally, the boys were wearing rather light blackface, so that they fit in with the other cotton pickers, and hopefully avoided notice by the overseer(I noticed that Stan was putting whole branches in his bag, whereas Ollie only put in the bolls.) Unfortunately, they were called upon to try to fix the warden's car, which stopped near them. While Ollie was under the car, looking for a problem, a dog came along and licked some of the blackface off. He redistributed some from other areas, and Stan got some more from inside the hood. However, their cover was blown when Stan's tooth made a raspberry. Incidentally, the warden's daughter(Played by June Marlowe) discovered the problem with the car. It was out of gas!........See it in B&W or the colorized version,(I saw the latter) at YouTube.