User Reviews

First off, I will complain that at least 4 reviewers consistently spelled the woman's name Ethel as Ethyl. Presumably, they are either chemists or like their ethyl alcohol. Also, I should note that the last 2/3 of this film is a reworking of the silent "Angora Love" short, as was the previous talkie short "Laughing Gravy"..........The boys begin as a circus pantomime horse, carrying a facsimile of Lady Godiva. Then, they are assistants for Destructo : the giant cannon ball eater. Unfortunately, they fill the cannon with too much powder and aim it at the tent ceiling, so that when it fires, it brings down the tent.(?). This was the beginning of the end for the circus. A few weeks later, the owner says he has no money to give them, but he will divide up the assets. Ollie gets Ethel, the fake ape, while Stan gets the flea circus. Both these will cause nothing but trouble. The fleas tend to get loose and make them scratch. Ethel is an impediment to finding a decent place to stay. So, why didn't they just have the guy take off the gorilla suit, so that he didn't scare everybody? They talked about selling Ethel to a zoo, so they are operating under the assumption that Ethel is a real ape! They try to sneak her past the front desk,(Joe, played by an upset Billy Gilbert), but it doesn't work. Then, they dress her up in Ollie's clothes and walk her past the front desk. Believe it or not, this works. But, when Stan throws down Ollie's clothes, so that he doesn't have to come up in Ethel's tutu.. But, one item gets stuck on the way down. Ethel tries to reach down and free it, but she falls down, So, they are back where they started from, plus the lion MGM has found them and is threatening them. They decide to put Ethel in a shack, and go to bed. But, Ethel gets out and climbs up to their second floor room. She gets in bed with Ollie, who moves over to sleep with Stan. Then, a neighbor puts on a record, and She dances around the room. Stan joins her. Ollie yells "Ethel, will you stop that, and come back to bed". Joe, the owner, naturally, assumes he is talking about his wife, who is another Ethel. It's 3AM and she hasn't shown up. He grabs his pistol and demands that they open the door. The boys think he's looking for the ape, who is under the covers. As he finds her, his wife shows up.(What she has been doing out until 3AM is never queried). Joe wants the ape out, But, in his excitement, he drops his gun, and the ape picks it up. She starts firing randomly, and everybody clears the room.........See it YouTube. The colorized version was too fuzzy for me, so I watched the original version.

As mentioned in reviewing LAUGHING GRAVING, the plot of that film was based on the silent L & H comedy ANGORA LOVE, and the same plot was used (with changes) in THE CHIMP. LAUGHING GRAVY described how the boys attempts to hide a cute little dog from landlord Charley Hall eventually lead to that worthy's self-destruction. THE CHIMP does not quite end that way, although there is a chance that Ethyl the Chimp may hurt somebody at the conclusion.

The beginning of THE CHIMP makes one wish it was a longer feature film. It is a comedy that starts off in a circus, which is on it's last legs. The clumsiness of Stan and Ollie (culminating in their firing a cannon upward so it destroys the big-top tent) leads to the bankruptcy of the circus, and the division of the animals between the employees (they are to draw lots for them - Jimmy Finleyson, the circus ringmaster, is certain he'll draw the cuckoo bird). The boys end up with Ethyl, who in the course of the short does something neither Angora Love the goat nor Laughing Gravy the dog ever did - she keeps demonstrating she is smarter than the two humans who got her. In fact, at one point she even gives Ollie a stare of disdain at a particularly stupid action of his.

This intelligence leads to certain activities that could not be done in the earlier versions. In LAUGHING GRAVY Stan frets about his dog's freezing in the blizzard-like cold outside. In THE CHIMP, we see how really smart Ethyl is - she is supposed to be boxed up in a crate that Ollie is putting together. Instead she puts Ollie into the crate and starts sealing it!

The conclusion is when they sneak the chimp into their rooms. Landlord Billy Gilbert is as rule conscious as landlord Charley Hall had been. When earlier he saw the chimp with Stan and Ollie he insists that they keep him outside. Stan says he might get pemonia. Ollie frowns and corrects Stan: "He means penumonia!" Gilbert smashes the language difficulty, saying "I don't care if you all get penumonia - keep that beast out of here!" But, as I said, Ethyl is sneaked back in. Soon she is dancing up a storm (wearing a tutu) and actually dancing cheek to cheek with a frightened Stan. Ollie yells, "Ethyl, will you stop that and come to bed." Unfortunately Gilbert is a jealous husband, whose wife is named Ethyl. He bursts in and melodramatically denounces the figure under the bed cover as a fallen woman. Just then the real Ethyl turns up, and the Chimp removes the cover and makes a quizzical grunt noise. Gilbert is furious and insists they take Ethyl out. But she does not want to go, and finding Gilbert's pistol on the floor starts firing it - and Stan and Ollie run about the room in a panic as the short ends.

A very amusing short - and one that shows how low the level of the boys' mental abilities was in comparison to the animal kingdom.

No where even close to looking like a chimpanzee, the circus attraction traveling with Laurel and Hardy is still cute enough to warrant attention. They inherit both the ape and a flea circus, and end up in temperamental hotel manager Billy Gilbert (fresh from destroying the piano in "The Music Box") who opposes both the chumps and the chimp. There's also a ferocious lion on their trail, one Laurel jokingly refers to as MGM. It's amusing thanks to the wild animals involved, but not one of the funnier ones. I did find the use of titles to toss in some narrative wisecracks to be very funny, and who wouldn't laugh at a dancing simian in a tutu, or the presence of hundreds of pesky fleas? As long as it's not me dealing with them. It's also ironic that Gilbert (whose wife has the same name as the gorilla) doesn't find it odd that Laurel and Hardy share one bed when there are two.

I can't disagree more with Neil Doyle, that this is a meager Laurel and Hardy story, he misses the point. It's a crazy farcical story, of being saddled with a chimp in lieu of your salary from the defunct circus (They actually destroyed). The boys intend to sell 'Ethel' the chimp, but in the meantime are having to hide her from their landlord (Billy Gilbert) at the hotel, who, incidentally is fretting about his absent wayward wife, who also happens to be named Ethel. On him seeing the chimp: "WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME IS THAT - GET IT OUT OF HERE, THIS IS NO ZOO!"

Stan and Ollie are offered their rooms if the chimp is kept outside. As they are attempting to lock Ethel up somewhere the lion from the circus has followed them around too, to add the the craziness 'I just saw MGM!'. They hatch a plot to get Ethel into their room with them by having Stan take the chimp in, wearing Ollie's clothes. "Suppose the landlord sees us(this)?" says Stan. "Why he'll think it's ME!" replies Ollie, insulting himself unknowingly.

It's Ollie who's 'earned' the chimp and Stan has the flea circus to cover his 'salary'. There's a scene where the boys are itching all over as Stan keeps the flea circus under his pillow and they've escaped!(A strange scene for me - I can't help but scratch myself when it's showing, and other people have said the same!). The boys manage to get Ethel into the hotel anyway as she later climbs up the drainpipe without inept help from the duo. But just as things start to settle down for the night, being a performing, 'human' chimp, Ethel starts to dance to some music being played by a guest in another room.

The boys try getting Ethel to stop, naturally mentioning her name, which coincides with the landlord's wayward wife's name, who's been out all night (soon to return)!

The landlord obviously enraged, thinking 'his' Ethel is in the boys' room with them, goes to the room at gunpoint and shoots the door open!

When asking where 'Ethel' is, Stan points to the bed with 'Ethel' in it (She's under the covers at this point) leading the landlord to give a long speech about "her" 'knowing that he's loved her, doing this to him, being the mother of my children' etc unbeknowing he's talking to the chimp and giving Stan and Ollie the chance to look rightly confused! At this precise moment the 'human-wifey' Ethel walks in, Gilbert shouts : "Gahh Ethel!" The chimp wakes up to hear her name, leading the wife to scream (Her only 'line' in the short!) and have Gilbert exploding: "Get that thing out of here!" It's here where the chimp, Ethel gesticulates SHE'S had enough, Ollie kicks her up the behind, she grabs Gilbert's gun and lets rip with a few rounds, ending the short. A classic early one, one of the best! Especially the guy playing the chimp, although you can tell it's a man in a suit, he actually behaves very chimp-like!

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. At a performing circus, all the acts are entering the arena, including the big attraction, Ethel the Human Chimpanzee, while Stan and Ollie are just helping Destructo The Cannonball King (Tiny Sandford) with his act. After the boys collapse the arena tent with an early lighting of the cannon, the Circus Owner (William J. O'Brien) says he is broke, and to pay the circus staff, he is giving them a valuable part of the show to look after. Pulling the names out of a hat, Ollie ends up looking after Ethel, and Stan is looking after the flea circus, but it seems only Stan can get Ethel to do what she is told, she gets mad with Ollie telling her what to do. Trying to get Ethel tied up into a crate, Stan manages to get the lion, MGM, chasing after them, and after it looks like they got away, the find a hotel room to stay the night, until they can sell Ethel to a zoo. Joe the Landlord (Billy Gilbert) isn't happy with the boys bringing in a monkey to a room, so after avoiding the lion once again, they disguise her in Ollie's clothes to sneak her inside, and then Stan would chuck down his clothes. Unfortunately, tossing the clothes Stan and Ethel fall out the window, so they lock her in a near large box, without realising a side is missing. The boys are sleeping in the double bed, until Stan moves to a single, and Ethel manages to sneak into the room and make Ollie think he is still sleeping with a fidgeting Stan. After waking and making Ethel move to the cloak room, Ollie joins Stan in his bed, where they start itching, and realise the flea circus has escaped. In another room, a man puts on his record player, playing some piano music, and Ethel in her tutu starts doing some ballet dancing, getting Stan to join her. Joe manages to hear the boys shouting the name "Ethel", and he thinks they are shouting the name of his wife, so he goes to get her. Joe soon sees his real wife (Martha Sleeper) come in, and she screams and runs seeing their Ethel, and when Joe shouts for them to get out, the monkey steals his gun, and the film ends with her shooting all over the place. Also starring James Finlayson as Ringmaster. Filled with good slapstick and all classic comedy you want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Worth watching!

. . . but THE CHIMP allows its title character (aka, "Ethel") to get off a few rounds herself. Critters with shooting irons always has been the ultimate dream of all True Hunters. After all, where's the fun in going gunning for Bambi or Thump.er, if they cannot return fire? Just think how exciting a Super Bowl halftime show could be if it featured a large ape wielding a Bushmaster as a smoke machine did its stuff. Talk about Gorillas in the Mist! But after enjoying THE CHIMP, please don't forget to support your local chapter of BANGS (Broke Americans Need Gun Stamps).

This could have been a Luis Buniel-Salvidor Dali if it would have had a group Catholic priests tied to pianos with dead donkeys on them. You have an ape named Ethel dressed in a tutu, a lion running wild in the streets and a flea circus thrown in for good measure. The fact that Ethel is obviously a man in an ape suit makes the film work. It reflects the innocence of the world Laurel and Hardy exist in. To have a more realistic approach in my opinion wouldn't be as funny and some of the bedroom farce a little creepy. THE CHIMP is one of the duo's better film's. It's construction is tight and the gags are not drawn out which can be a problem even in some of their better films. Stan Laurel expression and responses to what is going on around is remarkable and subtle. He communicates so much with eyes. And I found Ethel very funny. She's a good dancer. I would have loved to be in on the script conferences. THE CHIMP is definitely surreal.

"The Chimp" is a black-and-white comedy short film from the year 1932, so this one is already over 85 years old and the names Parrott and Walker maybe tell you already that here we got another Laurel/Hardy comedy. This one is from their sound days and the use of spoken language, effects as well as the music do not sound as shoddy as they do in the earliest sound films by the duo. The transition from silent film has worked out nicely for them, even if this film here is not exactly an example of that. Stan and Ollie are better than the material they work with here for sure, but the scene stealer this time is an ape named Ethel. Is he really supposed to be a chimp? Anyway, this was not as funny as it could/maybe should have been and in theory it is not the most animal friendly film either. The really funny moments here are not enough simply, even for a film that stays under the 25-minute mark. For good reason this is not among the two's most known or most famous works now almost a century later. Anyway, let me say that the more I watch of these, the more my preference is shifting towards Hardy with me being initially certainly more of a Laurel fan. The ending here with the mix-up between the two Ethels is kinda funny, but it really cannot make me forget about all the mediocrity from before that. I think you should skip the watch here. Not recommended.