She had more success on the Broadway stage, creating the role of Adelaide in GUYS & DOLLS, which she also played in the film version.īob Bailey (Chester) never made a big splash in films, either. Vivian Blaine (Susan) had a fine singing voice, wasted here with some forgettable ditties. The gags they participate in are stale as old bread, but the duo’s natural funniness does manage to shine through in glimpses.
The boys look older, but definitely not wiser here. The uniqueness of what made Laurel & Hardy so special is nowhere to be found. Like I said before, the parts could’ve been played here by any pair of comic actors. It’s strange to see Laurel & Hardy in this 40’s milieu, acting like 40’s hepcats, surrounded by energetic jitterbuggers. Stan dresses in drag as Susan’s aunt, and after some complications, the gangsters are rounded up, Chester and Susan get together, and everything’s hunky dory. The con plays a con on these cons, aided by Stan and Ollie. Since he’s smitten with her, he returns it, and discovers Susan is being swindled by some gangland goons. The scam gets uncovered in the small town of Midville, where Chester accidentally steals pretty young Susan’s purse. Stan and Ollie are two itinerant musicians (“The Original Zoot Suit Band”) conned into aiding con artist Chester Wright into hawking “instant gas pills”. That’s what makes later L&H efforts like JITTERBUGS so depressing. No longer in control of their material, the roles they played could’ve been filled by any pair of comic actors. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were two of the screen’s most beloved comics. Their Hal Roach comedy shorts contain some of the screen’s funniest moments, capitalizing on their unique comic personas. But by the 1940’s, Stan and Ollie had separated from Roach, and were plying their trade in features at 20th Century Fox.
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