Celebrating Laurel & Hardy

Pardon Us

In the Spanish-language version of Laurel & Hardy’s first feature film Pardon Us, Stan and Ollie (or “El Gordo y El Flaco,” as they were known in Spanish) find themselves in the clink after a bootlegging endeavor goes awry.  A loose tooth that makes Stan blow a raspberry every time he speaks gets the boys deeper and deeper in trouble with the warden and fellow inmates, as they are haplessly embroiled in the breakout schemes of a notorious prisoner.  Expanded in length to recoup the costs of its expensive prison set, the feature displays some uncertainties in adjusting from the two-reel format that the duo preferred: the extended escape sequence, an attempt to parody prison break dramas of the time, was received tepidly by contemporary audiences.  The sequence features Laurel & Hardy in blackface, attempting to evade the prison guards by pretending to be sharecroppers, as well as some indelicate lines around racial identity, though this appearance in blackface represented a departure from their work together.

 While one pun-heavy scene from Pardon Us did not make the transition to Spanish, De Bote En Bote remains otherwise faithful to the original, with the Prohibition context of the original story explained via an introductory title card.  Adapting sound films for a foreign audience presented a challenge, but Laurel & Hardy sound comedies adopted a clever, if labor-intensive, solution: each scene was reshot with the boys speaking their lines in a foreign language, surrounded by a supporting cast of native speakers.  De Bote En Bote was filmed simultaneously with French, German and Italian versions, such that each scene would be shot four times, each in a different language, before the next scene began—a true comic feat as Laurel & Hardy maintain their timing verbally and physically all while running through a quartet of unfamiliar languages.  —Nina Rao

Director:  James Parrott.  Production: Hal Roach Studios, Inc.  Distribution: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  Producer: Hal Roach.  Screenwriter: H.M. Walker.  Cinematographer: Jack Stevens.  Editor: Richard Currier.  Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, June Marlowe, Enrique Acosta, Alfonso Pedroza.  35mm, b/w, in Spanish, 61 min.

Restored from the 35mm nitrate original camera picture and track negatives, and a 35mm acetate fine grain master.  Laboratory services by The Stanford Theater Film Lab, Pacific Title & Art Studio, The Cinemalab, Audio Mechanics, DJ Audio, Simon Daniel Sound.  Special thanks to: the Library of Congress, Sonar Entertainment.