7/10
Laurel & Hardy are Nothing But Trouble in their second M-G-M-produced film
29 April 2023
This was the second of the M-G-M-produced films that Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy starred in and their last. Coming from a long line of servants, they struggle to find jobs in 1932 in America so they then go to other countries with no success before returning in 1944 and suddenly finding lots of openings. Eventually, dowager Mary Boland desperately hires them as butler and cook. If you're familiar with those two, you know that can't go well. Anyway, after buying their food, they encounter a young teen boy (David Leland) who, unbeknownst to them, is a king from another country who wants desperately to play football with other boys so they agree to referee the game for a short while. I'll stop there and just say that while some lines and gags aren't totally suitable for the boys, they perform them well enough for some good chuckles throughout. My favorite sequence was a mixed food sequence that recalled their mixed hats one from other films of theirs, this time with one of those having some kind of poison. Their scenes with Ms. Boland are amusing enough and Leland provides some good warmth between him, Stan, and Ollie. The director was Sam Taylor who previously worked with Harold Lloyd which would explain why the climatic high rise sequence works well for both thrills and comedy. In summary, Nothing But Trouble isn't a great comedy but is pretty good much of the time. So now that I just reviewed L & H's second M-G-M film, I'll next review Abbott & Costello's second for that same studio, Lost in a Harem.
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