SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

JohnHowardReid Director: GUS MEINS. Director of scenes and segments in which Laurel and Hardy appear: CHARLES R. ROGERS. Screenplay: Nick Grinde, Frank Butler. Based on the 1902 operetta Babes in Toyland by Victor Herbert (music) and Glen MacDonough (book and lyrics). Comedy scenes devised by Stan Laurel with the assistance of a team of gag men including Frank Terry. Photography: Art Lloyd, Francis Corby. Film editors: William Terhune, Bert Jordan. Music director: Harry Jackson. Additional song, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" by Ann Ronell and Frank Churchill. Special effects: Roy Seawright (director), Art Lloyd (photographer). Barnaby's make-up: Jim Collins. Assistant director: Gordon Douglas. Sound recording: Elmer R. Raguse. Producer: Hal Roach. A Hal Roach Studios Production. Copyright 28 November 1934 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation. New York opening at the Astor: 12 December 1934. U.S. release: 30 November 1934. U.K. release: April 1935. Australian release: 13 March 1935. 79 minutes Re-issue titles: REVENGE IS SWEET, MARCH OF THE TOYS.SYNOPSIS: Stannie and Ollie are boarders in a shoe owned by the Widow Peep but mortgaged to Barnaby (the meanest man in Toyland). The boys undertake to borrow the mortgage money from their employer, the toy-maker, but this ploy fails when the boys are fired after a series of mishaps. When the mortgage becomes due, Barnaby not only throws the widow and her daughter, Bo, into the street but accuses the boys of pignapping.NOTES: Re-made by Walt Disney (as "Babes in Toyland") in 1961. Disney and Roach were close friends. In the Disney version, Ray Bolger starred as Barnaby, Tommy Sands played Tom Piper, Ed Wynn was the toy-maker and Annette Funicello portrayed Mary Quite Contrary. The original stage musical opened on Broadway in 1903. Directed by Julian Mitchell, it starred William Norris, Bessie Wynn, George W. Denham and Mabel Barrison. It ran a most successful 192 performances.The "mouse" who shares some delightful scenes with the cat and flies a balloon at the climax of this movie, was reportedly enacted by a monkey!COMMENT: An absolute delight, "March of the Wooden Soldiers" (as it is now known) was produced on the most expansive budget ever utilized on a Roach feature. And it's all up there on the screen in magnificent costumes and eye-popping sets. Thanks to Gus Meins' lively direction, the pace is fast and furious. Many of the Toyland characters flit by at the speed of knots. Laurel and Hardy fortunately emerge unscathed (they worked in a different unit, nominally under the control of director/actor Charley Rogers), contributing many delightful moments including a priceless bit of foolery when Stannie wishes Ollie "Good night!" We also enjoyed Miss Henry (Alice of Alice in Wonderland) as a radiant Bo-Peep and Florence Roberts (who replaced Margaret Seddon) as the shoe-living widow. Felix Knight has a wonderful voice which does more than justice to Herbert's melodies. And of course Herbert's still-famous "March of the Wooden Soldiers" accompanies the wonderfully glorious climactic free-for- all as hundreds of bogeymen run amuck in the vast Toyland sets.OTHER VIEWS: A superb example of collaborative film-making skill, "March of the Wooden Soldiers" was filmed simultaneously by two units under different directors, yet the result is a pleasingly harmonious whole with no visible seams. The sets are absolutely out of this world, the comedy bright, the songs tuneful, the climax a riot of action and fun. Although they play characters a trifle removed from their customary offerings, Babe and Stan are in top form.

thejcowboy22 My personal favorite movie featuring Laurel and Hardy.Every Thanksgiving morning I watch This classic while preparing the Thanksgiving meal for my guests. Usually WPIX in New York shows this movie every Thanksgiving Day since I could remember. Stan and Ollie are bumbling toy makers in the town of Toyland and reside in old widow Peep's(Florence Roberts) Shoe with their bedroom around the high top section. The evil Silas Barnaby played to perfection by Henry Brandon owns the deed on the shoe and must have the back mortgage money or he'll throw them out in the street.Ollie asked Stanley for his money box but instead of finding money there's a piece of paper that reads IOU from Stannie Dumb. Stan claims he spent all his money on Pee Wees. Ollie tells the woeful Widow Peep not to worry. He'll get the money,advance from his Boss the Toymaker cause there just like that! Well the boys arrive to work late and the boss is in a foul mood. Spilling paint and the fouling up the Wooden Soldiers order and having one of the six foot soldiers march up and down destroying the shelves was the end of their toy making careers. Meanwhile Bow Peep and Tom Tom frolic around Toyland singing,losing and then finding their sheep. The Evil Barnaby will let the widow stay if Bo Peep excepts his hand in marriage.Then Barnaby would agree to rip up the deed to the shoehouse. Stan and Ollie have other plans. Stan puts Ollie in a box wrapped up for Christmas as they deliver it to Barnaby's house hoping when Barnaby goes to sleep Ollie would come out of the box and rip up the deed.Stan says "Goodnight Ollie." and their failed attempt would make the Trojan Horse Blush.Ollie and Stan are punished and must be dunked. Dunking scene is hilarious as Ollie goes in for a cold dip. Bo Peep orders the dunking to stop and excepts Barnaby's hand in marriage in front of a stunned crowd. The wedding of Bo Peep and Barnaby is an event not to miss.When the comedy reaches a fever pitch singing numbers are performed by Felix knight (Tom Tom) to let you catch your breathe. This idea taken from Stan Laurel as to give the viewer a rest bud in the high paced comedy of the moment. What always stayed with me was the Mister Sandman, Gnome scene as Tom Tom sings a lullaby to Bo Peep.This all leads up to the grand finale with Boogeymen invading Toyland as Stan and Ollie activate the Wooden soldiers which always is an eye opener and heartwarming sight. Just a great child fantasy captured on film to share with future generations and Thanksgiving mornings to come.

DJ Zurn There are many films based on Victor Herbert's famous operetta, Babes in Toyland. There's the 1961 Disney film with Ray Bolger, there's the 1997 animated film, there's the 1980s TV film with Drew Barrymore, but the one I'm going to look at today is the 1934 Hal Roach Studios film starring the legendary comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy. I've I had to spill the truth, I'd say that this is my third favorite film of all time. It's up there with The Wizard of Oz and in my opinion, it should get a lot more recognition. For 1934, it's a wonder what they were able to accomplish with the hour and a half long film, not just with the special and practical effects, but with the pure spectacle and enchantment. This is a magical film, a film that grabs me and sucks me into it's realm every time I set eyes to it. It's got spectacular songs, brilliant set designs, a monkey in a Mickey Mouse costume and wondrous stop motion effects that rival that of King Kong. If I were to recommend it, I'd say see it in color, which is usually the version that airs on television anyway. The color, in my opinion, makes everything pop more and makes the fantasy land of Toyland seem more enchanted, more storybook like. It's like you are right there, experiencing the film's events with Stannie Dumb and Ollie Dee and routing for the Wooden Soldiers as they kick Bogeyman rump. Laurel and Hardy are at their finest in this film and it's obvious this dim witted duo were one of the many inspirations for Star Wars' R2-D2 and C-3P0. They're always getting into trouble, getting dunked in a pool of water and getting fired from their job after a wooden soldier reigns havoc in the toy factory. Felix Knight, who portrays Tom-Tom Piper is a fantastic singer and Henry Brandon, who was just 21 years old at the time pulls off a menacing and wicked Silas Barnaby. And those Bogeyman, hoggish and haggard monstrosities are the most terrifying adversaries ever put to film. When I was a kid, these ghoulish, grotesque abominations were one of the elements of this film that made my jaw drop to the floor. I ran to the closet and grabbed my plush stuffed bunny rabbit and hoped the Bogeymen would go away. Luckily, the Wooden Soldiers arrive to take out the villainous creatures and Barnaby as well. The Wooden Soldier March makes me feel brave and triumphant, like I can take on any peril and come out on top. These soldiers kick the living tar out of the Bogeymen and in one scene, a wooden soldier looses his head as he chases a Bogeyman into a house. In the very end, Barnaby and the Bogeymen are banished, everybody cheers and Ollie Dee gets a butt full of sharp darts launched from a cannon. What a rather macabre ending to an otherwise marvelous and magical motion picture. This is the pinnacle Thanksgiving movie for me and while there are many versions of the operetta in existence, this will always be the definitive version for me. Laurel and Hardy are grand, the look of the film is grand and this film just screams childhood. It takes me back to the carefree, innocent days of youth.Bring on the Wooden Soldiers!

george.schmidt . MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS (1934) **** Laurel & Hardy are wonderfully cast in this adaptation of the childhood fave that incorporates all of the Mother Goose tales/characters in Babeland where the doofus duo –Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum, respectively – try to help Old Mother Peep and Little Bo-Peep keep their shoe, um, their house, from the clutches of the evil tyrant Silas Barnaby. A cornucopia of classic characters like The Three Little Pigs and even Mickey Mouse (a monkey in a costume!) make for a delightful diversion. Oddly enough the 'colorized' version actually enhances the dream-like quality of the production. A true family fare classic that is best seen during the holidays.