Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Richard Chatten This unusual title is familiar to most cinephiles as Oliver Hardy's one starring vehicle of the sound era without Stan Laurel; and aided by an excellent supporting cast he carries the film extremely well. Playing the beloved local doctor of the fictitious town of Carterville, Mississippi in 1870, the Southern setting well suits him, and provides him with a context in which to exhibit the same Southern courtliness without being the pompous buffoon he usually was when teamed with Stan Laurel. He gives a performance of grace and charm, even dancing a few steps with spouse Billie Burke, and shows a concern for the underdog that extends to the little black kid played by Philip Hurlic that is reasonably lacking in condescension for 1939, let alone 1870. While it doesn't even attempt to be as funny as Hardy's work with Laurel, the film is however characterised by the charm and lack of sentimentality which remain one the principal reasons that Laurel & Hardy's work has worn so well to this day compared to that of Chaplin.When you see Step'in Fetchit billed with his name 'humorously' spelled thus in the credits you fear the worst, although in the film that follows his mistress Billie Burke is actually dafter than he is. Hardy's comments about Southern segregation are later underlined without labouring the point by a fleeting shot of Hurlic, Fetchit & Hattie McDaniel watching the trial through the courthouse window rather than from the public gallery. This film is often spoken of as an ersatz Laurel & Hardy film with Harry Langdon filling in for Laurel, but Langdon's is really only a supporting role, although he acquits himself well, the old gestures from his silent films are still there, and it's interesting to both see and hear Langdon for once. Both he and Hardy look remarkably comfortable around Miss Zenobia, who plays the title role.

John T. Ryan IT HAS LONG been conventional wisdom that, "Children and Dogs bring people together. The old proverb had adapted itself quite handily to the motion picture business long, long ago. W.C. Fields, for example, was a leading exponent of this belief; although his creed concentrated much more on the human portion of the statement.WHILE DOGS MAY well reign supreme in the four-legged category, most any animal has at least a portion of this screen magic. Throughout motion picture, there has been a veritable menagerie of creatures, great and small, who have shared the spotlight with their partners of the species homo sapiens sapiens. In many an instant, they stole many a scene; if, indeed, the entire picture.RATHER THAN HAVING humans competing with Dogs (Lassie, Benji, Yukon King, Rinty, etc.), or a Chimp (Cheetah, Zippy, J. Fred Muggs) or a Fish (Flipper*, Mr. Limpet), we have an elephant (Zenobia) in an eternal triangle with her owner (Harry Langdon) and the kindly town Doctor (Oliver Hardy). The humor is broad and varied. It is quite different;so, please don't expect this to be a Laurel & Hardy comedy; you see, Schultz, SONS OF THE DESERT it's not! IT WOULD SEEM that at this point in film history, being Anno Domini MCMXXXIX (that's 1939 A.D.), that there was a deluge of news and interest in anything and everything which even remotely related to the American Civil War was in. Although there is no specific date given in the picture, it would seem to be Ante-Bellum, that's Latin for "before the War." The costuming and situation with the Black Actors (Hattie McDaniel, Lincoln Perry) would seem to suggest neither Wartime nor the Reconstruction.THERE IS ALSO a speech by Oliver Hardy to the young boy about how matters concerning Whites have nothing to do with Black Folks and the concerns of Black People aren't any business of Whites. We concluded that this is sort of a disclaimer for Hal Roach Studios in any historical matters that might arise; such as had been the case of the D.W. Griffith epic silent, BIRTH OF A NATION. (This may sound silly today, but one must view things through the eyes of those in that period; as well as through contemporary lenses.) WITH RESPECT TO the film itself, it is quite amusing. Whereas we had previously said that it was no L&H Comedy, it did strike several chords wit its audience. It was a fine showcase to the versatility of Mr. Hardy, who demonstrated that he was truly an actor; with "Ollie" being his most successful character.IN THE CASE of Oliver's co-star, Mr. Harry Langdon, it was a true tour de force; for he did a fine job of bringing a somewhat updated version of his "Adult Baby" persona from his Silent Screen days, when his name was at one time mentioned in the same breath with those of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd.FOLLOWING HIS APPEARANCE in ZENOBIA, he returned to work as a behind the scenes gag man and to making two reelers for Roach and Columbia; all of which were okay, but mediocre shorts and surely a far cry from his salad days at Sennett and First National.TAKING THE TIME to stop and view the film, which was known as ELEPHANTS NEVER FORGET in the U.K. will not be totally wasted time. You will most probably enjoy it a lot more than you would have thought. We certainly did.NOTE * Alright, we know Flipper was a Dolfin, and hence a warm-blooded, live bearing MAMMAL!!

martin o'sullivan I have read the post before mine about this movie. Much I do agree with, but I wish to comment a bit more in defense of this movie. At the time, Hal Roach had a contract dispute with Stan. In short, Stan was offered more money then Oliver, and Stan said either pay us equal, or you don't have us anymore. That loyalty is amazing in any era. This movie was suppose to be for the both of them, but had to be re-written for just Oliver. Yes, the movie's writing suffers in many places, as it gets to be too silly, and even racist. However, the actual acting of Oliver, and Billie are truly wonderful, even if their lines were not. I view this movie as a rare treat, a historical footnote in the years of Laurel and Hardy. No, not a classic, nor anywhere near one, but entertaining? Yes. One can not compare this with any Laurel and Hardy movie. That would be unfair. They never knew if they would work together ever again at this point. True, at times I thought the concept of this movie was childish, but in an innocent entertaining way. As if to say we know it is silly, but it is just a silly movie. So no huge amount of thumbs up for this movie, but a nice treat for hardcore Laurel and Hardy fans. I will say though, thank God they got back together again! Ha! Two movies like this would have been a bit much to take Ha!

rasxyz It is real cool the way this simple and seemingly silly movie has a big story to tell about bigotry and slavery and not just the obvious retrenches to the declaration of independence and "black pills" and "red pills". I wonder how many people who saw Zenobia in 1939 got the hidden messages subtle and obvious. Everyone reviewing Zenobia here in IMDb may have missed or did not mention an underling theme in the symbol represented by Zenobia the "elephant" that is big and always present like an elephant. Did anyone guess that maybe Zenobia represented a symbol of ….(you put your own word here about bigotry)? This is a great movie for using humorous subtleness to expose race, bigotry and prejudice at a time (1939) when people did not want to hear about race problems. It seems no coincidence that the most prejudice state Mississippi was chosen for the location and not Georgia or any other southern state.One sees the film with the view to the more subtle inferences to race with a Big Elephant named Zenobia. You may have a whole new perspective on the film and what appears to be "poorly written", "little real humour (humor)", "racist performance of Stepin Fetchit", etc. is really a great presentation. Considering the times (1939), and the subtle symbol of "Zenobia", then this movie is a down right genius of production! I think Stepin Fetchit knew what the movie meant and was a lot smarter than people think.