Babes in Toyland (1934)

Directors:

Gus Meins
Charley Rogers

Writers:

Frank Butler (dialogue)
Nick Grinde (dialogue)
(more)

Release Date:

14 December 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

1 and 1/2 hours of laughter!

Plot:

Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum try to borrow money from their employer, the toymaker, to pay off the mortgage...

Plot Keywords:

Good Versus Evil | Shot In The Ass | Toy | Eviction | Fairy Tale Land

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Stannie Dum
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie Dee
Charlotte Henry	...	Little Bo-Peep
Felix Knight	...	Tom-Tom Piper
Henry Brandon	...	Silas Barnaby (as Harry Kleinbach)
Florence Roberts	...	Mother Widow Peep
Virginia Karns	...	Mother Goose
Marie Wilson	...	Mary Quite Contrary
Johnny Downs	...	Little Boy Blue
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Alexander	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Richard Alexander	...	King's Guard (uncredited)
Frank Austin	...	Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Eddie Baker	...	Dunker (uncredited)
Scotty Beckett	...	Schoolboy (uncredited)
Georgie Billings	...	Schoolboy (uncredited)
Billy Bletcher	...	Chief of Police (uncredited)
Eddie Borden	...	Demon Bogeyman (uncredited)
Carl R. Botefuhr	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Tommy Bupp	...	Schoolboy (uncredited)
Bobby Burns	...	Townsman (uncredited)
William Burress	...	The Toy Maker (uncredited)
Baldwin Cooke	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Ellen Corby	...	Extra (uncredited)
Alice Dahl	...	Little Miss Muffett (uncredited)
Jean Darling	...	Curly Locks (uncredited)
Charles Dorety	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Edward Earle	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Marianne Edwards	...	Schoolgirl (uncredited)
John George	...	Barnaby's Minion (uncredited)
Sumner Getchell	...	Tom Thumb (uncredited)
Pete Gordon	...	Cat and the Fiddle (uncredited)
Charlie Hall	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Jack Hill	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Fred Holmes	...	Balloon Man (uncredited)
Payne B. Johnson	...	First Little Pig (uncredited)
Dickie Jones	...	Schoolboy (uncredited)
Ham Kinsey	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Gus Leonard	...	Candle Snuffer (uncredited)
Jack 'Tiny' Lipson	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Sam Lufkin	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Scotty Mattraw	...	Town Crier (uncredited)
Alice Moore	...	Queen of Hearts (uncredited)
Kewpie Morgan	...	Old King Cole (uncredited)
Ferdinand Munier	...	Santa Claus (uncredited)
Margaret Nearing	...	One of the Townsfolk (segment "March of the Woodens Soldiers") (uncredited)
Bob O'Connor	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Richard Powell	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Jack Raymond	...	Demon Bogeyman (uncredited)
Charley Rogers	...	Simple Simon (uncredited)
Angelo Rossitto	...	Second Little Pig / 1st sandman in cave (uncredited)
Tiny Sandford	...	Dunker (uncredited)
Jacqueline Taylor	...	Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Jerry Tucker	...	Schoolboy (uncredited)
John Wood	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Joy Wurgaft	...	Schoolgirl (uncredited)

Directed by
Gus Meins		(as Gus Mines)
Charley Rogers		(as Charles Rogers)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Frank Butler		dialogue
Nick Grinde		dialogue
Victor Herbert		operetta
Glen MacDonough		operetta
Hal Roach		uncredited

Produced by
Hal Roach	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Victor Herbert

Film Editing by
Bert Jordan
William H. Terhune		(as William Terhune)

Makeup Department
James Collins	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chet Brandenburg	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Gordon Douglas	....	first assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ed Brandenburg	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Elmer Raguse	....	sound recording engineer

Special Effects by
Thomas Benton Roberts	....	special effects (uncredited)
Roy Seawright	....	special photographic effects: the wooden soldiers marching segment (uncredited)

Stunts
Ham Kinsey	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Francis Corby	....	photographer (uncredited)
Art Lloyd	....	photographer (uncredited)
Jack Roach	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Harry Jackson	....	musical director
John Swallow	....	co-musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Henry Ginsberg	....	studio manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hal Roach Studios Inc.

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (USA) (theatrical)
• Screen Guild Productions (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (retitled re-release)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport International Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• BIFO/Splendid (????) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Genius Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• GoodTimes Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Independent United (????) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Orion Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VellaVisión (2007) (Spain) (DVD)
• Video Dimensions (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Legend Films  colorization
• Legend Films  restoration

Also Known As:

Laurel and Hardy in Toyland
March of the Wooden Soldiers (USA) (reissue title)
Revenge Is Sweet
Wooden Soldiers

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:T | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios Inc.

Trivia:

The six minutes formerly missing from the film have been restored on some prints and can be seen in the version shown on cable channel AMC. They include the song "Go To Sleep," a beautifully photographed sequence in the underground caves.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The wooden soldier, brought out as a demonstration model by Stan and Ollie, blinks in one shot.

Quotes:

The Toy Maker: What do you think of the wooden soldiers?
Santa Claus: They're nice but they're not what I ordered. I ordered 600 soldiers one foot high.
Stannie Dum: Oh I thought you said 100 soldiers six feet high.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Skinner's Sense of Snow (#12.8)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

March of the Toys

conversation with henry brandon

first i must disagree with the review of your last member on his appraisal of henry brandons role as mr. barnaby. my wife and i were personal friends of henry brandon and it was his favorite role and his first. he maintained a friendship with stan laurel and oliver hardy until their passings. he was scheduled to appear at a laurel and hardy convention in july of 1990 with ms. charlotte henry and my wife and i were to meet him there. his recollection of the production sets were of vivid colors. when he attended the preview of the film he was disappointed because all he saw were greys and black and whites. he wished that hal roach would have shot the film in color even two strip technicolor. when talking to him about his long career always babes in toyland was foremost in his mind. the film holds up well today with another generation of children ( my grandkids included} and adults enjoying this trip into the world of fairytales and make believe. recently it has been released in computerized color, but i prefer the original black and white; but i think henry brandon would be happy to see his supreme villiany in the color version. a wonderful film, laurel and hardy at their best and the birth of a cinema villain for decades to come, my friend henry brandon nee kleinbach. yours at the movies joe rinando.