Block-Heads (1938)

Director:

John G. Blystone

Writers:

Felix Adler (screenplay)
Felix Adler (story)

Release Date:

19 August 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Tagline:

90 minutes of happiness and hi-jinks

Plot:

It's 1938, but Stan doesn't know the war is over; he's still patrolling the trenches in France, and shoots down a French aviator...

Plot Keywords:

Elephant Gun | Explosion | Laurel And Hardy | Beautiful Woman | Newspaper

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
Patricia Ellis	...	Mrs. 'Toots' Gilbert
Minna Gombell	...	Mrs. Hardy
Billy Gilbert	...	Mr. Gilbert
James Finlayson	...	Fin - Man on stairs
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Dowager seated near stairs (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Just a Jiffy (USA) (working title)
Meet the Missus (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

57 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Stan Laurel Productions

Trivia:

The role of Mrs. Hardy was originally intended for actress Mae Busch.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Mr. Gilbert is talking to the reporters about his hunting trip, you can see the shadow of the boom mic on the wall behind him.

Quotes:

Stan: [to 901 guy] There's going to be a fight.
Stan: [to bypassers] There's going to be a fight.
Stan: [to guy going into apartment] Hey, there's going to be a fight.
Stan: [to desk guy] You better call an ambulance. It's going to be terrible. There's going to be a fight.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Soldier Man (1926)

Here's another fine mess they got themselves into (I mean that in a positive way).

"Block-Heads" begins in WWI, where Stan and Ollie are in a platoon fighting in Europe. While Ollie and the rest of the group go into battle, Stan has to guard the post. You can tell that he's doing his job, because he continues doing it for twenty years after the war ends. After he returns to America, he and Ollie meet up again, and from there, they do their usual stuff. Probably the best scene was the football scene (I won't spoil it). But the wheelchair, temptress, garage door and kitchen all provide some laughs. They may play blockheads in the movie, but believe you me, Laurel and Hardy were comic geniuses. Gilligan and the Skipper were sort of a later version of them, and Chris Farley and David Spade were an even later version.