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Babes in Toyland
(1934)
With the holidays finally upon us I thought an excellent film program should be in store. Now that we've had our fill of turkey with all the trimmings (and I'm not referring to last month's films), your ever obedient "Keeper" promises a L&H; feature classic that's sure to entertain. And what a feature it is! As a special treat we are proud to present the 1934 musical-comedy Babes In Toyland, with the boys cast as Ollie Dee and Stannie Dum, names obviously patterned after Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum. For many years, this L&H; film has appeared under different titles, due to Disney's 1961 remake, which starred Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands. To avoid confusion, Hal Roach rechristened the 1934 version March of the Wooden Soldiers, which is the title that most of us were familiar with when the film first aired in the 1950s on New York's WPIX. Unfortunately, when the movie slipped into the public domain, the prints that were being distributed were usually cut, deleting some of the charming songs and sometimes even editing out the close-ups of the Bogeymen! Two sequences that were always eliminated were the 'storybook' beginning, featuring Virginia Kames as Mother Goose, and the charming lullaby 'Go to Sleep, Slumber Deep', sung by Felix Knight (Tom-Tom) in the cave sequence.
This month we are presenting Babes In Toyland shown in its entirely, with all original titles intact! This film was one of Stan and Babe's favorites, and has definitely stood the test of time. It can easily hold its own compared to other Christmas classics like It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, and A Christmas Carol and is far superior to its 1961 remake! It's astonishing to think that such a charming movie was produced in the midst of so much turmoil. When Hal Roach purchased the rights after seeing the Broadway play he quickly wrote a rough draft while enroute to his Culver City studio. After he enthusiastically showed his script to Stan, Roach claims the temperamental star dismissed the project saying that Laurel and Hardy couldn't appear without their derbies. An absurd statement indeed, considering the fact that the boys had already appeared without their derbies (successfully) in The Devil's Brother and The Rogue Song. Whatever the reason, Hal begrudgingly turned the project over to Laurel, allowing him to rewrite the scenario completely. What resulted was one of Stan and Babe's best pictures, which has emerged as a true film classic. Unfortunately, Roach was not pleased with the final results, and this hapless event ultimately was the beginning of the end of their harmonious working relationship. Thank heavens, Laurel and Hardy remained at Roach Studios for another six years, turning out a handful of great shorts and eight more exceptional features before their eventual split. As for Babes In Toyland, it garnered L&H;'s best reviews up to that point, and praised the directing team of Charles Rogers and Gus Meins for their splendid job (Rogers directed the boys' scenes while Meins utilized his talents guiding the romantic leads). The cast is exceptional with Charlotte Henry, fresh from her starring role in Paramount's Alice in Wonderland, portraying a charmingly winsome Little Bo Peep, and Felix Knight, warbling exceptionally well, as Tom-Tom the piper's son. Henry Brandon, as the villainous Silas Barnaby, does such an outstanding job that it's hard to believe he was a mere twenty-one when he was cast! Apparently, this prodigious casting was well-remembered when the people at Roach needed an evil villain four years later for Our Gang Follies of 1938! Again, Brandon was cast as Barnaby in this hightly entertaining "Little Rascals" comedy, which will be rounding our December film Program. >>Top of Page | Return to Films Index
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To further add to our confusion, British distributors reissued the film under the titles Laurel and Hardy in Toyland and Revenge Is Sweet, which has frustrated film purists considerably through the years.