.gif)
Babes in Toyland (1934 film)
Encyclopedia
Babes in Toyland is a Laurel and Hardy
musical film released in November 1934. The film is also known by its alternate titles Laurel and Hardy in Toyland, Revenge Is Sweet (the 1948 European reissue title), March of the Wooden Soldiers and Wooden Soldiers (in the United States).
Based on Victor Herbert
's popular 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland
, the film was produced by Hal Roach
, directed by Charles Rogers and Gus Meins
, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. Originally filmed in black-and-white, the film is also shown in two computer colorized versions
.
Although the 1934 film makes use of many of the characters in the original play, as well as several of the songs, the plot is almost completely unlike that of the original stage production. In contrast to the stage version, the film's story takes place entirely in Toyland, which is inhabited by Mother Goose
and other well known fairy tale
characters. Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee (played by Laurel and Hardy
, respectively), live in a shoe (as in the nursery rhyme There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe
), along with Mother Peep (the Old Woman), Bo Peep
, a mouse resembling Mickey Mouse
(and actually played by a live monkey in a costume), and many other children. The mortgage on the shoe is owned by the villainous Silas Barnaby, who is looking to marry Bo Peep. Stannie and Ollie set out to get the money for the mortgage from their boss, The Toymaker. But after the Toymaker finds that Stannie has mixed up an order from Santa Claus
(building 100 wooden soldiers at six feet tall, instead of 600 soldiers at one foot tall) and one of the soldiers wrecks the toy shop, Stannie and Ollie are fired without getting the money.
The two then hatch a plan to sneak into Barnaby's house and steal the mortgage, but are again foiled by their incompetence. Barnaby has them arrested on a burglary
charge, and the two are sentenced to be dunked in the ducking stool and then banished to Bogeyland. But Barnaby agrees to drop the charges if Bo Peep will marry him. She reluctantly agrees, but not before Ollie suffers the humiliation of the dunking.
Stannie and Ollie come up with a new scheme. At the wedding, Ollie is present to give the bride away. After the nuptials, but before the ceremonial kiss, Ollie asks for the "wedding present" (the mortgage) from Barnaby. After inspecting it, Ollie tears it up, and then lifts the bride's veil — to reveal Stannie, who had worn Bo Peep's wedding dress to the ceremony. Bo Peep is still free, and the mortgage is gone. Ollie teases Stan about having to live with Barnaby as Stan cries saying "I don't LOVE him".
Enraged, Barnaby plots his revenge, eventually hitting on the idea of framing Bo Peep's true love, Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son
, on a trumped-up charge of "pignapping", and getting him banished to Bogeyland. Barnaby proceeds to abduct Little Elmer, one of the Three Little Pigs
, and then has a henchman plant false evidence (including sausage
links) in Tom-Tom's house. Tom-Tom is put on trial, convicted, and banished to Bogeyland, which he is taken to on a raft by two hooded executioners across an alligator infested river. A distraught Bo Peep follows him.
Meanwhile, Ollie and Stannie find evidence implicating Barnaby in the pignaping, including the fact that the alleged sausage links presented as evidence at Tom-Tom's trial are made of beef. They later find the kidnaped pig alive in Barnaby's cellar.
A manhunt commences for Barnaby, who flees to Bogeyland through a secret passageway at the bottom of an empty well. Stannie and Ollie eventually follow Barnaby down the well. Meanwhile, Bo Peep crosses the river to Bogeyland, finds Tom-Tom and explains Barnaby's trickery to him.
In a sequence cut from most of the television prints (the version shown on WPIX
in New York retains this sequence), Tom-Tom sings a lullaby (Victor Herbert's "Go to Sleep, Slumber Deep") to Bo-Peep in an enormous cave set with giant spider webs. Barnaby catches up to Tom-Tom and Bo Peep, and attempts to abduct Bo Peep but gets into a fight with Tom-Tom, who gives Barnaby a well-deserved thrashing.
Pursued by Barnaby, Bo Peep and Tom-Tom escape into the caverns of Bogeyland and run into Stannie and Ollie. The foursome escape back through the well and are welcomed by the town, who now realize Barnaby's treachery. An enraged Barnaby grabs a large stick and beats a stalactite to summon an army of Bogeymen. He leads an invasion of Toyland on a fleet of rafts in a scene reminiscent of the painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware
.
Ollie and Stan tell their story to Old King Cole
(the King of Toyland) and the townspeople as two Bogeymen scale the wall and open the gate. The crowd flees in panic as the army of torch-wielding Bogeymen attacks Toyland. Ollie and Stannie run and hide in the toy shop. There they discover boxes of darts
and use them to fight off the Bogeymen. Stan and Ollie then empty an entire box of darts into a cannon, but as the two search for the last remaining darts, they realize instead that they should activate the wooden soldier
s. The "march" alluded to in the film's title begins as the soldiers march out of the toy shop (filmed in a stop-motion animation sequence by Roy Seawright
). The scene changes to live action as the soldiers attack the Bogeymen with the bayonets of their rifles. Barnaby is defeated and trapped and covered by blocks that spelled "rat" and the Bogeymen are routed and driven back into Bogeyland, where alligators appear to feast on them, although this is never made clear. The kingdom of Toyland is saved. Stan and Ollie decide to give the Bogeymen a parting shot with the dart-filled cannon. As Stan aims the cannon and lights the fuse, and Ollie turns away to avoid the loud blast, the barrel of the cannon flips backwards and unleashes the barrage of darts on Ollie, covering his back with darts. The film ends with Stan pulling them out one by one as Ollie winces.
" was not one of the original stage songs, but did appear in the Three Little Pigs
segment.
was one of many feature films with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. After it appeared in theaters, it was re-released several times, but unfortunately, the title was constantly changed to make it seem to audiences that they were going to see a different film. Then it surfaced as a holiday movie on TV. Those who would see it, including critics, said it was a forgotten gem among the many movies of the 1930s and the best film of the Laurel and Hardy features.
A holiday staple, many television stations in the US
showed this film near Thanksgiving
time each year during the '60s and '70s. In New York, it was run on WPIX TV channel 11, as March of the Wooden Soldiers, and still runs on that station in daytime on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day: on Channel 11 and other stations, it has run more times than the nationwide network runs of The Wizard of Oz
, It's a Wonderful Life
, and A Charlie Brown Christmas
. In more recent years, it has been shown in some markets on Christmas
Day. In December 2009, the film aired on the ThisTV sub channel network throughout the U.S. and was also shown on KTLA-TV Los Angeles main channel 5.1.
in 1961, with many of the same characters, but with an entirely different plot. Disney acknowledged the 1934 film by having actors Henry Calvin
and Gene Sheldon
play two characters very similar to Laurel and Hardy.
Years later, Orion Television produced a three-hour (with commercials) television musical adaptation of the operetta with Drew Barrymore
, although her singing voice was dubbed by a vocal double. The cast included Pat Morita
and Keanu Reeves
. This version disposed of nearly all the Victor Herbert music (keeping notably "Toyland" and "March of the Toys"), replacing it with songs by Leslie Bricusse
.
The film was restored and colorized for TV showings and video release in 1991 by The Samuel Goldwyn Company
. In 2006, the complete print was restored and colorized by Legend Films
, using the latest technology. Although the Legend Films release was advertised under its reissue title, both the color and black-and-white prints featured the original title and opening credits. Both colorized versions correctly depict Stan's hair as being red
, not medium brown as it appears in other colorized Laurel and Hardy movies.
The film has been distributed by many home video companies over the decades. Thunderbird Films released 16 mm prints in the 1970s drawn from a heavily spliced (and incomplete) master. An "official" version has been released on DVD by MGM, the film's original distributor and now the ancillary rights holder (having inherited the film from the Samuel Goldwyn Company, the former owners of the picture). On September 14, 2010 Legend Films released the movie on Blu-ray titled March of the Wooden Soldiers With Laurel & Hardy. This Blu-ray also contains the animated 1948 short Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
musical film released in November 1934. The film is also known by its alternate titles Laurel and Hardy in Toyland, Revenge Is Sweet (the 1948 European reissue title), March of the Wooden Soldiers and Wooden Soldiers (in the United States).
Based on Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
's popular 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (operetta)
Babes in Toyland is an operetta composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Glen MacDonough , which wove together various characters from Mother Goose nursery rhymes into a Christmas-themed musical extravaganza. The creators wanted to cash in on the extraordinary success of The Wizard of Oz,...
, the film was produced by Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
, directed by Charles Rogers and Gus Meins
Gus Meins
Gus Meins was a German-American film director. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany.-Career:...
, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. Originally filmed in black-and-white, the film is also shown in two computer colorized versions
Film colorization
Film colorization is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia or monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, or to modernize black-and-white films, or to restore color films...
.
Plot
Mother Goose
The familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...
and other well known fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
characters. Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee (played by Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
, respectively), live in a shoe (as in the nursery rhyme There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe
There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe
"There Was an Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19132.-Lyrics:The most common version of the rhyme is:There was an old woman who lived in a shoe....
), along with Mother Peep (the Old Woman), Bo Peep
Little Bo Peep
"Little Bo Peep" or "Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6487.-Lyrics:As with most products of oral tradition, there are many variations to the rhyme...
, a mouse resembling Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
(and actually played by a live monkey in a costume), and many other children. The mortgage on the shoe is owned by the villainous Silas Barnaby, who is looking to marry Bo Peep. Stannie and Ollie set out to get the money for the mortgage from their boss, The Toymaker. But after the Toymaker finds that Stannie has mixed up an order from Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
(building 100 wooden soldiers at six feet tall, instead of 600 soldiers at one foot tall) and one of the soldiers wrecks the toy shop, Stannie and Ollie are fired without getting the money.
The two then hatch a plan to sneak into Barnaby's house and steal the mortgage, but are again foiled by their incompetence. Barnaby has them arrested on a burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
charge, and the two are sentenced to be dunked in the ducking stool and then banished to Bogeyland. But Barnaby agrees to drop the charges if Bo Peep will marry him. She reluctantly agrees, but not before Ollie suffers the humiliation of the dunking.
Stannie and Ollie come up with a new scheme. At the wedding, Ollie is present to give the bride away. After the nuptials, but before the ceremonial kiss, Ollie asks for the "wedding present" (the mortgage) from Barnaby. After inspecting it, Ollie tears it up, and then lifts the bride's veil — to reveal Stannie, who had worn Bo Peep's wedding dress to the ceremony. Bo Peep is still free, and the mortgage is gone. Ollie teases Stan about having to live with Barnaby as Stan cries saying "I don't LOVE him".
Enraged, Barnaby plots his revenge, eventually hitting on the idea of framing Bo Peep's true love, Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son
Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son
"Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19621.-Lyrics:Modern versions of the rhyme include:...
, on a trumped-up charge of "pignapping", and getting him banished to Bogeyland. Barnaby proceeds to abduct Little Elmer, one of the Three Little Pigs
Three Little Pigs
Three Little Pigs is a fairy tale featuring anthropomorphic animals. Printed versions date back to the 1840s, but the story itself is thought to be much older...
, and then has a henchman plant false evidence (including sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
links) in Tom-Tom's house. Tom-Tom is put on trial, convicted, and banished to Bogeyland, which he is taken to on a raft by two hooded executioners across an alligator infested river. A distraught Bo Peep follows him.
Meanwhile, Ollie and Stannie find evidence implicating Barnaby in the pignaping, including the fact that the alleged sausage links presented as evidence at Tom-Tom's trial are made of beef. They later find the kidnaped pig alive in Barnaby's cellar.
A manhunt commences for Barnaby, who flees to Bogeyland through a secret passageway at the bottom of an empty well. Stannie and Ollie eventually follow Barnaby down the well. Meanwhile, Bo Peep crosses the river to Bogeyland, finds Tom-Tom and explains Barnaby's trickery to him.
In a sequence cut from most of the television prints (the version shown on WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
in New York retains this sequence), Tom-Tom sings a lullaby (Victor Herbert's "Go to Sleep, Slumber Deep") to Bo-Peep in an enormous cave set with giant spider webs. Barnaby catches up to Tom-Tom and Bo Peep, and attempts to abduct Bo Peep but gets into a fight with Tom-Tom, who gives Barnaby a well-deserved thrashing.
Pursued by Barnaby, Bo Peep and Tom-Tom escape into the caverns of Bogeyland and run into Stannie and Ollie. The foursome escape back through the well and are welcomed by the town, who now realize Barnaby's treachery. An enraged Barnaby grabs a large stick and beats a stalactite to summon an army of Bogeymen. He leads an invasion of Toyland on a fleet of rafts in a scene reminiscent of the painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Washington Crossing the Delaware is an 1851 oil-on-canvas painting by German American artist Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze. It commemorates General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on December 25, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War...
.
Ollie and Stan tell their story to Old King Cole
Old King Cole
"Old King Cole" is an English nursery rhyme. The historical identity of King Cole has been much debated and several candidates have been advanced as possibilities...
(the King of Toyland) and the townspeople as two Bogeymen scale the wall and open the gate. The crowd flees in panic as the army of torch-wielding Bogeymen attacks Toyland. Ollie and Stannie run and hide in the toy shop. There they discover boxes of darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
and use them to fight off the Bogeymen. Stan and Ollie then empty an entire box of darts into a cannon, but as the two search for the last remaining darts, they realize instead that they should activate the wooden soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s. The "march" alluded to in the film's title begins as the soldiers march out of the toy shop (filmed in a stop-motion animation sequence by Roy Seawright
Roy Seawright
Roy Seawright born 19 November 1905 in Los Angeles, California, died 30 April 1991 in Torrance, California was a Hollywood special effects technician, principally with Hal Roach Studios....
). The scene changes to live action as the soldiers attack the Bogeymen with the bayonets of their rifles. Barnaby is defeated and trapped and covered by blocks that spelled "rat" and the Bogeymen are routed and driven back into Bogeyland, where alligators appear to feast on them, although this is never made clear. The kingdom of Toyland is saved. Stan and Ollie decide to give the Bogeymen a parting shot with the dart-filled cannon. As Stan aims the cannon and lights the fuse, and Ollie turns away to avoid the loud blast, the barrel of the cannon flips backwards and unleashes the barrage of darts on Ollie, covering his back with darts. The film ends with Stan pulling them out one by one as Ollie winces.
Cast
- Stan LaurelStan LaurelArthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
as Stannie Dum - Oliver HardyOliver HardyOliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
as Ollie Dee - Charlotte HenryCharlotte HenryCharlotte Henry was an American actress who is best remembered for her roles in Alice in Wonderland and Babes in Toyland . She also starred in the Frank Buck serial Jungle Menace.-Early years:...
as Little Bo-Peep - Felix Knight as Tom-Tom PiperTom, Tom, the Piper's Son"Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19621.-Lyrics:Modern versions of the rhyme include:...
- Henry Brandon as Silas Barnaby
- Florence RobertsFlorence RobertsFlorence Roberts was an actress of the stage and in motion pictures.-Stock Company Actress:Born in Frederick, Maryland, she began acting on the stage in New York, New York at the age of 19. Her career began at the Brooklyn, New York Opera House in Hoop of Gold...
as Mother Widow PeepThere was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe"There Was an Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19132.-Lyrics:The most common version of the rhyme is:There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.... - Virginia KarnsVirginia KarnsVirginia Karns was a singer and character actor at the Hal Roach Studios in the early 1930s. Fans probably remember her best from the opening scene of the Laurel and Hardy musical comedy Babes in Toyland , in which she portrayed Mother Goose.She also appeared in films with Thelma Todd, Patsy...
as Mother GooseMother GooseThe familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom... - Marie WilsonMarie Wilson (American actress)Katherine Elisabeth Wilson , better known by her stage name, Marie Wilson, was an American radio, film, and television actress. She may be best remembered as the title character in My Friend Irma.-Career:...
as Mary Quite ContraryMary, Mary, Quite Contrary"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" is a popular English nursery rhyme. The rhyme has been seen as having religious and historical significance, but its origins and meaning are disputed... - Johnny DownsJohnny DownsJohnny Downs was an American actor. Son of a Naval aviator, he was taken to Hollywood in 1921 when his father was transferred to the San Diego naval base. He began his career as a child actor, most notably playing Johnny in the Our Gang short series from 1923 to 1926...
as Little Boy BlueLittle Boy Blue"Little Boy Blue" is a popular English language nursery rhyme, often used in popular culture. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11318.-Lyrics:The most common version of the rhyme is:... - Alice Moore as Queen of HeartsThe Queen of Hearts (poem)"The Queen of Hearts" is a poem based on the characters found on playing cards, by an anonymous author, originally published with three lesser-known stanzas, "The King of Spades", "The King of Clubs", and "The Diamond King", in the British publication The European Magazine, no. 434, in April 1782...
- Kewpie Morgan as Old King ColeOld King Cole"Old King Cole" is an English nursery rhyme. The historical identity of King Cole has been much debated and several candidates have been advanced as possibilities...
- Ferdinand Munier as Santa ClausSanta ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
- Robert Hoover as Bobby ShaftoeBobby Shafto's Gone to Sea"Bobby Shafto's Gone to Sea" or "Bobby Shafto" is an English language folk song and nursery rhyme. It has a Roud index number of 1359.-Lyrics:The most common modern version is:...
- Charley RogersCharley RogersCharley Rogers was an English film actor, director and screenwriter, best known for his association with Laurel and Hardy. He appeared in 37 films between 1912 and 1954...
as Simple SimonSimple Simon (nursery rhyme)"Simple Simon" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19777.-Lyrics:The rhyme is as follows;*Simple Simon was played by Charley Rogers in Babes in Toyland .... - Jean DarlingJean DarlingJean Darling is a former American child actress who was a regular in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1927 to 1929. She remains the last surviving cast member from the silent era.-Career:...
as Goldilocks - Billy BletcherBilly BletcherWilliam "Billy" Bletcher was an American actor, comedian, and voice artist, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.-Career:...
as the Chief of Police - William Burress as the Toymaker
- Russell Coles as Tom TuckerLittle Tommy Tucker‘Little Tommy Tucker’ is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19618.- Lyrics :Common modern versions include:*Was played by Russell Coles in Babes in Toyland ...
- Alice Dahl as Little Miss MuffetLittle Miss Muffet"Little Miss Muffet" is a nursery rhyme, one of the most commonly printed in the mid-twentieth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20605.-Lyrics:-Alternative Lyrics:...
- Sumner GetchellSumner GetchellSumner Getchell was an American film actor. He appeared in 65 films between 1926 and 1953.He was born in Oakland, California and died in Sebastopol, California.-Selected filmography:...
as Little Jack HornerLittle Jack Horner"Little Jack Horner" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has the Roud Folk Song Index number of 13027.-Lyrics:The most common modern lyrics are:Little Jack HornerSat in the corner,Eating a Christmas pie;He put in his thumb,...
Songs
The film featured only seven musical numbers from the enormous stage score, though that was fitting for a musical with only a 78-minute running time. Included in the film, in the order in which they were performed, were "Toyland" (opening), "Never Mind Bo-Peep", "Toymaker's Workshop", "Castle in Spain", "Go to Sleep (Slumber Deep)", and "March of the Toys", an instrumental piece and "I Can't do the Sum" for the running theme of Laurel and Hardy's scenes. The opening song was performed by Mother Goose; most of the rest were sung/led by Bo Peep and/or Tom-Tom. While none of the songs were performed by Laurel and Hardy, the two briefly danced and marched in a memorable scene to "March of the Toys". Another song, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" is a popular song written by Frank Churchill with additional lyrics by Ann Ronell, which originally featured in the 1933 Disney cartoon Three Little Pigs, where it was sung by Fiddler Pig and Fifer Pig as they arrogantly believe their houses of straw and twigs...
" was not one of the original stage songs, but did appear in the Three Little Pigs
Three Little Pigs
Three Little Pigs is a fairy tale featuring anthropomorphic animals. Printed versions date back to the 1840s, but the story itself is thought to be much older...
segment.
Popularity
Released in 1934, Babes in ToylandBabes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland may refer to:* Babes in Toyland , an American punk rock band* Babes in Toyland , a 1903 operetta by Victor Herbert* Babes in Toyland , a musical comedy starring Laurel and Hardy...
was one of many feature films with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. After it appeared in theaters, it was re-released several times, but unfortunately, the title was constantly changed to make it seem to audiences that they were going to see a different film. Then it surfaced as a holiday movie on TV. Those who would see it, including critics, said it was a forgotten gem among the many movies of the 1930s and the best film of the Laurel and Hardy features.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
showed this film near Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
time each year during the '60s and '70s. In New York, it was run on WPIX TV channel 11, as March of the Wooden Soldiers, and still runs on that station in daytime on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day: on Channel 11 and other stations, it has run more times than the nationwide network runs of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, and A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is the first prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced and directed by former Warner Bros. and UPA animator Bill Melendez, who also supplied the voice for the character of Snoopy...
. In more recent years, it has been shown in some markets on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
Day. In December 2009, the film aired on the ThisTV sub channel network throughout the U.S. and was also shown on KTLA-TV Los Angeles main channel 5.1.
Other versions
A Technicolor version of the operetta was made by Walt DisneyWalt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
in 1961, with many of the same characters, but with an entirely different plot. Disney acknowledged the 1934 film by having actors Henry Calvin
Henry Calvin
Henry Calvin was an American comic actor best known for his role as Sergeant Garcia on Walt Disney's live-action television series Zorro .-Early life:...
and Gene Sheldon
Gene Sheldon
Gene Sheldon was an American film and television actor and musician. He is best remembered as the mute servant Bernardo on Walt Disney's live-action TV series Zorro .-Biography and career:...
play two characters very similar to Laurel and Hardy.
Years later, Orion Television produced a three-hour (with commercials) television musical adaptation of the operetta with Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
, although her singing voice was dubbed by a vocal double. The cast included Pat Morita
Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
and Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
. This version disposed of nearly all the Victor Herbert music (keeping notably "Toyland" and "March of the Toys"), replacing it with songs by Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
.
Alternative versions
In 1950, the 79-minute Babes in Toyland was edited down to a 73-minute version for Lippert Pictures theatrical reissue, as March of the Wooden Soldiers. For many years, most television prints were taken from this abridged edition.The film was restored and colorized for TV showings and video release in 1991 by The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1979.-Background:...
. In 2006, the complete print was restored and colorized by Legend Films
Legend Films
Legend Films, a San Diego-based company, was founded in August 2001. The company specializes in the conversion of feature films, both new release and catalog titles, and commercials from their native 2D format into 3-D film format utilizing proprietary technology and software...
, using the latest technology. Although the Legend Films release was advertised under its reissue title, both the color and black-and-white prints featured the original title and opening credits. Both colorized versions correctly depict Stan's hair as being red
Red hair
Red hair occurs on approximately 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations...
, not medium brown as it appears in other colorized Laurel and Hardy movies.
The film has been distributed by many home video companies over the decades. Thunderbird Films released 16 mm prints in the 1970s drawn from a heavily spliced (and incomplete) master. An "official" version has been released on DVD by MGM, the film's original distributor and now the ancillary rights holder (having inherited the film from the Samuel Goldwyn Company, the former owners of the picture). On September 14, 2010 Legend Films released the movie on Blu-ray titled March of the Wooden Soldiers With Laurel & Hardy. This Blu-ray also contains the animated 1948 short Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
External links
- The international Laurel and Hardy society, Sons of the Desert
- original film trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPf8HTipQxc
- The Making of a Christmas Classic