Them Thar Hills
Encyclopedia
Them Thar Hills is a short comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy
.
The story involves Stan and Ollie traveling to the mountains for Ollie to recover from gout
. They park their caravan near a deserted cabin recently occupied by a gang of moonshiners who had been ousted by Prohibition authorities; the moonshiners, attempting to hide the evidence, had dumped their brew into the well, which Stan and Ollie now proceed to drink from, thinking that it is healthy mountain water ("that odd taste is just the natural iron in the water").
A motorist couple who have run out of petrol arrive and ask for help. While the irritable and overbearing husband (played by familiar nemesis Charlie Hall) walks back to his car with Stan's spare can of petrol, the man's wife (Mae Busch), appreciating the boys' affable and respectful manners as a refreshing relief from her husband's crabby belligerence, willingly joins the boys for supper and ladlefuls of the "mountain water". The husband returns with the car to find that the three are all roaring drunk, and his anger at Stan and Ollie triggers a "tit for tat" sequence at the end. It culminates with the wrecking of the caravan, Hall being tarred with molasses
and feathered, and with a toilet-plunger stuck to his forehead. Ollie then jumps into the well because his trousers are on fire. The alcohol in the water detonates, causing Ollie's explosive ejection, leaving him buried in the ground with his legs flailing in the final scene. It is one of the team's most celebrated "tit for tat sequences; so much so that a sequel
, Tit for Tat
, was produced the following year.
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...
.
The story involves Stan and Ollie traveling to the mountains for Ollie to recover from gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
. They park their caravan near a deserted cabin recently occupied by a gang of moonshiners who had been ousted by Prohibition authorities; the moonshiners, attempting to hide the evidence, had dumped their brew into the well, which Stan and Ollie now proceed to drink from, thinking that it is healthy mountain water ("that odd taste is just the natural iron in the water").
A motorist couple who have run out of petrol arrive and ask for help. While the irritable and overbearing husband (played by familiar nemesis Charlie Hall) walks back to his car with Stan's spare can of petrol, the man's wife (Mae Busch), appreciating the boys' affable and respectful manners as a refreshing relief from her husband's crabby belligerence, willingly joins the boys for supper and ladlefuls of the "mountain water". The husband returns with the car to find that the three are all roaring drunk, and his anger at Stan and Ollie triggers a "tit for tat" sequence at the end. It culminates with the wrecking of the caravan, Hall being tarred with molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
and feathered, and with a toilet-plunger stuck to his forehead. Ollie then jumps into the well because his trousers are on fire. The alcohol in the water detonates, causing Ollie's explosive ejection, leaving him buried in the ground with his legs flailing in the final scene. It is one of the team's most celebrated "tit for tat sequences; so much so that a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, Tit for Tat
Tit for Tat (1935 film)
Tit for Tat is a 1935 short comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. It was the only direct sequel they made, following the story of the previous year's Them Thar Hills...
, was produced the following year.