You're Darn Tootin'
Encyclopedia
You're Darn Tootin' is a 1928
Laurel & Hardy
silent comedy
short
, produced by Hal Roach. It was shot in January 1928 and released April 21, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. The title is an American idiomatic phrase akin to "You're darn right!"
to wilt the two back into their chairs.
He gets the music rolling then, and it seems to proceed well: the group plays a passage, then the soloists stand and contribute — a trumpet first, then a trombone, until the clarinet
ist is called upon for his solo — and the cutaway shows him still sorting through his music charts with his friend, Mr. Hardy. Another up-close-and-personal staredown gets a bleat from Stan's woodwind that blows the hat off the maestro and is unmistakably a sour note — even though it's a silent picture. Touchingly, Ollie stands and provides the needed solo line from his French horn for his friend.
Stan's performance is dealt another blow when his clarinet comes all apart in his hands, then a particularly robust riff from the trombonist
behind him blows his music from its stand over to the conductor's podium and under his feet. Stan plucks the music — the French horn music — from Ollie's stand, sending him over to retrieve the sheets from under the maestro's stomping foot. When Ollie returns with the charts, he sees that they are for b-flat clarinet, and there is a musical twist on the wrong-hat swap. The kerfuffle over the music causes all the music stands (and several musicians) to tumble over like so many dominoes.
Back at their boardinghouse, The Boys settle in for a hearty meal — the pleasure of which is blunted when they find a note from the landlady: "In the excitement of having a job, you have overlooked 14 weeks board bill." Ollie tucks it away for postprandial
attention, but then the top falls off the pepper shaker and befouls his soup; he swaps his bowl with Stan's, and the salt shaker top falls off and ruins this second bowl. The landlady asks a boy at the table how the concert was, and he says, "It was great — after they was fired," pointing at The Boys. Wordlessly, they rise slowly from the table and are met at the door by the landlady, who is holding the totality of their worldly goods: one clarinet, one French horn — and two derbies.
A title card announces: "Re-financing — In business for themselves" and we pick them up on a streetcorner, instruments in hand. Even without the benefit of a soundtrack, the visuals alone are convincing that they are as sorry a duo as they were cogs in the ensemble: the exaggerated, uncoordinated foot stomping, the attempts to play the first note together, the rapid unraveling of the effort. You do not have to hear them to know how bad they are.
Sadly, they are unaware that their difficulties here are just an overture to those upcoming. First, a policeman comes by and asks if they have a license. "We have no dog," a befuddled Ollie answers — and the resulting bum's rush from the officer finds them seeking out a new corner. The new locale doesn't ease the musical discord, though, so a friendly drunk offers to serve as conductor, until his zeal with his walking stick raps Stan on the knuckles. The cop's return sends them off yet again, and first Stan, then Ollie, fall into manhole
s. To add incendiary to insult, Ollie gets a blowtorch to the backside by an irate subterranean worker.
One last try to earn a living through music: The Boys play a selection directly to a cross-eyed
passerby who pauses, listens, digs in his vest pocket as if for a coin — then strides away without contributing when they pass the hats, both of them. It is too much for Ollie: he takes Stan's clarinet and breaks it over his knee, which in turn is too much for Stan, who kicks the French horn under a passing steam roller. Ollie picks up his squashed instrument, blows into it, and pronounces it "Flat."
The Boys then enter into an atypical extended tit-for-tat routine against one another, escalating from shin-kicking through hanky-tearing, then jacket-ripping, button-popping and hat-stomping. A man emerging from the ABC Restaurant finds himself involved, and the melee quickly widens to some two dozen well-dressed adult male participants. It takes a surreal turn with the de-pantsing first of Hardy by Laurel, then of everyone by his adjacent combatant, until all are displaying their (impressively white) BVD
s — including the policeman.
From the swirling maelstrom of boxer shorts, we cut to a solitary king-size gentleman, alone in the frame, with his arms up, his pants gone and his chubby pale legs peeking out from gleaming white shorts: "I've been robbed!" he cries. It's instantly clear what happened when we see Stan and Ollie — walking together, finally in synch, in the enormous trousers — tipping their derbies at the audience as they exit the shot.
has written stirringly about You're Darn Tootin, its place in the L&H canon, and the poignancy of the canon itself:
Prolific film critic Leslie Halliwell
liked You're Darn Tootin as well: "...though early in their teaming [it] shows Stan and Ollie at their best in a salt shaker routine and in a surreal pants-ripping contest."
L&H Encyclopedia author Glenn Mitchell contrasts the expanding-mayhem finale with earlier scenes:
Silent film maven and movie-stills webmaster Bruce Calvert says:
Writing in the 1960s, early L&H analyst William K. Everson
appraised You're Darn Tootin:
, the international Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society, all take their names from L&H films; the You're Darn Tootin' Tent is in Mobile, Alabama.
1928 in film
-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...
Laurel & 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...
silent comedy
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
, produced by Hal Roach. It was shot in January 1928 and released April 21, 1928, 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...
. The title is an American idiomatic phrase akin to "You're darn right!"
Opening title
The story of two musicians who played neither by note nor ear — They used brute strength —Plot synopsis
When the orchestra leader strides onstage and makes his way to his podium, the audience at the bandshell applauds — and it's the last moment of harmony in the film. Of course, Laurel and Hardy establish themselves as the epicenter of the difficulties: somehow, they get out of synch with the other musicians, so when the conductor taps his baton for the band to stand up, The Boys sit down; another tap, and the band sits while The Boys stand up. Up and down, down and up — it takes a look-that-could-kill from the maestroMaestro
Maestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
to wilt the two back into their chairs.
He gets the music rolling then, and it seems to proceed well: the group plays a passage, then the soloists stand and contribute — a trumpet first, then a trombone, until the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
ist is called upon for his solo — and the cutaway shows him still sorting through his music charts with his friend, Mr. Hardy. Another up-close-and-personal staredown gets a bleat from Stan's woodwind that blows the hat off the maestro and is unmistakably a sour note — even though it's a silent picture. Touchingly, Ollie stands and provides the needed solo line from his French horn for his friend.
Stan's performance is dealt another blow when his clarinet comes all apart in his hands, then a particularly robust riff from the trombonist
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
behind him blows his music from its stand over to the conductor's podium and under his feet. Stan plucks the music — the French horn music — from Ollie's stand, sending him over to retrieve the sheets from under the maestro's stomping foot. When Ollie returns with the charts, he sees that they are for b-flat clarinet, and there is a musical twist on the wrong-hat swap. The kerfuffle over the music causes all the music stands (and several musicians) to tumble over like so many dominoes.
Back at their boardinghouse, The Boys settle in for a hearty meal — the pleasure of which is blunted when they find a note from the landlady: "In the excitement of having a job, you have overlooked 14 weeks board bill." Ollie tucks it away for postprandial
Postprandial
Postprandial means after eating a meal while preprandial is before a meal.-Usages of the term:This term is used in many contexts but also in relation to blood sugar levels, which are normally measured 2 hours after and before eating in a postprandial glucose test...
attention, but then the top falls off the pepper shaker and befouls his soup; he swaps his bowl with Stan's, and the salt shaker top falls off and ruins this second bowl. The landlady asks a boy at the table how the concert was, and he says, "It was great — after they was fired," pointing at The Boys. Wordlessly, they rise slowly from the table and are met at the door by the landlady, who is holding the totality of their worldly goods: one clarinet, one French horn — and two derbies.
A title card announces: "Re-financing — In business for themselves" and we pick them up on a streetcorner, instruments in hand. Even without the benefit of a soundtrack, the visuals alone are convincing that they are as sorry a duo as they were cogs in the ensemble: the exaggerated, uncoordinated foot stomping, the attempts to play the first note together, the rapid unraveling of the effort. You do not have to hear them to know how bad they are.
Sadly, they are unaware that their difficulties here are just an overture to those upcoming. First, a policeman comes by and asks if they have a license. "We have no dog," a befuddled Ollie answers — and the resulting bum's rush from the officer finds them seeking out a new corner. The new locale doesn't ease the musical discord, though, so a friendly drunk offers to serve as conductor, until his zeal with his walking stick raps Stan on the knuckles. The cop's return sends them off yet again, and first Stan, then Ollie, fall into manhole
Manhole
A manhole is an opening used to gain access to sewers or other underground structures, usually for maintenance.Manhole may also refer to:* Manhole , a metal band from Los Angeles* The Manhole, a computer game...
s. To add incendiary to insult, Ollie gets a blowtorch to the backside by an irate subterranean worker.
One last try to earn a living through music: The Boys play a selection directly to a cross-eyed
Esotropia
Esotropia is a form of strabismus, or "squint", in which one or both eyes turns inward. The condition can be constantly present, or occur intermittently, and can give the affected individual a "cross-eyed" appearance...
passerby who pauses, listens, digs in his vest pocket as if for a coin — then strides away without contributing when they pass the hats, both of them. It is too much for Ollie: he takes Stan's clarinet and breaks it over his knee, which in turn is too much for Stan, who kicks the French horn under a passing steam roller. Ollie picks up his squashed instrument, blows into it, and pronounces it "Flat."
The Boys then enter into an atypical extended tit-for-tat routine against one another, escalating from shin-kicking through hanky-tearing, then jacket-ripping, button-popping and hat-stomping. A man emerging from the ABC Restaurant finds himself involved, and the melee quickly widens to some two dozen well-dressed adult male participants. It takes a surreal turn with the de-pantsing first of Hardy by Laurel, then of everyone by his adjacent combatant, until all are displaying their (impressively white) BVD
BVD
BVD is a brand of men's underwear, which are commonly referred to as "BVDs." BVD stands for Bradley, Voorhees & Day, the New York City firm that initially manufactured underwear of this name for both men and women. BVD is now only for men. It was founded in 1876 and named for its three founders.-...
s — including the policeman.
From the swirling maelstrom of boxer shorts, we cut to a solitary king-size gentleman, alone in the frame, with his arms up, his pants gone and his chubby pale legs peeking out from gleaming white shorts: "I've been robbed!" he cries. It's instantly clear what happened when we see Stan and Ollie — walking together, finally in synch, in the enormous trousers — tipping their derbies at the audience as they exit the shot.
Production and exhibition
- The film was originally released in the UK under its working title The Music Blasters.
- The final US release title was supplied by H. M. "Beanie" WalkerH. M. WalkerHarley M. "Beanie" Walker was a member of the Hal Roach movie production company from 1916 until his resignation in 1932...
. - The short was directed by fellow film comedian Edgar KennedyEdgar KennedyEdgar Livingston Kennedy was an American comedic film actor, known as "the king of the slow burn". A slow burn is an exasperated facial expression, performed very deliberately; Kennedy embellished this by rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face, in an attempt to hold his temper...
, here billed as "E. Livingston Kennedy". - Scenes from this film were featured in several silent film compilations of the 1960s produced by Robert YoungsonRobert YoungsonRobert Youngson was a film producer, director, and screenwriter.Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was responsible for reacquainting movie audiences with the work of the great silent comedians. His feature-film compilations The Golden Age of Comedy and When Comedy Was King were popular successes...
. - The film was shown on the BBC FourBBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
programme Paul Merton's Silent Clowns in full with an original, specially composed, musical score.
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 Stanley - 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 - Otto LedererOtto LedererOtto Lederer was a Czech-born American film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1912 and 1933.He was born in Prague, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He was married to actress Gretchen Lederer...
as Bandleader (uncredited) - Charlie Hall as Musician (uncredited)
- Wilson Benge as Musician (uncredited)
- Ham KinseyHam KinseyHam Kinsey , was an American actor. He appeared in 39 films between 1926 and 1936 mostly at the Hal Roach Studios where he supported Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy.He died in Los Angeles, California, USA....
as Musician (uncredited) - William IrvingWilliam Irving (actor)William Irving was a German-born American film actor. He appeared in 174 films between 1916 and 1941. Irving died of a heart attack on Christmas Day, 1943.-Selected filmography:* Whose Baby?...
as Musician (uncredited) - Agnes SteeleAgnes SteeleAgnes Steele , was an American actress. She appeared in 13 films between 1926 and 1949.She died in Los Angeles, California.-External links:...
as Landlady (uncredited) - Dick GilbertDick GilbertDick Gilbert , was an American actor mainly associated with the Hal Roach Studios,where he appeared in numerous Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy comedies...
as Boarder (uncredited) - Christian J. FrankChristian J. FrankChristian J. Frank , was an American actor. He appeared in 65 films between 1920 and 1948.He was born in New York, New York, USA and died in Los Angeles, California.-External links:...
as Policeman (uncredited) - Rolfe SedanRolfe SedanRolfe Sedan was an American character actor.Born Edward Sedan in New York City, his mother was a Broadway theatre fashion designer and his father a symphony conductor....
as Drunk (uncredited) - Chet BrandenburgChet BrandenburgChet Brandenburg , was an American actor. He appeared in 33 films between 1924 and 1957.He was born in Kentucky and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.-Selected filmography:* The Pinch Singer...
as Manhole Worker (uncredited) - George Rowe as Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Sam LufkinSam LufkinSamuel "Sam" William Lufkin was an American actor who usually appeared in small or bit roles in short comedy films.-Career:Born in Utah, Lufkin spent most of his career at the Hal Roach Studios where he made over 60 films...
as Man in Restaurant (uncredited)
Critical reputation
L&H scholar Randy SkretvedtRandy Skretvedt
Randy Skretvedt is an American film and music scholar, author, lecturer and broadcaster. His 1987 book Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies is the reference standard for Laurel and Hardy fans Randy Skretvedt (b. November 1958) is an American film and music scholar, author, lecturer and...
has written stirringly about You're Darn Tootin, its place in the L&H canon, and the poignancy of the canon itself:
- "You're Darn Tootin is the first clear statement of the essential idea inherent in Laurel and Hardy. The world is not their oyster: they are the pearls trapped in the oyster. Their jobs hang by rapidly unraveling threads. Their possessions crumble into dust. Their dreams die just at the point of fruition. Their dignity is assaulted constantly. At times they can't live with each other, but they'll never be able to live without each other. Each other is all they will ever have. That, and the hope for a better day — which is about the most profound philosophical statement ever to come from a two-reel comedy."
Prolific film critic Leslie Halliwell
Leslie Halliwell
Robert James Leslie Halliwell was a British film encyclopaedist and television impresario who in 1965 compiled The Filmgoer's Companion, the first one-volume encyclopaedia devoted to all aspects of the cinema. He followed it a dozen years later with Halliwell's Film Guide, another monumental work...
liked You're Darn Tootin as well: "...though early in their teaming [it] shows Stan and Ollie at their best in a salt shaker routine and in a surreal pants-ripping contest."
L&H Encyclopedia author Glenn Mitchell contrasts the expanding-mayhem finale with earlier scenes:
- "You're Darn Tootin contains what is in many respects the best of Laurel & Hardy's huge street battles. So good is this climactic sequence that other sections tend to be ignored: the opening bandstand segment is timed to a musical beat...."
Silent film maven and movie-stills webmaster Bruce Calvert says:
- "This classic Laurel and Hardy comedy is famous for the pants-ripping scene at the end, but the other parts of it are just as funny.... The final pants-ripping scene is not funny just because so many men lose their pants, but because Laurel and Hardy come up with inventive ways to pull more innocent bystanders into the fray."
Writing in the 1960s, early L&H analyst William K. Everson
William K. Everson
William Keith "Bill" Everson was an English-American archivist, author, critic, educator, collector and film historian. He often discovered lost films.-Early life and career:...
appraised You're Darn Tootin:
- "The boarding house [dinner] is a charming sequence with Hardy's fruitless efforts to charm and cajole the landlady.... The shin-kicking, pants-ripping finale is one of their best and most meticulously constructed sequences of controlled savagery, similar to and in many ways better than the great pie fight [of The Battle of the CenturyThe Battle of the CenturyThe Battle of the Century is a 1927 Hal Roach two-reeler starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who, although just teamed, had yet to take on their recognisable Stan and Ollie characters on a more or less permanent basis. A young Lou Costello can be seen in an early scene as a member of the...
]."
Revival
In 2005 the film was shown as part of the "Silent Comedy Greats" season viewed by an audience at the Rex Cinema, Berkhamsted. A specially composed piece of music to accompany the film was played by members of the Aylesbury Community Concert Band.The Sons of the Desert
Chapters, called Tents, of The Sons of the DesertThe Sons of the Desert
The Sons of the Desert is an international fraternal organization devoted to lives and films of comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The group takes its name from a lodge that Laurel and Hardy belonged to in the 1933 movie Sons of the Desert....
, the international Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society, all take their names from L&H films; the You're Darn Tootin' Tent is in Mobile, Alabama.