Pardon Us

In 1930, one of MGM's largest successes was THE BIG HOUSE, with Chester Morris and Wallace Beery. The sets were still standing and some of the additional footage was languishing on the editorial shelves, so Roach put this picture into the works. It was Laurel and Hardy's first feature film after delighting audiences with their two-reelers and it looks rushed and padded, although there is more than enough humor along the way to satisfy all but the most finicky "Sons of the Desert" (the name of the Laurel and Hardy fan club, a group of several thousand who hold regular meetings and watch the old films and know every line of dialog by heart). The boys are outside a st...