JL:
Oh man, I've got a thousand and one mixed feelings about this one. The
cheery mood of Blotto is nowhere to be found. It's as sad as it is
funny; the best gags break your heart as much as they make you laugh.
Here's one instance where the change in their characters over the years
is apparent. In 1930, they were down-on-their-luck vagabonds who faced
a cold cruel world that destroyed their best intentions. By 1940, in A
CHUMP AT OXFORD, they were again down on their luck, but were now the
main cause of their problems. I see elements of both approaches
throughout their Roach years, but I now see how they gradually became
more dimwitted as the years passed.
JB:
Below Zero is a prime example of how important atmosphere is to a film,
and the atmosphere in this film comes from the wintertime settiing, the
never-ending falling snow, and the unpleasant citizens who walk through
this film, all fo which just casts a slight veil of cold, bitter
sadness over everything. Gags that would be plain funny in other
films are funny and poignant here.
All the Boys wish to do is sing a song and
make enough money to get a bite to eat, but they are either ignored,
asked to move along or treated with open hostility everywhere they go.
The only person who is kind to them is Officer Holliday, and even he
turns on them in the end. The moment when Stan discovers that the
wallet they found actually belongs to their newfound policeman friend
is almost heartbreaking.
The supporting cast adds to the film too,
especially Blanche Payson as the mean woman who destroys the Boys'
livelihood, and Leo Willis, who plays the petty thief. They have
rockhard, ugly, unforgettable faces, like those found among the
gangsters in THE GODFATHER. The kind of faces that can haunt you at
night.
Near the end of the film, after the Boys have been beaten senseless and
thrown in the back alley, we see Ollie in a panic, calling out Stan's
name desperately. He even grabs a piece of wood and tries to break back
into the restaurant. It is the first time that we realize that Stan is
not just Ollie's friend, but somebody that means something to him. Just
about everything Ollie has, including his dignity, has been stripped
away by the film's climax, but it is the potential loss of Stan, his
only friend in the world, that finally causes him to fight back. This
moment is not emphasized in any way, it just happens and then it is
over, quickly followed by Stan coming out of the rain barrel having
drunk all the water and now in dire need of a trip to the nearest
bathroom.
I'm sure nobody back in 1930 was thinking in
these terms. Back then, it was just another afternoon at the movies
with Laurel and Hardy. But today, Below Zero stand as one of
their most touching meditations on friends, strangers and the fleeting
nature of happiness. Even if they never intended to meditate on
such things.
JL: It's
hard-core pathos, as opposed to sappy, orphan-kid-type pathos. I figure
any film that's this much of an emotional roller-coaster has to be a
great film.
And again, when I was a kid, Stan's
balloon-belly at the end bothered me as much as the cheesy animated
mouse. Now, I love it. But that must have been some enormous shirt he
was wearing for it to stretch so far and not even pop a button.
Copyright © 2012 John Larrabee, John V. Brennan