SAILORS BEWARE
Written and filmed April, 1927. Released by Pathe, September, 1927. Produced by Hal Roach. Directed by Hal Roach and Hal Yates. Story by Hal Roach. Two reels.Cast: Stan Laurel, Anita Garvin, Harry Earles, Oliver Hardy, Frank Brownlee, Lupe Velez.
STORY: Stan is an honest cab driver, unaware that his current fares are a couple of slick con artists: Anita Garvin and her midget husband who dresses as a baby. When they leave the cab with their fare unpaid and the meter running, Stan follows them aboard a ship, where he successfully exposes them for what they are.
Many
cite this film as being the one that opened many eyes to the potential
Laurel and Hardy had as a team. While they share but a few moments
together, it is those moments that are charged with a bit of extra
comic electricity. Hardy cited this film as being the one in which he
developed his famous "camera looks." While he may have been a bit off
technically (the camera looks had been part of his repertoire for
years), it is true that he uses the device in this film as never
before. When he winds up soaked with water during a swimming-pool
scene, it seems as if they just let him have a few moments to himself
to do whatever came naturally to that magnificent face of his. |
JL: A
funny, well-constructed little film. Dressed in nightgown and bonnet,
midget Harry Earles makes for such a convincing-looking toddler that
his cigar-smoking and sly winks are humorously disconcerting, to say
the least. He shares a memorable crap-shooting scene with Stan. While
Stan is the nominal star of the film, it is again Hardy who steals the
show, making the most of his brief moments as the ship's purser and
resident ladies' man.
JB: Am I dreaming or does the "baby" really say "Screw youse!" after
Stan throws him down the stairs?
