March of the Wooden Soldiers 1934 Dvd Review
Most everyone has "musts" that make a holiday special, traditions that never get old. For me on Thanksgiving the "musts" include family, friends, turkey, rice and beans, yuca (cassava) and March of the Wooden Soldiers,the 1934 MGM-distributed, Hal Roach Studios' production of Gus Meins' musical-one-act, which stars Laurel and Hardy.
Known past many every bit Babes in Toyland, March of the Wooden Soldiers (the movies' most popular alternate title) is loosely based on Victor Herbert's 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland.The film was released equally a Christmas offer on December 14, 1934*, however, for many of united states of america who grew up in the New York City area information technology was (and still is) shown on Aqueduct 11, WPIX every Thanksgiving and remains a must-watch every bit part of the festivities every yr.
The story of March of the Wooden Soldiers takes identify in Toyland, a town whose inhabitants are all takes on popular fairytale characters – Little Bo Peep, Tom Tom, the Piper'due south son, the sometime lady who lives in a shoe, otherwise known as the Widow Peep, the True cat and the fiddle, Mother Goose, who opens the picture show and introduces the characters in song, the Three Little Pigs (Elmer, Willie and Jiggs), and a host of others. The stars of the pic, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy play Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee respectively. And then….at that place'south Silas Barnaby, the villain in the story – evil personified.
And then…the story goes…with spoilers!
The rich, old, evil Barnaby is interested in Bo Peep and wants to make her his bride. Bo Peep, however, is in love with Tom Tom. Barnaby really has the nerve to ask Bo Peep to marry him, a proposal she refuses. However, Barnaby is a human being used to getting what he wants by whatever hateful means at his disposal so he wastes no time in attempting to force union on the innocent maiden. Knowing the Widow Peep is having a difficult fourth dimension paying the mortgage on the oversized shoe she lives in, which he owns, Barnaby offers the old woman an ultimatum – unless her eldest daughter Bo Peep agrees to ally him he will prevent on the shoe, which also houses boarders Stanley Dum and Ollie Dee. Well, the Widow Peep may be broke, but she'due south non about to agree to selling her girl and tells Barnaby so in no uncertain manner. However, she is worried about where she'll get the money to pay the mortgage and upon seeing her worry, Ollie offers her all the money he has stored away in his savings tin can. Such a sweet offer. It'south unfortunate, however, that unbeknownst to him, the only thing left in his tin is a note…
Yes. Stannie has "borrowed" all of Ollie's money to buy peewees (a favored toy) which obviously angers Ollie. But knowing the gravity of the affair at hand, the peewee state of affairs is quickly forgotten and the duo tell the old lady they'll enquire their dominate, the Toy Maker, to lend them the money to cover the mortgage.
Unfortunately, earlier the boys get up the nervus to ask the Toy Maker for a loan, they're fired because Stannie has botched up i of Santa's orders and Christmas is the mainstay of the toy factory.
The Toy Maker: What do you recall of the wooden soldiers?
Santa Claus: They're nice but they're not what I ordered. I ordered 600 soldiers one human foot high.
Stannie Dum: Oh I thought you lot said 100 soldiers six feet loftier.
"That'due south some other fine mess y'all've gotten united states of america into."
Needless to say, the Toy Maker doesn't lend Ollie and Stannie the money for the mortgage so the duo come upwardly with a fool-proof programme to sneak into Barnaby'south business firm and steal the mortgage to the shoe. Disguised equally a Christmas present for the evil Barnaby, Ollie hides in a box that is delivered by Stannie. In one case the gift box is tucked in Barnaby'south house and the evil man goes to slumber, Ollie will get out of the box and steal the mortgage. Anyhow, that's the plan. However, as the suspicious Barnaby is leading Stannie out of his house after the delivery, the good-hearted loaf, Stannie, turns and says "Goodnight, Ollie" to which the other one sticks his head out of the box and replies, "Goodnight Stannie." The jig is upwards and Barnaby then accuses Stannie and Ollie of burglary, which he once more uses to blackmail Bo Peep into marrying him. If she doesn't accept his offer her friends volition exist exiled to Bogeyland…forever. Bogeyland, by the way, is a terrible identify from where it is rumored no 1 ever returns. Seeing no other choice, a heartbroken Bo Peep agrees to marry Barnaby who immediately drops the charges against Stan and Ollie and announces to all in Toyland that Bo Peep will become his wife.
But so…
The day of the terrible hymeneals arrives and there'southward no way Stannie and Ollie can let Bo Peep to become through with the nuptials and so Stannie dresses upwards as the helpmate and marries Barnaby in her place.
Now livid about the joke played on him, Barnaby comes up with a sinister plan for revenge – he pignaps Elmer, one of the Three Lilliputian Pigs, by bravado his house of harbinger down to the footing and frames Tom Tom for the criminal offence. Every bit penalisation for the pignapping Tom Tom is banished to Bogeyland by club of a Purple Proclamation.
Suspecting Barnaby is behind the entire pignapping scheme, Stannie and Ollie come up with a program to expose his evilness. They sneak into Barnaby's business firm and sure plenty, they find Elmer condom and sound. No criminal offence has been committed! Just in that location's a problem – Tom Tom is already in the dreaded Bogeyland AND Bo Peep has gone through the crocodile-infested waters to go to him. Only, don't worry too much for the immature couple considering despite the dangers they find each other and have fourth dimension for a lullaby. That is, earlier all hells breaks loose! You see, now plant out with a bribe on his caput, Barnaby too escapes to Bogeyland where he has the allegiance of the horrible boogeymen – ugly, hairy, fanged, man-beasts with a thirst for man blood (I sort of added the blood thirst thing for outcome.)
Surrounded by the boogeymen, Barnaby finds Tom Tom and Bo Peep, who's somehow managed to take a nap amongst the horrors of Bogeyland. Anyway, Tom Tom and Barnaby go at it in a fearsome battle over the dryad. Tom Tom beats Barnaby off, only not before the evil man releases the Kraken! Er…I mean, the boogeymen, unleashing them upon Toyland to wreak havoc. Just, Stannie and Ollie have a hush-hush weapon – the wooden soldiers! The two bustle into the toy manufactory and chop-chop press the button on the 100 half dozen-pes toys that Santa thought useless.
…and the inhabitants of Toyland live happily always after…forever.
♦
March of the Wooden Soldiers is loads of fun, a must-meet during the holidays. Every bit ane of the oldest of the perennial vacation favorites information technology has stood the examination of time. And not by happenstance. For the 1930s it's an impressive production, which required the services of many independent workers unlike well-nigh other films beingness made.March took twelve weeks to make and had approximately 300 people appearing in it in ane style of another. A Hollywood crocodile "farm" supplied the reptiles used in the swamps that surround Bogeyland, reptiles that were so ferocious that it was necessary to have armed guards stand by while expert swimmers, playing the role of "boogeymen", were in the water with them. Although IMDB notes the production was plagued with injuries, it'southward a wonder not one person was seriously injure during the making of the film.In improver to the crocodiles, ensuring costuming for such a large cast was an impressive undertaking. Over t wo hundred of the hirsuite suits with prophylactic masks were made for the Bogeymen, and over one hundred period costumes were needed for the villagers who, as mentioned above, represented characters of many of the popular fairy tales. Over three hundred wigs were supplied by outside specialists and were cared for during production past a staff of 12 hairdressers. (Picturegoer Weekly)
Every bit entertainment I nevertheless buy into all of information technology including the triumphant March that saves the twenty-four hour period in March of the Wooden Soldiers. It always thrills me. And the creatures that scared me every bit a child still (kinda) do as I watch the film today. Although the Bogeymen have never scared me as much as Silas Barnaby. He withal makes me shiver. I identify him right up at that place next to the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz on my list of scariest things ever! He'south as wicked as they come. Proper credit must exist given to Henry Brandon, in his motion-picture show debut, for his performance as Barnaby, reportedly the office producer, Hal Roach had the well-nigh hard fourth dimension casting. Hal Roach "discovered" Brandon when he attended a stage production in which the actor appeared. In the product, Henry Brandon played a sadistic, decrepit quondam human being, exactly the type Roach was looking for in Silas Barnaby so he set an interview with the histrion and was surprised when into his office strode a six-human foot-five inch, twenty-one-year-sometime homo. (IMDB) I as well was quite surprised to acquire this. Brandon gives a great performance equally Barnaby. I fright and hate him!
As far as Laurel and Hardy go, they are their usual selves in the film, which means they are supremely entertaining. The pair is i of my favorites excelling at both physical humour and the usual schtick that ofttimes revolves around an innocent kind of "dumb and dumber" theme.March of the Wooden Soldiers plays to the pair's strength and features a serial of routines that compliment the principal story. I never tire of their optimistic humor as evidenced in the Christmas gift scene I described above. Information technology's silliness, but it's funny as heck. Laurel and Hardy characters are and so good-hearted one tin't help but dearest 'em.
The bottom line is there are a host of reasons why March of the Wooden Soldiers remains one of my favorite holiday classics. It'southward a fun, sweet, entertaining film for the unabridged family unit – the kind of movie that both evokes and creates memories. It is a movie I promise all parents show their children, something New York Times critic, Andre Sennwald agreed with in 1934 when he wrote, "The film is an authentic children's amusement and quite the merriest of its kind that Hollywood has turned loose on the nation'south screens in a long fourth dimension…Every youngster in New York ought to find a ticket for "Babes in Toyland" in his Christmas stocking." I hope that remains truthful in today's terms – every youngster ought to discover a DVD of March of the Wooden Soldiers in his/her stocking – or turkey stuffing. It's a wonderful improver to every family unit'due south yearly tradition.
Cast:
Stanley Dum . . . . . Stan Laurel
Oliver Dee . . . . . Oliver Hardy
Bo-Peep . . . . . Charlotte Henry
Tom-Tom . . . . . Felix Knight
Barnaby . . . . . Henry Brandon as Henry Kleinbach
Widow Peep . . . . . Florence Roberts
Santa Claus . . . . . Ferdinand Munier
Toymaker . . . . . William Burress
Mother Goose . . . . . Virginia Karns
________________________
*This is the release appointment noted in IMDB, which coincides with the original review for the picture in the New York Times published on December thirteen, 1934. However, I saw varying release dates listed on several other sites that spanned from March through November of that year.
Source: https://aurorasginjoint.com/2013/11/26/march-of-the-wooden-soldiers-1934/
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