The Hoose-Gow (1929)

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. A police patrol car pulls into a prison, and all new inmates get out, with Stan and Ollie in amongst them fidgeting over each other. Getting out, they explain that they were only watching the raid that got them in this situation, and a little kick fight (started by Ollie trying to shut Stan up) gets the Warden (Tiny Sandford) a kick too. Then Ollie explains a secret plan he has made with another prisoner, involving oranges thrown over the wall to get a rope ladder. The Warden spots these oranges, gets the boys to get rid of them, and the last in Stan's mouth is swallowed with a hard pat on the back. An orange is thrown over the wall, and the rope ladder is dangled, and the Warden chases the danglers outside the door away, and with the door open the boys run to escape, only to return with powder burns on their backsides from a gun shot. Next we see the boys on the side of the road with pickaxes, with Stan continually sticking his in Ollie's coat, and still he gets hit when he gives Stan a spade. The bell rings for a food break for all prisoners, and when the boys have nowhere to sit, they mistakingly get the Warden's table, have some pepper trouble, and are shouted away. The only way to get their food is to get loads of wood for the chef, and they find a tree to cut down, which they don't realise has a Treetop Lookout post and guard (Charlie Hall) at the top, so both fall into the below gazebo. Then everyone gets back to work with the Governor (James Finlayson) coming to inspect, and when Ollie gets his coat ripped again, he manages to throw Stan's pick-axe into the Govenor's car radiator. To stop the leak of gas a prisoner suggests filling it with rice, and this seems to work until the car starts to drive and the radiator erupts with this gas/rice mixture. The Warden pushes Stan in the mound of mixture as lesson, and Stan throws some in his face, and throwing back the Warden manages to hit the Governor. So the Governor accidentally hits Ollie, and soon enough everyone including the two women in the car, other prison staff and all the inmates are throwing this mixture at each other. With this chaos going on, the boys run away, and the Warden and Governor decide to get the Manager to stop the whole thing, and they reverse a car into a cart carrying barrels of white paint, which spills on the boys hiding in the back of the car. Filled with wonderful slapstick and all classic comedy you could want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Good!

This is an okay Laurel and Hardy film--about average overall. While the plot is a bit different than most of their films, the team did do several films where they were convicts (such as LIBERTY and PARDON US). And, of these films, this is perhaps my least favorite. It isn't because the film is really bad, but a lot of the humor isn't all that memorable and the rice throwing at the end seems very derivative--throwing pies, etc. is almost a cliché since it's been seen a lot already in older comedies. I just don't see why throwing food is funny--it just seems like a cheap laugh. If you are a die-hard fan, then this IS a film for you. For others who are not familiar with the duo, find another film first--this film isn't magical or a must-see film.

An early Laurel & Hardy talkie, `The Hoose-Gow' is strongest in its first half…the pathetic attempts at escape, the sheer terror on Stan's face as he tries to dislodge the apple from his mouth, the absolute fear and despondency of two child-souls set down amongst a hardened prison population. Also priceless: Ollie's guileless explanation to guard Tiny Sanford: "Honest, officer, we were only watching the raid." Somehow, coming from Stan and Ollie, the statement rings of truth. In the work camp, things settle into the traditional Stan and Ollie mealtime gags. When they chop down the lookout's post it's another of those gags of anticipation which was such an integral part of their humor. And it's to their credit that most of the film is shot on location, something uncommonly problematic for the early sound technology of the late 20s. There is also something wistfully nostalgic about those Arcadian, windswept eucalyptus-lined locations of southern California, so unpopulated in 1929. Once they get involved in the creamed rice fight at the end, it descends into rather standard fare.

Despite claiming to be innocent bystanders when a raid occurs, Laurel and Hardy are sentenced to jail time along with the criminals themselves. Despite trying to reason with a guard they find themselves working a gang digging ditches all day every day.Any short film that needs a great deal of set up before it actually starts going anywhere, is asking for trouble. On the surface that may not totally be the case here but I suspect it is one of it's weaknesses. The plot here sounds good but it has a few little unnecessary things that are needed to get it to it's original idea (I assume) which is the prison gang.Once it reaches this stage it is funny but never feels like it reaches a peak. Individual moments are good but it doesn't have any really good sequences – I found the rice fight to be so-so rather than hilarious I'm afraid.Laurel and Hardy are good of course but they seem to be hampered by a film that requires them to do things that aren't funny just to set up a joke that is funny. This split of time is almost 50/50 so the result is that the film doesn't seem to be as full and lively as their shorts are normally. Finlayson is usually my favourite support actor in the Laurel and Hardy shorts but here he doesn't get to do his trademark moves and is more of a straight man than a part of the comedy.Overall this is still worth watching but I thought it was one of those rare occasions where the duo simply couldn't stretch the central idea to cover the whole short.