Pardon Us (1931)

Directed by James Parrott. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Walter Long, Wilfred Lucas, James Finlayson, Tiny Sandford, June Marlowe.

First feature-length Laurel and Hardy outing is a parody of prison pictures, with the boys sent to the big house for the crime of trying to sell beer to a policeman. There, they rub just about everyone the wrong way, including rough and tough inmate Long. Several funny bits, but suffers from pacing issues and a sluggish midsection, which involves multiple song numbers and an extended sequence where L&H wear blackface to hide out on a cotton plantation after a temporary escape (even with a culturally-forgiving perspective, the jokes simply aren’t very amusing during this stretch). Raucous riot finale and a vaudevillian classroom routine work best; Stan’s loose-tooth “raspberry” blowing is a repeated joke that gets old pretty quickly. Director Parrott and co-producer Hal Roach both cameo as prisoners. Available in several prints of differing lengths today.

63/100