Stan & Ollie in Toyland

 

 (wikipedia)

MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS-1934-In Toyland, whose occupants include Mother Goose (Virginia Karns), the three little pigs (one is Angelo Rossitto), Jack Horner and the cat and the fiddle,the repugnant Barnaby (Henry Brandon) wants to make Bo-Peep (Charlotte Henry) his wife. She rebuffs him but Barnaby demands The Widow Peep (Florence Roberts) come up with the rent she doesn't have. Two of her tenants Stannie Dum (Stan Laurel) & Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy) are toy makers at the local factory. Bo-Peep really likes Tom-Tom (Felix Knight). Santa Claus visits to check out the toy soldiers he ordered but of course Stan got the order wrong and they're fired but not before an errant toy soldier wrecks the place. At one point Stan actually marries Barnaby to stop him from pursuing Bo-Beep! When Barnaby can't get Bo he frames Tom Tom for the murder of one of the pigs. When that doesn't work, he enlists The Boogeymen to conquer Toyland. Scenes of the wooden soldiers coming to life and defeating The Boogeymen is still quite bizarre and unsettling at times. 

As a kid this was a perennial favorite around Thanksgiving. Produced by Hal Roach and based on an operetta by Victor Herbert, two directors are credited: Gus Meins who was also directing “Our Gang” shorts at this time and Charles “Charley” Rogers, a pal of Stan Laurel's, who directed several of their short comedies and later worked with them on THE BOHEIMIAN GIRL.

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