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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Oland vs. Karloff

CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA-1936-As it says above the title “It's Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff”! An amnesiac opera singing piano playing maniac (Boris Karloff) escapes from an insane asylum and threatens the life of opera diva Lilli Rochelle (Margret Irving). The police inspector calls in Charlie Chan who happens to be on the mainland. Rochelle is accompanied by a pompous demanding baritone Barelli (Gregory Gaye) The stage manager (Maurice Cass) says “This opera is going on tonight even if Frankenstein walks in”! The maniac turns out to be named Gravelle and he was once the lead baritone with the company but was deliberately locked in a room while a building was on fire. He’s also the father of Lilli’s secret daughter Kitty (Charlotte Henry) who came to the opera with her fiance Phil (Thomas Beck) to get mom's blessing on their marriage. . Although it seems Gravelle kills Berelli and takes his place as Mephisto in the opera and kills Lilli on stage while performing, this is a Charlie Chan mystery and things aren't as clear cut as they seem. 

Racist Sgt. Kelly (William Demarest) disagrees with everything CC does or says and refers to him as “Egg Fu” and “chop suey” and says “No Chinese cop’s gonna show me up”. Unfortunately for him he's wrong but he gives props to the famed detective when the mystery is solve.  Meanwhile No. 1 son Lee (keye Luke) digs up several clues while in disguise. 

This is a classy if far-fetched murder mystery with Karloff as a sympathetic nut the highlight. The music for the fake opera is by Oscar Levant. The lip syncing is very good. 

 2 years before this film co-star Charlotte Henry played Bo-Peep in THE MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS with Laurel & Hardy. Director H. Bruce Humberstone directed this in between CHARLIE CHAN AT THE RACETRACK and CHARLIE AT THE OLYMPICS.]

The same year as this Karloff was the piano playing John Ellman brought back to life in THE WALKING DEAD. He and Lugosi made THE INVISIBLE RAY tooFollowed by CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OLYMPICS.

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