Stan and Ollie had already appeared in a couple films together before this one but their interactions bore no resemblance to them being a team. DUCK SOUP is the first where they pretty much play the usual Stan and Ollie characters, though with some small differences (such as Ollie wearing a top hat and the characters not using their real names). This style was actually a bit of an accident, as following this film they made quite a few films in 1927 in which the team really wasn't a team and played very different style parts (such as in SLIPPING WIVES and WHY GIRLS LOVE SAILORS).
The film begins with news that because local forest fires are so bad, hobos are being drafted by the forest rangers to battle the fire. Stan and Ollie are happy and lazy and want nothing to do with work--particularly of the dangerous variety. So they escape from the press gang and eventually hide out in a mansion that is vacant. However, soon some people arrive who intend to rent the place and the boys pretend to be the owner (Ollie plays "the Colonel") and his maid (Stan). Seeing Stan in drag was pretty cute and was something he did in several early films. Naturally, the REAL Colonel arrives and finds that Ollie is packing what he can steal from the home. In slapstick tradition that means one thing--the Colonel will begin shooting wildly as the boys and the innocent renters scramble for their lives. Eventually, the forest rangers catch the boys and force them to work--leading to a very "forced" ending.
While this film is funny and worth watching for Laurel and Hardy fans, the chemistry just isn't there and the film isn't any better than any other Hal Roach short of the day. Worth seeing but far from a must-see unless you are a nut like myself who wants to see every Laurel and Hardy film ever made (minus the lost ones such as HATS OFF and ROGUE SONG).
FYI--When the movie begins, you may notice that a tiny bit of it is missing and the print is, in places, poor. Unfortunately, this seems to be all that remains of this film due to the degradation of the nitrate stock.
The film begins with news that because local forest fires are so bad, hobos are being drafted by the forest rangers to battle the fire. Stan and Ollie are happy and lazy and want nothing to do with work--particularly of the dangerous variety. So they escape from the press gang and eventually hide out in a mansion that is vacant. However, soon some people arrive who intend to rent the place and the boys pretend to be the owner (Ollie plays "the Colonel") and his maid (Stan). Seeing Stan in drag was pretty cute and was something he did in several early films. Naturally, the REAL Colonel arrives and finds that Ollie is packing what he can steal from the home. In slapstick tradition that means one thing--the Colonel will begin shooting wildly as the boys and the innocent renters scramble for their lives. Eventually, the forest rangers catch the boys and force them to work--leading to a very "forced" ending.
While this film is funny and worth watching for Laurel and Hardy fans, the chemistry just isn't there and the film isn't any better than any other Hal Roach short of the day. Worth seeing but far from a must-see unless you are a nut like myself who wants to see every Laurel and Hardy film ever made (minus the lost ones such as HATS OFF and ROGUE SONG).
FYI--When the movie begins, you may notice that a tiny bit of it is missing and the print is, in places, poor. Unfortunately, this seems to be all that remains of this film due to the degradation of the nitrate stock.