Flying Elephants
| Flying Elephants | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Frank Butler |
| Produced by | Hal Roach |
| Written by |
Hal Roach H.M. Walker (titles) |
| Starring |
Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy Jimmy Finlayson Edna Marion Dorothy Coburn Viola Richard Fay Lanphier Budd Fine Tiny Sandford Leo Willis |
| Distributed by | DIC Entertainment (1990) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 17 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language |
Silent film English (Original intertitles) |
Flying Elephants is a two-reel silent film from 1928 directed by Frank Butler and produced by Hal Roach. It stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as a pair of battling cavemen.
Plot
The film takes place in the Stone Age, where the King of the cave people declares that all the males between 13 and 99 years of age must find a female mate or face banishment. Hardy starts looking for a wife and in the scene it says "anyones will do" but is constantly clubbed on the head by the annoyed "husbands" Eventually Hardy finds an available girl but doesn't realize that Laurel, with whom he has become friends, is already intending to marry this girl.
As both Laurel and Hardy pursue the same girl, this eventually leads to several contests to win the affections of the young bride-to-be. In the end, Laurel leads Hardy to to the top of a mountain with the intention of pushing his rival to his death. His plan ends up failing, until an angry goat rams Hardy over the cliff, allowing Laurel to go claim the girl. [1]
Production and distribution
Although released in February 1928, Flying Elephants was actually filmed back in May 1927, before the duo were established as the world-famous comedy team. As a result, the film lacks the Laurel and Hardy trademarks and consists mostly of solo performances by the two comedians. [2]
Taking place entirely outdoors, the rocky desert locations were photographed in Moapa, Nevada. Some of these locations would later be used in 1940 for Hal Roach's more serious prehistoric film One Million B.C..[1][3]
The somewhat irrelevant title refers to a quick scene where Oliver Hardy's character points out three animated pachyderms flying up above in the sky. This animated sequence may be the work of Walter Lantz of future Woody Woodpecker fame or possibly Roy Seawright, who was head of the Hal Roach animation department.[4]
Cast
- Stan Laurel - Little Twinkle Star
- Oliver Hardy - Mighty Giant
- James Finlayson - Saxophonus
- Edna Marion - Cavewoman
- Dorothy Coburn - Gorgeous Wrestler
- Viola Richard - Blushing Rose
- Fay Lanphier - Blonde Cavewoman
- Budd Fine - Hulking Caveman
- Tiny Sandford - Hulking Caveman
- Leo Willis - Fisherman
References
- 1 2 Everson, William K. (2000). The Complete Films of Laurel and Hardy. Citadel. p. 47. ISBN 978-0806501468.
- ↑ Potts, Mark & Sheppard, Dave (2001). What was the Film When? The Movies of Laurel & Hardy . Quayside Creative Ltd. ISBN 978-0-9555318-3-5, pp 41-42.
- ↑ Okuda, Ted and James L. Neibaur (2012). Stan Without Ollie: The Stan Laurel Solo Films, 1917-1927. McFarland. p. 206. ISBN 978-0786447817.
- ↑ Mitchell-Waite, Antony and Joanne Mitchell-Waite (2013). Laurel & Hardy's Animated Antics A-Z 3rd Edition. lulu.com. p. 107. ISBN 978-1291619256.
External links
- Flying Elephants at the Internet Movie Database
- Flying Elephants at AllMovie
- Flying Elephants at Rotten Tomatoes