Towed in a Hole

The film that became "Towed in a Hole" was scheduled to start shooting on October 17, 1932, but was postponed for two weeks whilst Stan Laurel and his gag writers struggled to come up with a workable story. Director George Marshall described how he found the way out of this impasse: "I drove to the studio one morning, and in Culver City I passed one of these little fish wagons; and this fellow was touting his wares with a long horn as he drove down the street. So I thought, 'Well, maybe that could be the answer, with the boys selling the fish, but to make more money, catching their own fish.' I had about that much when I came to the studio. Stan was sitting in his room. I told him about the idea and he said, 'Yeah, that just might work.'. The script developed from there. Filming began on November 1 and lasted ten days. The result is considered one of Laurel & Hardy's finest short comedies.

When Stan is sawing the mast, the sawing sound is slower from inside the boat than the fast sawing sound from the outside shot of Ollie up painting the mast.

Also available in computer colorized version

Featured in The Crazy World of Laurel and Hardy (1966)