Unaccustomed As We Are

The comedic team of Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy serves as a prime example of the success a handful of comedians from the silent era had when they were first heard on the cinematic screen. More common were those comedians such as Charlie Chaplin who hesitated in bringing their voices into their movies. But Laurel and Hardy didn't think twice when Hollywood studios made the conversion to sound. The pair appeared in their first all-talkie, May 1929's "Unaccustomed As We Are." Suddenly, the viewers could hear Laurel whimpering in his trademark sobbing when he was confronted by the husband (Edgar Kennedy) seeing him with his undressed wife. Hardy could be heard explaining to his wife (Mae Busch) why he's leaving her.

"Unaccustomed As We Are" was one of the first films to be shot on the new sound stage producer and studio owner Hal Roach built in the spring of 1929. The movie's title is drawn from the then popular phrase "Unaccustomed as we are to public speaking," which, despite the pair's previous stage experience, was still a somewhat jarring experience for all the actors on the set miked up for the first time. Laurel especially was wary about being amplified by the sound system because he was known to have a slight lisp and felt the technology would exaggerate his speech defect. It turned out no one picked up the lisp.

Directors Lewis Foster and Hal Roach used the new audio devices to great effect in "Unaccustomed As We Are.." When Edgar Kennedy is bragging about his female escapades to Laurel and Hardy, his wife is hiding in a traveling trunk so she wouldn't be discovered having the two men in her apartment. She later emerges enraged at his philandering and throws everything she can get her hands on at him. As the comedic pair retreat to their apartment across the hall, the noise heard off-camera emphasizes the violence taking place, an audio technique which will be used in many future comedies. Similarly, when Laurel falls down several flights of stairs, viewers don't actually see him tumbling, but they hear his body hitting the hard stairs. Such sound effects were impossible to replicate in silent films.

Throughout their movie careers, Laurel and Hardy were known for their catchphrases. "Unaccustomed As We Are" was the first time Hardy says "Why don't you do something to help me." The movie had to be shot during the evenings since Hal Roach had money to outfit only one studio set for audio. The 'Our Gang' film "Small Talk" was using the same set during mornings and afternoons because the childhood actors were restricted to only day shoots.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. Didn't find 'Unaccustomed As We Are' as one of their best and a bit disappointing compared to their late 1928 and previous 1929 efforts, which were among their best and funniest early work. It is still good and of interest historically, being their first talkie. It's strange at first but it works well and the dialogue itself is a lot of fun.

It may not be "new" material as such and the first part takes a little bit too time to get going.

Compared to the late 1928 and previous 1929 output, it is a little on the subdued and bland side, contrary to the insane craziness and wacky slapstick that was properly starting to emerge.

When 'Unaccustomed as We Are' does get going, which it does do very quickly, it is good enough fun, not always hilarious but never less than very amusing. It is never too silly, a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit emerges here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'Unaccustomed as We Are' we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable.

'Unaccustomed as We Are' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid.

Overall, very good. Not essential or classic Laurel and Hardy, but a good representation of them. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Laurel and Hardy are enjoying a game of pool, when Mr Hardy tells Laurel all about his wife's cooking and decides to invite him round to get some food. However the expectation of food is too much for Mrs Hardy and she refuses leaving the duo to cook for themselves. After a bad start a neighbour offers a little help which only leads to more trouble.

The title refers to the phrase used by after dinner speakers `unaccustomed as I am to public speaking etc' and is used as, in terms of their shorts, the duo were unaccustomed to it as this was their first `talky'. As such the sound quality is pretty poor and at some points the dialogue doesn't flow very well because it sounds like it is being said very deliberately so as to be clearly heard. This slows the action down which is a bad thing because the comedy isn't as to the fore as usual.

There are still some funny scenes but it didn't totally work for me. Hardy didn't do as well as he usually does, although Laurel was as good as I'm used to him being. The support cast are amusing and do better with the dialogue than Hardy (not sure why) but it is more Laurel's film than before.

Overall this is a good short in that it has several good scenes that are funny, but, because they are just starting out with sound on film here, they are not as good as they quickly become.

It would take a couple of talkie films before Stan and Ollie adapted to the new medium of sound but they soon did. Released in 1929, "Unaccustomed As We Are" is about Ollie inviting Stan to an evening meal with he and Mrs. Hardy - and that soon finishes in anarchy! Mae Busch is once again cast as Mrs. Hardy and does very well. Edgar Kennedy is cast again as a Police officer who lives across the hall from Ollie and his wife. Thelma Todd plays the wife of Officer Kennedy and she shows how feisty she can be! The comedy is a bit awkward at times but that isn't the fault of Laurel and Hardy, it was only a temporary problem. There are some funny scenes, such as when the boys play a gramophone record to drown out Mrs. Hardy's constant nagging!

Laurel & Hardy getting in trouble with one or both wives has got too be the most used plot line in the long series of Laurel & Hardy movies. In this movie Oliver Hardy gets into trouble with his wife when she is fed up with cooking for every friend that her husband takes home.

The story sounds simple and so is the movie. It's simple but effective. The comical situations work out well and it makes this movie a worthy first 'talkie' for the two boys. It's not their best or most original movie but it serves its purpose. The plot line for this movie was later reused for the other Laurel & Hardy picture; "Block-Heads", which to be honest is better executed in that movie and it's a more superior movie in general.

Nothing remarkable, just another fine executed and timed enjoyable comical short from Laurel & Hardy, with also the Laurel & Hardy regulars Thelma Todd, Mae Busch and Edgar Kennedy in it.

7/10

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