The Chimp

After Laurel and Hardy blow up Jimmy Finlayson's circus, the troupe is paid off with parts of the show. Stan gets the flea circus and Ollie gets Ethel the gorilla, played of course by Charlie Gemora. The lion follows them. For the night they take a room in Billy Gilbert's hotel; Gilbert, of course, objects to having a gorilla in his hotel, but has no trouble with the Boys. At first.

It's the third time Laurel and Hardy made a short about staying in a hotel with an animal; the earlier versions are ANGORA LOVE (with a goat) and LAUGHING GRAVY (a dog). This elaborate three-reel comedy spends most of its length dealing with the circus and getting into the hotel. Although some of the gags are repeated, there's plenty of new stuff to keep people laughing.

Laurel and Hardy are working at the circus as a pantomime horse. When the circus comes to an end the assets of the circus are split among the staff by way of lottery. Hardy wins Ethel – a man-sized ape! Laurel, Hardy and Ethel go off on their way, with Ethel taking a shine to Laurel, however before they do anything else their first problem is to find a hotel that doesn't mind having a monkey for a guest!

I saw this as a double bill with `Their First Mistake'. I thought the former was weaker than their usual work, but I appreciated it more when I watched `The Chimp'. I have never before felt disappointed with a Laurel & Hardy short (and I've seen a few). Usually I am sucked in by their funny, punchy nature and it's so short that it's over before I even consider getting bored! However here I felt uncomfortable from the start – the circus set up felt too different from their normal roles to be easily accepted. Also I just found the whole use of the monkey to be poor and unimaginative.

That's not to say I didn't laugh, because I did, but I laughed a lot less frequently that I normally do with their shorts. There are no really good routines after the circus clowning (excuse pun) is finished with – and the final punch line can be see coming from the halfway mark! It was a let down because it all seemed quite forced at times and lacking in the free flowing feel that their better shorts have.

Laurel is still good and Hardy works his double takes well, if not as often as he would probably have liked to. The chimp of the title is too obstructive to the dynamic that exists between Laurel and Hardy and is a most unwelcome addition to the duo. The fact that the chimp is more than just a plot device (as the baby was in `Their First Mistake') but becomes a participant is to the film's detriment. The support cast are pretty poor – even James Finlayson is woefully underused, not even one trade mark double-take and squint!

Overall this is one for fans only. I'm a fan and I still felt let down. It doesn't have any really strong scenes and the majority is quite ordinary. It is L&H of course, so it is impossible NOT to be funny at all, but this is way off their usual standard. The monkey used to set up basically every scene bar the early ones causes more damage to the onscreen dynamics than good and is the root of this film's weakness. I still laughed but the space between these laughs was way too long.

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short. In lieu of salaries, a bankrupt circus gives its property away to its workers. Stan gets the flea circus - Ollie is given Ethel, THE CHIMP. The big simian takes an immediate dislike to Ollie, but becomes very fond of Stan. Deciding to sell Ethel to the zoo, the Boys look for a hotel to spend the night. Trying to do so with a great, hairy beast in tow is hard enough; an escaped lion and a volatile landlord only ensure that getting a good night's sleep will be almost impossible.

A very funny little film, with genuine belly laughs. Watching Stan dance with Ethel is priceless. That's James Finlayson as the circus Ringmaster; Billy Gilbert plays the dyspeptic landlord.

This is not amongst my favourites of the many Laurel and Hardy shorts I have seen, but it was a perfectly passable short subject.

James Finlayson as ever is a boon of a presence; making a brilliant foil to the pair. Laurel and Hardy are as wonderful as ever, though possibly a slight weariness is evident; the antics here being so very similar to many other of their shorts. What especially enervates this film are the early, possibly all too brief, sequences in the circus; to see, largely in atmospheric long shot, the great duo comically spoiling the planned circus gags, only to create new ones in their bungling, is a wonderful spectacle. The spatial atmosphere given by a visible audience - though amusingly small - is quite a refreshing dichotomy; the performance-within-a-performance air of this section is beautiful to watch.

Yes, things slip towards far more laboured chimp-related gags, but this is professional stuff; Laurel and Hardy executing the comedy finely. It does tend towards going through the motions, but, cripes, this is the funniest and most loved double act of all, on screen for our benefit. And thus, it's a film more laudable than so many.

Rating:- *** 1/2/*****

The boys find themselves inheriting a chimp named Ethel in this classic comedy short that features a wonderful dance sequence with the chimp Ethel, wearing a tutu.