Hired to sweep the chimney at Professor Noodle's house, the boys wreck the living-room and end-up in the mad scientist's laboratory where they interact with a rejuvenation potion.Hired to sweep the chimney at Professor Noodle's house, the boys wreck the living-room and end-up in the mad scientist's laboratory where they interact with a rejuvenation potion.Hired to sweep the chimney at Professor Noodle's house, the boys wreck the living-room and end-up in the mad scientist's laboratory where they interact with a rejuvenation potion.
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Rather Strange Short
But there`s one or two things that seem untypical . Ollie for example is very unlikable , he`s arrogant , he`s rude , and not only to Stan look at the way he addresses the servant with " HEY YOU " and takes a childish huff very easily with his catchphrase being " I have nothing to say " . In short Ollie plays a bully in a very unlikable way and I much prefer to see him to play the arrogant coward where he`s always at his funniest
DIRTY WORK also lacks the reportary regulars of the other L&H shorts like Finlayson , Long , Busch and Housman which means when we switch to the mad scientist plotline there`s a slightly creepy atmosphere that jars with the rest of the movie
Having said that this is still a good short mainly down to Stan . Also watch out for a scene featuring a fish . Many jokes/plots from L&H feature fish and this is another one
Timing Bricks
I wonder how much time was spent calculating the exact right moment to drop each brick onto Ollie's head to get maximum laughs as he sits at the bottom of the chimney. Possibly Stan, as he was the creative force in the partnership. If it was him, he got it exactly right. It's a small detail, almost inconsequential, but if it had been mistimed it wouldn't have been half as funny.
The potty professor's sarcastic butler is also pretty funny. 'You'll find it in there, standing against the wall,' he dryly informs Ollie when he enquires as to the whereabouts of the chimney.
Laurel & Hardy as chimney sweepers = Laughs guaranteed!
The movie also has a subplot with a nutty professor who is working on a rejuvenation formula. It doesn't really sound like a logical mix of story lines and incoherent but both plot lines blend in perfectly toward the memorable ending. It's still a bit weird but its funny nevertheless, so it works for the movie.
The supporting cast of the movie is surprising good. Sam Adams is great as the stereotypical butler and Lucien Littlefield goes deliciously over-the-top as the nutty professor.
The movie is filled with some excellent timed and hilarious constructed sequences, which are all quite predictable but become hilarious to watch nevertheless thanks to the way they are all executed. It all helps to make "Dirty Work" to be one of the better Laurel & Hardy shorts.
8/10
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Chimney sweeps and the mad doctor
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 'Dirty Work' quite one of their very best, but it to me still very good.
Admittedly, the story is pretty thin, in fact there's not really much of one, and is pretty standard.
It was something of a turn off seeing Hardy have an atypically unlikeable character, he does very well but the type of character doesn't suit him, he works better as a bumbler.
Despite that, 'Dirty Work' is great fun while also having a definite degree of substance, never less than very amusing and the best moments being classic hilarity. It is never too silly, there is a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit is 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. It's all simple but it is effective in its simplicity without feeling too thin, Professor Noodle adds lots of fun and conflict. The ending is a little abrupt but great fun as well.
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 'Dirty Work' and on the most part from 'Two Tars' onwards we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable. Hardy is still funny even with a different and not so appealing character.
'Dirty Work' 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 cast support them well, with a fantastically nuts Lucien Littlefield being a terrific adversary.
Concluding, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Not Starring Norm MacDonald And Artie Lange
Hardy does look good covered in soot. It hides his bald spot.
Did you know
- TriviaThe clouds of chimney soot which engulfs the boys and Jessup was actually powdered chocolate.
- GoofsWhen Ollie falls into the tank and turns into a chimp all his clothes vanish except his hat.
- Quotes
Professor Noodle: [unaware that Jessup is in another part of the house, taking a huge soapy bath to wash off the ashes] Jessup! Jessup!
[coming across Stan and Ollie who are busy sweeping up after cleaning the chimney]
Professor Noodle: Where is Jessup?
Oliver: Jessup? Oh, about 35 miles southwest of Augusta, Georgia.
Professor Noodle: No, no, no - - I mean my butler!
Stan: [innocently] Oh, he went somewhere to look for an electric chair.
Oliver: Is there something we could help you with?
Professor Noodle: Yes! A capital idea! You shall be the first to witness a successful rejuvenation experiment in the entire history of science! And it's mine - - ALL MINE!
[laughs hysterically in a paroxysm of delight]
Professor Noodle: Come here! Come here!
[leads the way to his lab, where the duckling is floating in the rejuvenation tank]
Professor Noodle: Watch! I'm going to rejuvenate this duckling!
[uses the eyedropper to add a couple drops of the dark liquid from the large glass beaker to the water in the tank, causing the water to bubble and churn vigorously. A few seconds later the water quiets down again, and an egg is left floating on the water where the duckling had been]
Professor Noodle: Ha-haaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! SUCCESS! I did it! I did it! And now - - for a HUMAN demonstration!
Oliver: [fearing that the professor means that he wants to use him or Stan for his demonstration] Well - - we'll be seeing you!
Professor Noodle: Don't go - - wait here while I find my butler - - and use HIM for my experiment.
[shouting out the door]
Professor Noodle: Jessup!
[proceeding down the hall]
Professor Noodle: Jessup! Jessup! Jessup? Where are you, Jessup? Jessup!
Stan: What do you think about it?
Oliver: The whole thing looks screwy to me!
Stan: Me, too.
[looks around the lab, and spies a small aquarium with a large goldfish swimming around in it]
Stan: How about us trying it on that fish?
Oliver: That's a good idea! We'll find out for ourselves!
[catches the fish in his hands, then tips it into the rejuvenation tank. Next he picks up the huge glass beaker of dark liquid, and leans the side of the tank to pour some in]
Stan: Be careful how much you put in - - you might make it TOO young!
Oliver: Get me the eyedropper.
[takes the eyedropper from Stan, then leans over the side of the tank again. But - - naturally! - - he loses his balance and tumbles head-first with a loud yelp into the tank, still clutching the huge beaker of dark liquid. So of course, the WHOLE BEAKERFULL of rejuvenation liquid - - over two quarts, by the look of it - - gets added to the tank, instead of just a few drops. The water inside the tank froths and boils and churns furiously, and Ollie thrashes about wildly inside, giving his famous cries and exclamations of horrified distress]
Oliver: Hooooooooooooh- hoh- hoh- hoh- hoh- hoh! Aaaaaaaaaaaa-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah! Ohhhhhhhhhh-oh-oh-oh-oh-aaaaaAAAAAHHCKK!
Stan: [staring at the chimpanzee that has appeared over the edge of the tank and is gazing silently back at him] Ollie - don't you know me? Won't you speak to me?
Oliver: [in a voice-over, as if the chimpanzee is speaking] I have nothing to say.
Stan: [in his typical helpless panicked wail] Oh-ohhh!
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA Srl ("NON ANDIAMO A LAVORARE", Various Shorts on a single DVD). The film has been re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsEdited into Dance of the Cookoos (1982)
Details
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- Also known as
- Trabajo sucio
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- Runtime
- 19m
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1