A Chump at Oxford

This is without doubt one of the best L & H films. It opens with their hilarious attempts at finding employment, which involve Stan dressing as a maid. Then, after foiling a bank robbery whilst working as street cleaners, the duo are rewarded with the possibility of a university education and go to Oxford where they end up on the wrong side of prankster students (including a teenaged Peter Cushing). Before long, it is revealed that Stan has a mysterious past.

Unmissable whether you're a fan of the legendary duo or not, this film has barely a dull moment. The apex of comedy, timeless whether in color or black and white.

This is probably the last consistently funny comedy produced by the duo and, although it's always enjoyable to watch, there's no real stand-out moments as there had been in most of their films of the thirties. Stan's beginning to look a little long in the tooth in his close-ups but he still manages to capture that sweet childlike quality, and there's more evidence of a real friendship between the characters in this film than there were in earlier films.

The first 20 minutes, apparently added for its European release, are basically a remake of the duo's silent comedy From Soup to Nuts with a few ideas from Another Fine Mess, and you can pretty much see the join but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment. James Finlayson, the boys classic foil, appears in this early sequence. The action then transfers to Oxford (the film's a parody of Robert Taylor's A Yank at Oxford from the previous year) where the boys find themselves mercilessly teased by the other students. This is where the film is funniest - it's surprising how many laughs can be wrung from two men wandering around a maze for 20 minutes. It's also surprising how well this film stands up to childhood memories of a non-stop hoot; while the laughs might not quite be non-stop, they still came pretty regularly to this old kid...

Oliver and Stan are yet again down on their luck. A temporary job as a butler and a maid ends in disaster leaving them sweeping the streets. When they foil a bank robbery they get sent to Oxford as a reward to get an education. At Oxford they are targeted for pranks by the other students until a bump on the head reveals Stan's family background.

The story isn't very important - the various episodes aren't always very well linked and are really only excuses for a series of set pieces. However it doesn't mean it's bad. Each bit stands up in it's own right and you don't really notice the tenuous links. Each contains some very funny moments and it's typical of the duo's slow gentle comedy. The only concern I would have is that film comedy now is of the type that must move very quickly, be very crude and be very simple - I don't think audiences raised on "something about mary" style films would all appreciate this film at all.

All the performances are good (with only a few dodgy accents). Laurel and Hardy are good in their well practised roles. James Finlayson is good at his usual squinty, double taking stuff and there's an interesting early role for Peter Cushing.

Overall a little comedy that is slow and gentle - just don't expect the world in terms of plot or belly laughs.

I'm not a huge L&H fan, but I found this film very enjoyable.

As others have pointed out, CHUMP was originally a 45-minute film, but European distributors demanded at least a full hour for features. You'll spot the REAL beginning of the movie about 20 minutes in, when Stan & Ollie appear as street cleaners. The rest of the opener, beginning with some funny business on various modes of transportation, was tacked on later.

Although the maid/butler scene has some laughs, it's the kind of thing that the Three Stooges did with a lot more manic energy (and more often). The real film begins when Stan and Ollie receive scholarships to Oxford and arrive in England, where the native students decide to pick on them as much as possible. There's not much in the film about what students REALLY do at Oxford, but that's OK. An extended scene in a maze ends with a nicely-choreographed sequence in which a "third hand" from behind the bushes causes havoc with the boys. (Just think of how much rehearsal must have gone into that business to make it look natural.)

And the crowning glory of this movie is Stan's brief transformation from his usual vacuous simpleton into a posh English lord, who makes "Fatty" his personal valet. All in all, a jolly good way to spend an hour.

I remember watching this on BBC2 when I was about 8 years old and finding it hysterical. So, much to my pleasure, Universal has released it on DVD (Region 2 only) along with many other Laurel and Hardy movies. I chose to watch the black and white version as that is how I originally saw it.

There is an extended opening featuring a remake of 1928's 'From Soup to Nuts' short in which Stan and Ollie cause havoc at a swanky dinner party before being employed as street sweepers. During their sweeping lunch break they inadvertently foil a bank robbery and as a reward they are sent to Oxford for a good education, perhaps finally getting them out of the gutter.

Once there, the students (including a young Peter Cushing) play all sorts of pranks on them and Stan loses (or restores) his memory when he is hit on the back of the head. Now he's Lord Paddington (I must add he does brilliantly with the accent) and he gives Ollie some amount of grief for his weight.

Very funny indeed, I suggest you check it out whenever it comes on TV.