Dirty Work Written and filmed July-August, 1933. Released by MGM, November, 1933. Produced by Hal Roach. Directed by Lloyd French. Two reels.

Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Lucien Littlefield, Sam Adams, Jiggs the Chimp.   

STORY: Chimney Sweeps Laurel and Hardy arrive at the house of Professor Noodle, an off-his-nut scientist who has discovered the secret to eternal youth. While Stan and Ollie make a shambles of his living room, Prof. Noodle excitedly works on his formula. In the end, the Boys go see what all the fuss is about, and Stan accidentally knocks Ollie into a vat of the rejuvenating liquid. He emerges as a monkey with a derby who's only reaction is the oft-repeated "I have nothing to say".

Commentary

JB:  Funny stuff.  A little weird for Stan and Ollie to be working with mad scientists --- maybe they were running low on ideas for shorts by this time --- but it works. Why is it that every time Ollie gets turned into some sort of animal, he manages to maintain his derby?

JL: The mad scientist business is a bit lame, but it's just a few minutes worth of distraction in an otherwise fine film.  It may show they were running low on ideas, but the chimney sweep stuff is proof that an excuse to play around with tools and get dirty was all the idea they needed.  

Copyright © 2013 John Larrabee, John V. Brennan

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