Hollywood Party

You are here: Laurel and Hardy Films > Three Stooges short films >Hollywood Party

Hollywood Party (1934) starring Jimmy Durante, Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, Mickey Mouse ...

Hollywood Party is a collection of skits, parodies and bits, strung together with a relatively thin plot—Jimmy Durante makes fun of Tarzan as Schnarzan, whose public is tiring of him fighting fake lions.  So, in order to appease the public (and purchase live lions from the visiting Baron Munchausen), he throws an enormous ‘Hollywood Party’, inviting everybody in Hollywood—except Lupe Velez, who he intentionally is snubbing.  She’s not about to take that laying down, however, and crashes the party.  (In an interesting note, she plays Jane to Durante’s Schnarzan in a movie preview shown in the movie—and in real life was the wife of Johnny Weismuller—Tarzan—at the time).

This gives opportunity for numerous song and dance routines, and short routines by the Three Stooges (Moe, Larry and Curly), an animated interlude with Mickey Mouse (who does a Jimmy Durante imitation), and an extended routine (nearly an hour into the movie, that only runs for 1 hour and 15 minutes) with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who are trying to return the Baron’s check and get their lions backs.  They have a fight with the butler to get inside the mansion in the first place, and then have an extended ‘egg fight’ with Lupe.  At the end they escape from the people chasing them by releasing the lions, leaving Jimmy Durante to wrestle a ‘real’ lion at the conclusion.

It’s a very odd little film; some of the segments are very good (such as the Three Stooges as autograph seekers who interact with a photographer and some self-important professors, the extended Laurel and Hardy, the Disney cartoon, etc.—but overall not that good.  I rate it 2 clowns out of 5.

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Poetry >The Sons of Liberty

I attached the poem for the mothers and pasted in a poem for our military men.  Since I don’t know how to make my own web page this is the only way I can get my poems on your web site.  I hope you enjoy the poems.

By the way the young man in the picture is one of my sons.  I had 4 sons who signed up for the military.  I have two serving in the military now.  One will retire in Feb.  One is a disabled vet.  One son went into the Air Force, but was given a discharge before graduation from boot training due to a bad knee.  The other is the one in the picture.  He is a lieutenant in the navy.  I am very proud of my military men.  These poems are for them.
‘THE SONS OF LIBERTY’ was written after reading a letter sent home from Iraq by my son in the navy.

THE SONS OF LIBERTY

I step out on these foreign shores, stained deep with the blood of man

From wars fought now and long ago, for the rights of all we stand

As i walk across this land, i think of all those who fall

Quietly laying here in the soil and are forgotten now by all

I hear their voices crying out, “does man now live as free

Or is he still suppressed, by supremacy and greed

Do men and boys still go forth, in bravery live or die

To protect the things they love, from the hatred and the lies

Do we still stand for freedom, upholding what is right

Or have we given all away, to slavery greed and might

Is america still standing, and is freedom still for all

Or just a dream that’s gone, did our mighty nation fall

Above them men are fighting, i quietly hear them pray

“Please dear God, keep me safe, bring me home”, i hear them say.

I tell the voices softly, “we still fight for freedoms cause.

Man has not yet learned to live, by following God’s laws.

We come in many colors, nationalities and creeds.

Thrown here together , we form this nation, across the seas.

All gathered here together, across land and air and sea.

We are now and will forever be,

‘The Sons Of Liberty’

Dianne Donenfeld

© TXu 1-573-973

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Poetry >Christian Bikers

Christian Bikers - a poem by Dianne Donenfeld

Christian Bikers this is our call

To spread the word of God to all

On metal steeds we are sent out

To find the lost this is our route

We join together all in accord

Riding out to spread the word

Traveling to where we are sent

So maybe one heart will repent

We heard the lord to each call

A separate ministry for us all

One’s a servant there’s one who sings

One just listens to everything

For one it’s oil on their clothes

While another mends the holes

One is sent to fuel the flame

One is sent to tend the lame

Some are called for others care

For one it’s children in their hair

One is a greeter the other prays

Off to prison to fetch the strays

To do the work of god our call

To do this work we give our all

Within mans heart a seed we hide

For this mission our chapters ride

Dianne Donenfeld

©txu 1-574-031

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 1 have voted so far

---

You are here: Poetry >Twas the night of the birth of Jesus, God’s Son

Twas the night of the birth of Jesus, God’s Son - a Christmas poem

Twas the night of the birth of Jesus, God’s Son,

For all the world the journey’s begun.

Mary and joseph to Bethlehem travel,

Knowing this mystery there would unravel.

Upon reaching the city of ancestral birth,

They found it abounding in chaos and mirth.

As they knocked upon the doors of the town,

There was no room at any inn to be found.

Upon the last door they heard the man cry,

In the back is a stable, tis there you may lie.

In the cold Mary and Joseph did follow the road,

The donkey was proud as it carried its load.

For tonight he knew something as unimportant as he,

Carried jesus, the Christ child, the Savior, the King.

So on to the stable he flew like the wind,

For soon would be born the redeemer of sin.

This stable so cold was warmed by the love,

Of a mother, a father, and that of the Son.

The angels were watching their hearts overflow,

They flew to the earth, to let all the world know.

“Today is the day, you have waited so long,

We’ve come to announce to the world in a song.

We come to proclaim the birth of God’s Son,

Alleluia! Alleluia! Your journey’s begun.”

“I send you my Son on this cold winter night.

To be your Redeemer, your guide, and your light.

Just you follow His way, His teachings, His love.

You’ll find the way easy, i give help from above.

I am the Father, of all on the earth,

Not just of the Son, proclaimed by this birth.

Follow the knowledge, that is given here,

For soon the end of the journey draws near.

When at the last, at the end you will find,

The teachings of Jesus are for all mankind.

He holds the key to forgiveness at hand,

Just ask and He’s gracious His love to extend

Dianne Donenfeld

© txu-1-154-036

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 1 have voted so far

---

You are here: Laurel and Hardy > Laurel and Hardy Films >Our Wife - Laurel and Hardy

Our Wife (1931) starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson and Ben Turpin

Our Wife begins as the cheerfully chubby Oliver Hardy is preparing to get married to his equally overweight fiancée, Dulcy.  Stan Laurel is there, trying to get everything ready for a perfect wedding.  Oliver uses a throat spray bottle as he practices saying, “I do”—the same bottle that Stan later fills with insect repellent to kill the bugs on the top of the wedding cake, unknown to Ollie—who later uses it again!  “Do something to help me!” Ollie demands, as the pair scramble into the kitchen for some water—a hilarious scene in itself, as Stan demonstrates his mastery of physical comedy by running into the wall instead of through the door.  Oliver Hardy is no slouch in that department either as he trips on a block of ice from the ice box (this is before refrigeration, back in the “good old days” when people kept their food cold with large blocks of ice), lands onto the table destroying the cake and, in an unexpected moment, destroys the entire room as well; this is a laugh-out-loud moment that my children enjoyed as they watched the film with me.

There’s trouble in paradise, however, when Dulcy’s father (played by Laurel and Hardy regular James Finlayson) discovers that she’s planning on marrying Oliver Hardy.  He absolutely refuses, and locks Dulcy in her room “until you come to your senses!” Dulcy phones Oliver, and they decide to elope; Ollie entrusts Stanley with the task of renting a limousine—a mistake that will haunt him later in the picture.

Later, Stan meets Ollie at Dulcy’s house, where Ollie borrows a ladder from the garage to climb up to Dulcy’s window.  However, the ladder is on Stan’s foot, and he pulls it free - knocking over the ladder and sending Ollie through a window.  Adding insult to injury, Stan goes to the front door and rings the bell, asking for Oliver Hardy who’s there to elope with Dulcy.  The cat’s out of the bag, but clever Dulcy sneaks out when her father comes into her room, she sneaks out and locks the door behind him.

Oliver, Dulcy and Stan repair to the limousine that Stan has rented—and what a limousine!  It can only be described as a clown car, and watching the corpulent Dulcy and Ollie get in is very funny, followed by Stan (and Dulcy’s trunks).  Thankfully, the scene is kept short enough to not wear out the joke, and they make their way to the justice of the peace.  After Stan has a slight run-in with the justice’s wife (see the funny movie quotes below), the cross-eyed preacher (played by the famous Ben Turpin) weds them, and they leave in the overloaded clown car - which ‘pops a wheelie’ and sends Stan‘s head crashing through the roof as they drive away.

Our Wife is a very funny Laurel and Hardy film that had me laughing almost the entire time.  I recommend it highly, and rate it 4 clowns out of 5.

Funny movie quotes from Our Wife, starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Ben Turpin

Ollie (Oliver Hardy): Goodbye, Ducky Lover.
Dulcy: Goodbye, Dimple Dumpling.

---

Mrs. Gladding: What do you want?
Stan Laurel: What do we want?
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): We wanna get married.
Stan Laurel: Oh yeah, we wanna get married.
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): Not we, us!
Stan Laurel: Not we. Us.
Mrs. Gladding: Well, how about it?
Stan Laurel: How about it?
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): How about what?
Stan Laurel: How about what?
Mrs. Gladding: What are you talking about?
Stan Laurel: What are you talking about?
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): Tell her we want to get married!
Stan Laurel: We want to get married.
Mrs. Gladding: Hey! There’s a couple out here that wants to get married, Pa!
William Gladding, Justice of the Peace (Ben Turpin): Okay, I’ll be right up!
Mrs. Gladding: He’ll be right up.
Stan Laurel: Who?
Mrs. Gladding: The… Who!
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): Well how about it?
Stan Laurel: How about what?
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): What did she say?
Stan Laurel: Who?

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Blog >Clowns in the Twilight Zone

Clowns in The Twilight Zone

Throughout this web site, I have numerous book and DVD reviews, with links to Amazon.com—I receive a commission on every sale, which helps support the web site.  However, once someone leaves clown-ministry.com and goes to Amazon.com, I receive credit for anything that they buy on that particular trip—which, financially, is fine; however, sometimes I get some really odd items that people buy there.  Yesterday, however, I was pleasantly surprised.

Someone purchased the DVD of the third season of Rod Serling’s ground-breaking television series, The Twilight Zone.  I’m a long-time fan of that anthology series, and I’ve noticed in the past some of the great clowns of the 20th Century who’ve had performances on it (Art Carney in Night of the Meek, Ed Wynn in One for the Angels, Danny Kaye in Paladin of the Lost Hour, etc.) - but I was pleasantly surprised by how many ‘clown’ performances there were in the third season.

• Buster Keaton stars in Once Upon a Time
• Carol Burnett stars in Cavender Is Coming - a very funny episode
• In Five Characters in Search of an Exit, an actor (who was not a professional/"real" clown) portrays a clown extremely well.

As I say, I have to admit to being biased in favor of The Twilight Zone, but part of that is the quality of the acting and the stories.

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Laurel and Hardy reviews > Laurel and Hardy Films >Zenobia, starring Oliver Hardy and Harry Langdon

Zenobia (1939), starring Oliver Hardy, Billie Burke, Harry Langdon

Like The Fighting Kentuckian, Zenobia is one of the few movies that Oliver Hardy made without his partner Stan Laurel after their partnership.  Unlike The Fighting Kentuckian, however, in Zenobia Oliver Hardy is the star of the show, and he carries the comedy very well.  The basic plot has a country doctor named Tibbett, played very well by Oliver Hardy, married to a scatterbrained wife (played wonderfully by Billie Burke).  The movie begins with Oliver Hardy’s Dr. Tibbett delivering a baby boy ... for a family that already has at least 5 daughters.  Oliver Hardy tells the father, about his medical bill, “Don’t worry ... this one’s on me.” In addition to being visually funny, it also sets a characteristic of Dr. Tibbett—that he’s a fine doctor, but a lousy businessman; this becomes important later on.

Returning home, his scatterbrained wife has sent an equally scatter-brained servant (played by Step’n Fetchit) that something vitally important has happened ... but he doesn’t remember what.  Returning to his house, Dr. Tibbett finds his home in disarray, and can’t get a straight answer from anyone, until he asks a young servant boy tells him that Dr. Tibbett’s daughter is going to be married.  Her fiancee is a young man, Jeff Carter, whom Dr. Tibbett approves of—however, Mrs. Carter doesn’t approve of the Tibbetts, both because of Dr. Tibbett’s refusal to keep treating her hypochondriac symptoms, and because of their reduced income since he no longer takes her money.

This is when a wandering medicine show comes into town, headed by Harry Langdon, who has a sick elephant - the Zenobia of the title.  After protesting, Dr. Tibbett does he best to treat the animal (after some very funny slapstick), and finally unties a knot in her tail—and from that point on, Zenobia is so enamored of the doctor that she begins following him everywhere—even to the point of breaking through walls.  Harry Langdon’s character, financed by Mrs. Carter, sues Dr. Tibbett for alienation of affection.  The movie ends with a funny, and dramatic, courtroom scene where everything ties together in a happy ending.

Zenobia is a funny film, with both comedy and warmth.  There’s a very touching scene between Oliver Hardy’s character and that of the young servant boy, where he tries to explain race relations (paraphrasing, “in my medical bag, I have black pills, and I have white pills.  Both are needed to make people well.") and how he gave him a quarter later on for memorizing the Declaration of Independence and taking to heart its lessons about equality and happiness for all people.

It’s a very good film, that I enjoyed very much.  I watched it primarily for completeness as part of the Laurel and Hardy section of the web site, but I’m very glad that I did.  I rate it 3 clowns out of 5.  Sadly, it’s not available on DVD at this time, but it is available on VHS.

Trivia for Zenobia, starring Oliver Hardy, Billie Burke, Harry Langdon

• This film was originally developed as a Laurel and Hardy vehicle, but was re-scripted after Stan Laurel had a falling out with Hal Roach and left the studio for quite some time in 1938-1939.
• Hal Roach Studios approached Walter Winchell about filming an introduction to the film’s trailer, calling it “The first full-length feature to incorporate the principles of the Bill of Rights as a motivating force of the story”. Winchell declined.
• The source of the film was the novel Zenobia’s Infidelity by H.C. Bunner and was originally purchased by Roach as a vehicle for Roland Young.
• The music was by Marvin Hatley, the composer of “The Cuckoo Song,” Laurel and Hardy’s famous theme song.
• Zenobia is also known as Elephants Never Forget (in the United Kingdom) and It’s Spring Again

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Laurel and Hardy reviews > Laurel and Hardy Films >Laughing Gravy - Laurel and Hardy

Laughing Gravy (1931) starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlie Hall

Laughing Graving is a short Laurel and Hardy film that deals with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy trying to hide the existence of their dog, (whose screen name was the same as his real name, Laughing Gravy - hence the name of the movie) - and failing miserably.  The movie begins with Stan and Ollie in bed, when Stan’s snoring wakes up Ollie who, after suffering in silence for a few moments wakes up Stan. Stan, in a very clownish way, drinks a glass of water and tries to go back to sleep—only to wake up the dog, whose barking rouses their landlord, played by Roach Studios regular Charlie Hall.  The landlord throws the dog out, and Stan decides that he’s going to rescue his dog.  Ollie insists on doing it, however, since Stan will wake up the landlord.  Ollie succeeds in finding Laughing Gravy, only to be locked out of the building.  This basic scenario is repeated several times, resulting in Ollie falling into a frozen barrel of rainwater, locking himself out of the apartment window, climbing down (and destroying) the brick chimney, etc.

Eventually, the boys are going to be thrown out of the apartment (after having driven their poor landlord to the point of distraction), when the movie takes a very unexpected turn.  Stan receives a letter, informing him that he’s inherited $1,000.00 U.S. dollars (a fortune in 1931)—on the condition that he breaks off all contact with Oliver Hardy.  At first, Stan doesn’t show Ollie the letter, until Oliver (in a very funny extended scene where he ‘guilts’ Stan into sharing the letter) and, with Oliver’s blessing, prepares to leave forever.  At the last moment, however, Stan tears up the letter and returns to Oliver, who thinks that Stan gave up the money for him—only to have Stan tell him that he did it for his dog!

The short film ends with Stan and Ollie about to be thrown out by their landlord, only to get a reprieve—the entire house has been quarantined for two months, and nobody can leave for that time.  The suffering landlord, unable to take that, picks up a rifle and walks off stage—and the audience hears a shot.

Laughing Gravy is a very funny short film, which I recommend highly.  I rate it 4 clowns out of 5.

Trivia for Laurel and Hardy’s Laughing Gravy

• The “inheritance” plotline (cut from the original release) was restored from the workprint discovered in 1985.
• “Laughing Gravy” was the actual name of the little dog. It made numerous appearances in Hal Roach productions.
• This film, along with Be Big! (1931), were simultaneously produced in Spanish language versions, and the two shorts were edited together into one continuous film Calaveras, Los (1931). Laurel and Hardy read their lines from cue cards on which Spanish was written phonetically. At the time of early talkies, dubbing was not yet perfected. The same was done for a French language version, Carottiers, Les (1931).
• A deleted end sequence lasting around ten minutes, Stan receiving news of a vast inheritance and discussing with Ollie how and if he could share it, was rediscovered in 1985, and has subsequently been released on video and DVD; the shorter two-reel version ended with the landlord committing suicide.

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Abbott and Costello reviews >Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952) starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Charles Laughton, Hillary Brooke

In Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd two waiters, Oliver “Puddin’ Head” Johnson (played by Lou Costello) and Rocky Stonebridge (Bud Abbott) are on their way to work at Death’s Head Tavern on the pirate hangout on the island of Tortuga. There they encounter Lady Jane (Fran Warren), who asks them to bring a love note to the singer at the tavern, Bruce Martingale (Bill Shirley).

At the tavern, the notorious Captain Kidd (Charles Laughton) is eating with Captain Bonney (Hillary Brooke), a female pirate. She accuses Kidd of raiding ships in her territory and demands restitution. Kidd informs the beautiful Captain Bonney that he has hidden the treasure on Skull Island, and that only he has the map to its exact location. He agrees to take her and her ship to Skull Island so that she can receive her share of the booty. During their discussion, Oliver/Lou Costello is their waiter and inadvertently switches the map for Lady Jane’s love note.  Rocky/Bud Abbott discovers the mistake and goes to Captain Kidd, demanding a share of the treasure and a place on the voyage in exchange for the map. Captain Kidd/Charles Laughton ostensibly agrees, but intends to kill Oliver/Lou Costello and Rocky/Bud Abbott once he gets the map back.  The night before they set sail, the tavern singer/love interest is shanghaied, and so all three set sail with Captain Kidd.

Captain Kidd unsuccessfully attempts to regain the map throughout the entire voyage. Captain Bonney, meanwhile, mistakenly believes that Oliver wrote the love note, and is trying to get him to fall in love with her, instead.  On the way to the island, Captain Kidd raids another ship, which happens to have Lady Jane on board, and she is kidnapped.  The two ships finally arrive at Skull Island; Oliver/Lou Costello and Rocky/Bud Abbott begin to dig up the treasure, when Kidd arrogantly declares his plans to dispose of them along with Captain Bonney. They alert Bonney to Kidd’s true intentions, and her crew attacks. The treasure is recovered, and Bonney’s crew wins the fight, with Kidd becoming her prisoner.

Some Abbott and Costello fans consider Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd as one of their lesser comedies, but I don’t agree; the comedy is fast-paced, with Charles Laughton surprisingly funny as Captain Kidd, with numerous funny interactions with Lou Costello.  There are too many musical numbers, but several allow Lou to add his comedy touches, and are enjoyable.  There’s a protracted scene in Captain Kidd’s cabin, where Bud and Lou are looking for the lost map, with a running gag of Costello getting drenched whenever he opens a porthole, but Bud and Captain Kidd have nothing happen when they do—with a very funny ‘cap’ on the gag when Captain Kidd leaves the cabin.

I laughed at Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, and hope you do as well.  I rate it 3 clowns out of 5.  Before you ask, it’s presently unavailable on DVD.

Abbott and Costello Routines

Handcuff scene

Captain Kidd demonstrates how to be properly handcuffed, only to have Lou take advantage of the situation—and while Lou runs off to get Bud, Kidd gets free, and then plays along with Lou when he returns

Lou waiters mean Captain Kidd

Digging holes

While digging for Captain Kidd’s treasure, as Bud digs, Lou empties his shovelfuls of dirt into the hole that Bud is digging—and then standing on his shovel for good measure.

Lou Costello imitates Captain Kidd

Multiple times (primarily at the end) Lou impersonates Captain Kidd, only to have Captain Kidd walk in on him.

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: I Love Lucy song lyrics >The Lady in Red song lyrics

Song lyrics to ‘The Lady in Red’, performed by Desi Arnaz on the I Love Lucy TV episode Cuban Pals.

Say! Have you ever met the girl
Who’s the toast of the town?
A work of art without a question,
You’d better write her number down.

Oh! the lady in red, the fellows are crazy
For the lady in red.
She’s a bit gaudy, but laudy,
What a personality.
Oh! the lady in red,is fresh as a daisy
When the town is in bed.
Dancing and dining and shining
With originally.
She is very proper.
She’s nothing more than a pal,
But oh me! and oh my! You’d never stop ‘er,
She’d be a dangerous gal,
If she should ever meet the right guy.
Oh! the lady in red, the fellows are crazy
For the lady in red.
Is she a study, oh! buddy
What a personality,
She’s got vitality.

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 1 have voted so far

---

You are here: Laurel and Hardy Films >Be Big! starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

Be Big! (1931) - Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Anita Garvin, Charlie Hall

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy almost make it to Atlantic City for a weekend getaway with their wives, when Ollie gets a phone call from Cookie, a lodge buddy. Cookie tells Ollie that a stag party is being held at the lodge that night in their honor, and reveals tempting details of the event when Ollie says they won’t be able to attend.  Cookie reminds him that “No man is bigger than the excuses he makes to his wife … so be big!”

Ollie pretends to be sick and sends the wives on ahead, promising that he and Stan will meet them in the morning. The pair dress in their hunting gear for their lodge meeting, and the problem begins when Stan inadvertently switches their boots around, and much of the movie deals with the physical comedy of them first trying to get the too-small boot on Ollie’s foot, followed by their efforts to get it off once they realized the mistakes. The wives then unexpectedly return home, having missed their train, and with no obvious escape route Stan and Ollie take to a bed in fear.  In response to Stan’s plea of “What’ll I do?”, Ollie replies “Be big!”.  The wives aren’t fooled, however, and grab handy shotguns (doesn’t everyone keep shotguns in their bedroom?) and fire, shooting the boys and the bed through the wall and into the pool below.

Funny movie quotes from Be Big! starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

Introductory Card: Mr Hardy is a man on great care, caution, and discretion - Mr. Laurel is married too.

---

Cookie: No man is bigger than the excuses he makes to his wife. So… BE BIG.

---

Oliver Hardy: Let’s get together. There’s nothing to getting a boot off. You don’t have to drag me around the room. It’s most embarrassing. Let’s concentrate and use our brains, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Remember the old adage, a task slowly done is surely done.
Stanley Laurel: [Nods]
Oliver Hardy: Do you understand?
Stanley Laurel: Sure, a cool head never won fair lady.

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Laurel and Hardy reviews >The Fighting Kentuckian

The Fighting Kentuckian (1949) starring John Wayne, Oliver Hardy, Vera Ralston

The Fighting Kentuckian is a romantic western starring John Wayne—except that the Western is set in the East.  The setting is after the war of 1812, where John Wayne’s character, John Breen, is returning home with his battalion to Kentucky after having served under Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812.  They pass through Alabama, where he meets and rapidly falls in love with a young French exile, Fleurette De Marchand (played by the beautiful Vera Ralston)—she is part of the exiles from France, soldiers and their family loyal to the exiled Napoleon.  John Wayne’s character decides to muster out of the army and stay here, and his friend Willie Paine (played wonderfully by Oliver Hardy, who is very funny here, but in a much more serious role than when teamed with Stan Laurel) stays behind to keep him out of trouble.

There are two or three underlying plot threads in the movie—John Breen’s courtship of Fleurette, even though she’s already engaged to wealthy businessman Blake Randolph; the villainous George Hayden plotting to steal the land out from under the feet of the French exiles; and the tensions between the various people who are vying for control in the area.  It’s a very good movie, with a nice blend of romance, comedy and action—instead of the Cavalry coming to the rescue at the end of the movie, it’s the Kentucky batallion.  A very good, enjoyable movie, and I recommend it it highly - I rate it 4 clowns out of a possible 5.

For a different opinion, read the editorial review from Amazon.com below—

Editorial review of The Fighting Kentuckian, courtesy of Amazon.com

Here’s something you don’t see every day. Then again, would you want to? Several years before the 1950s’ Davy Crockett craze, John Wayne donned a coonskin cap to play a militiaman in early-19th-century Alabama. He and his fellow Kentuckians are just passing through--"marching 600 miles,” as they merrily sing (and sing, and sing), because riverboat magnate John Howard has refused to haul them. Howard and all-purpose scoundrel Grant Withers are scheming to dispossess a community of French émigrés--veterans of Napoleon’s Grand Army who’ve come seeking life, liberty, etc. in the New World. Howard’s also out to marry Vera Ralston, the French general’s daughter. Naturally, Wayne’s just the lad to gum up both plans.

Wayne himself produced The Fighting Kentuckian, but far from repeating the success of his maiden effort, Angel and the Badman, this is one of the feeblest films in his long career. Writer-director George Waggner never gets a handle on what a pre-Western should look and move like. Consequently, the cast does a lot of standing around looking silly in period costume, waiting--mostly in vain--for the script to establish their connection to one another and something resembling a plot. There is a glossier look to the proceedings than most Republic pictures achieved, thanks to Lee Garmes’s pearly cinematography, but this is scant consolation. So is the almost creepy presence of Oliver Hardy, sans Laurel, doing Ollie-shtick as Wayne’s jolly sidekick. No, he doesn’t say, “This is another fine mess you’ve got me into!” But he should. --Richard T. Jameson

Trivia about The Fighting Kentuckian

• Although Oliver Hardy was a good friend of John Wayne’s, he initially balked at acting in this movie, for fear that it would make people think that he and Stan Laurel had broken up as a team. When Laurel insisted that Hardy take the role, he acquiesced.

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Blog >50th Wedding Anniversary

Today, November 15th, I was hired to perform as a clown at a couple’s 50th wedding anniversary.  It was a very nice family, and they had hired me to keep the children entertained—and I decided to entertain the adults as well.  Everybody had a good time, and I received a tip on top of it, so everyone must have been pleased.

Some people think that all clowning is clown ministry, and I think that there’s a grain of truth in that.  For example, I view it as an opportunity to show that there’s laughter, and happiness, in life, with the implication that Someone is behind that—and in a secular event like the wedding anniversary, I need to leave it at that.

However, sometimes you give as a clown, and sometimes you receive. 

If my Dad hadn’t passed away a little more than a year ago, today would have been my parents’ 50th anniversary. 

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Blog >Ringling Brothers clown auditions - results

Courtesy of CBS channel 2, here’s a short (roughly 2 minutes) video clip of the Ringling Brothers clown audition last Wednesday - many audition, and only 2 received a call back ...

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

You are here: Blog >Church rallies for clown minister

A very heartwarming article about a clown minister, who’s also a full-time minister, who had to step down in order to get treatments for his throat cancer, and how his congregation welcomed him back to the pulpit—wearing clown noses.

As an aside, the noses were provided by Cheezo, who runs ClownSupplies.com - I’ve never met him personally, but I’ve ordered items from his web site, and this is one more reason for me to feel warm and fuzzy about him :)

You rated this page:

Excellent Good Average Not that good Poor  

Overall rating: 0 have voted so far

---

Most recent articles

• Hollywood Party
• The Sons of Liberty
• Christian Bikers
• Twas the night of the birth of Jesus, God’s Son
• Our Wife - Laurel and Hardy
• Clowns in the Twilight Zone
• Zenobia, starring Oliver Hardy and Harry Langdon
• Laughing Gravy - Laurel and Hardy
• Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
• The Lady in Red song lyrics
• Be Big! starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
• The Fighting Kentuckian
• 50th Wedding Anniversary
• Ringling Brothers clown auditions - results
• Church rallies for clown minister

Most popular articles

1. Charlie Chaplin biography
2. True Meaning of Christmas (free clown skit)
3. Clown types - the white face clown
4. A Nativity Gift (free Christmas clown skit)
5. Famous Clowns
6. Charlie Chaplin film list
7. Emmett Kelly biography
8. Christmas Clown Skit
9. Red Skelton biography
10. Clown Types - whiteface, auguste and hobo clowns
11. the August clown

---

DONATIONS Keep clown-ministry.com alive: Mail checks, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Tom Raymond 4501 Sentinel Pass Fitchburg, WI 53711 USA

clown-ministry home | articles | history | skits | miscellaneous | resources | site map | privacy policy

email

Search Now: