Air Raid Wardens

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source: Air Raid Wardens

Moviecut—Air Raid Wardens

Air Raid Wardens

The great silent and early sound comedians were all "personality" comedians. No on could devise gags for Keaton and Lloyd as well as the comedians themselves because they knew their characters and knew what was believable for them. Likewise, no one could devise gags for Laurel and Hardy as well as Stan Laurel. Unfortunately, MGM thought their best writers and directors could produce winning films for anybody, regardless of their characters. Here's the problem with this picture; the characters of Stan and Ollie aren't needed. Jack Haley and Tom Ewell could have starred in this movie with equal succcess because there are so few Laurel and Hardy moments in it. Even the "tit for tat" gag with Edgar Kennedy is slow and tiring, without the zest and fun of similar battles with Finlayson and Charlie Hall. In the end. this is an MGM picture with Laurel and Hardy, and not what fans of "Sons of the Desert" and "Blockheads" look forward to.

Yes, this is pretty anemic L & H, but as their '40s films go, I put it third behind THE BULLFIGHTERS and JITTERBUGS as their most tolerable (the fourth, THE BIG NOISE, has one of the best L & H fadeouts ever, but that's another entry). Anyway, AIR WARDENS manages to eke out some effective comedic bits, especially some unexpectedly impressive pratfalls from an aging Laurel. The war time trappings can get tiresome, but at least there's neat payoff with one sight gag near the end. Edgar Kennedy is a big plus in this film, and though its flaws are many (why no background music?),it's hardly a catastrophe. That's a backhanded compliment, but I think accurate enough!

In the small town of Huxton, incompetent business owners Laurel (Stan Laurel) and Hardy (Oliver Hardy) intends to join the war effort. Only non of the military services are willing to accept them. They return home with no jobs and no store. They sign up to be air raid wardens. The boys try very hard but they are also very incompetent. It's the first of two movies the boys made at MGM. The good news is that they are the stars of the movie. The bad news is that they're not doing their best work. The physical gags are basic and a little slow. The boys need to write some better gags. I still love them and that's why I like this movie. They are sweet and fun and that's what they make this film... even with the Nazis.