Jitterbugs

Stan and Ollie make the scene as zoot suit hipsters in Jitterbugs, a sluggish wartime comedy with a few but very sparse comic moments that recall the boys in their prime. There's some comic drag from Laurel and chuckle inducing by Hardy doing a poor southern gentleman imitation but it's more than clear the boys looked fatigued and needed a rest. As a two man traveling band the pair run out of gas in the middle of nowhere where an amiable con-man befriends then uses them to sell a fraudulent product and make a run for it. The shysters however eventually redeem themselves when they come to the aid of others at the mercy of other con men. The pair both look brittle and tired as they deliver stale lines an expressions from their prime that result in more melancholy than mirth. Like Mantle and Mays they had stayed too long at the dance and found themselves far from their golden past and their prime. Jitterbugs has two left feet.

It is very easy to understand Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's appeal, with them having such great comic timing and memorable contrasting and distinct personalities, and why they are so fondly remembered. The same goes with their chemistry, considered legendary and one of the best, and in their prime (mid/late-1920s to 1940) one can see there's a reason for that. Their best material, both verbal and particularly physically, was amusing to hilarious and their best films, short and feature, are classic comedy. Which is why it is sad that there was such a drastic decline in the post-Hal Roach period post-1940 (know that a few of the late 30s films were less than great but not to this extent). A period when Laurel and Hardy became underused, they and their material on the most part were tired, they were put in settings that they didn't gel in, the films seemed to forget what made Laurel and Hardy's prime period as great as it was, a lot of the verbal humour was dumb and trite, the supporting casts were variable and a few were too plot-heavy and the plots were far from great. For me though, while not a great film and far from prime Laurel and Hardy, 'Jitterbugs' is one of the best from this period. Some of the problems that plagued this period are still here but there is less of them compared to the previous 1940s films and most of what came after. 'Jitterbugs' is too heavy in the story, which is an issue when the story was not particularly good. At least it wasn't paper thin or felt like an over-stretched short film like those of some of the duo's other feature films, but it suffers from the opposite, being over-plotted, sometimes over-complicated and from being wildly improbable. Do feel that Laurel and Hardy could have been treated more like leads, there is too much of Bob Bailey and Vivian Blaine and the romantic subplot is not the film at its most interesting. The film starts to run out of gas and become muddled towards the end. Part of me wanted more physical comedy, because most of Laurel and Hardy's funniest and most famous material was physical/slapstick. However, both Laurel and Hardy have more energy than in other films from this period and they are good fun and look like they're enjoying themselves more than most of their post-Hal Roach films. Their chemistry shines much more than it did in the previous 1940s films and they're in a setting and situation that they gel much better in and more like something you get in their late1930s outings. The material they have here is also much better, none of it classic but as far as this period goes the humour and writing are far less dumb and are actually funny and well timed. The scamming discussion, the parts with Lee Patrick, the boys as a two-man band (particularly clever) and Laurel in drag are the standouts, it felt like 'Jitterbugs' did much better than most of their post-Hal Roach period in remembering what made them great even though for me it's too dialogue heavy. Supporting cast is one of the best and most consistent of their 1940s films. A very funny Lee Patrick comes off best in the humour department, while Vivian Blaine is very charming and likeable, even getting the chance to sing a few pleasant if not entirely memorable musical numbers that actually don't distract too much. 'Jitterbugs' is nicely made and looks professional in how it's shot, the editing not crude, while the direction is competent if not always the most inspired. In summary, decent post-Hal Roach outing and, although far from classic Laurel and Hardy, one of the best from this declining period. 6/10 Bethany Cox

There's more storyline in this 75-minutes than L&H's usual slapstick, Typically, the classic narratives amount to just a series of set-ups for their style pratfalls. Here, however, the boys are called upon to do more straight "acting" than usual. Ollie's a fake southern aristocrat, while Stan's a female impersonating sidekick. Together, they're trying to get back $10,000 that ruthless con-men have fleeced from a needy young woman (Blaine). Thus they're trying to con con-men, which leads to some amusing, if not hilarious, situations. All in all, the result amounts to an entertaining trifle. Still, I could have used more jitterbugging than the one round. Too bad we didn't send some of these Hollywood jitterbug scenes to Hitler and Tojo. That way they would know they couldn't win—after all, how could such an energized American home front possibly lose! But, apart from the plot and its shenanigans, is a good look at how rationing affected common folk during WWII's early years. That gasoline pill set-up is both amusing and revealing, showing how precious the fuel was to ordinary drivers, once the bulk was going to the war effort. To me, the first 10-minutes are the funniest; that is, before the plot really takes hold, and the boys get more subdued. Anyway, it's not classic L&H, but on a rainy night, it'll sure do.

. . . JITTERBUGS appeared on the big screen, with Stan Laurel trying to supplant Betty Grable as a pin-up gal for the Allied troops during WWII in 1943. Stan's effort falls totally flat, as he seemingly cannot even raise his voice to simulate the "fair sex" (a feat easily accomplished later by Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams in the aforementioned flicks). Mr. Laurel and his frequent sidekick Oliver Hardy mostly are adrift here in a plot which makes less sense than their usual, and doesn't perk up until the last five minutes when the showboat Gen. Fremont drifts away from its New Orleans pier during rush hour on the Mississippi. JITTERBUGS' opening desert scene and its follow-up two-man band episode are okay, but the rest of this story quickly bogs down during the lengthy "New Orleans" sequence. Film rookie Vivian Blaine warbles rather well, but her shoulders are not broad enough to carry the entire flick.

remarkably brighter and fresher than the 1941 and 1942 efforts, in fact, should have been made in color and billed as a musical: yes, Vivian Blaine, of GUYS AND DOLLS gets a lot of frame time, with very good songs. the film actually opens with L & H playing as, one might say, one-man-bands, on their tour truck. cinematography is good and there's a sense that they are actually enjoying this one. we know Hardy said much later he liked JITTERBUGS. it's been written that they enjoyed the chance to get into costume, as they did in the gambling scene, where they try to win back money that Vivian lost to con men, earlier. along the way they met an affable con artist, Bob Bailey, who agrees to help out... and *not* help himself, this time. but general L & Hers, try it on for size. like so many of the MGM and Fox efforts, the lost opportunities are too much to bear, in outlining. I'll give ya one: L & H are thumbing a ride, out in the desert. Stan suggests one of them should lie down on the road so as to make someone stop. Fine. Not to give it away but there's no quibbling about who has the honor, such as "As usual, I have to do everything myself!" Plus, the bit is terribly executed. Not by L & H but by the Writer and/or the Director. any 14 year old *new* fan will frown and say, "why didn't they just...?" :)

Sometimes even an out of their prime Laurel and Hardy flick can fill the bill, like it did this morning on the Fox Movie Channel. I haven't seen one of their features in a while so this was a welcome treat. Yet even though they're both top billed in the credits, you somehow get the feeling that they have a support role in this story about con men out-conning each other with the boys as willing partners. As the story progresses, a host of characters slip in and out of the action, and one of the puzzlers is how a couple of the original grifters named Corcoran (Robert Emmett Keane) and his wife Dorcas (Lee Patrick) simply drop out of the picture, even though Corcoran was a partner of the main villain Bennett (Douglas Fowley). Oh well, not to worry too much about figuring that out. In some respects it appears that Twentieth Century Fox was attempting to follow the Universal formula of Abbott and Costello's successful early films by supplying a host of musical numbers performed by the pretty Vivian Blaine. Her character is Miss Susan Cowan, who's aunt had been swindled using the old bait and switch envelope trick. Rounding out the main quartet, Robert Bailey portrays another grifter named Chester Wright, and when he's stricken by Miss Cowan's looks and charm, he's a goner. If there were only enough pretty women in the world, maybe there wouldn't be any bad guys. You know, I've been thinking about that gas pill gimmick. Recall how Ollie was offering the bargain price of one dollar for the five gallon pills and two bucks for ten gallons - that would have worked out to twenty cents a gallon to manufacture gasoline out of water. Well I recall buying gas at twenty eight cents a gallon when I first started driving in 1967, so I just looked it up, and a gallon of gas in 1943 cost about ten cents. I wonder what they were thinking when they put the script together. Anyway, as con man Chester puts it - "Money lost through larceny can often be recovered the same way". And so it goes, as Stan impersonates the dowager Aunt Emily Cartwright, and pulls off the envelope switcheroo against the bad guys. If you're attentive, you'll catch a quick line from Stanley stating "I feel so gay" when he first puts on women's clothing. It kind of makes me wonder what he'd say if he were around today.

I first saw this movie years ago on the late show one night, and was charmed by it. The low key, gentle humor, and likable love interests make for an entertaining little movie. Vivian Blaine is really cute as the night club singer who falls for nice guy con man Bob Bailey. He's not really a crook at heart, and soon is reformed by true love, combining forces with Stan and Ollie to get back the money fleeced from Vivian's aunt by a trio of crooks. Stan Laurel is very funny and surprisingly convincing, as the wealthy dowager character he pretends to be. Tough gal Lee Patrick putting on a bogus Southern accent, and trying to seduce first Laurel and then Hardy is a hilarious sequence. Watching Oliver Hardy waltz gracefully with Lee Patrick is a sight worth seeing. This is a nice, fun little movie if you're not expecting Laurel and Hardy in their prime. They're still funny and endearing characters.

Just watching this film on the Talking Pictures TV channel, I don't know this movie. I am a huge Stan and Ollie fan, and have seen far too few of their movies and simply couldn't resist viewing it. Frankly I am ashamed of the atrocious rating for this movie here on IMDb, I can only assume it's culled from the abysmal reviews. To my mind Laurel and Hardy still outshine a large percentage, of the tat that passes for 'comedy' these days. Their movies are still funnier than a great amount, of 'comedy' dross that the film industry still try and palm us off with. As a Brit I have to say that the absolute worst culprits, are the American film companies. Fox wanted 'commercial $ makers and their 21st century compatriots, are still up to the same fiscal shenanigans. There is nothing new in either the film nor TV industries, profit motives before quality every time. But with Laurel and Hardy their comedic quality will always shine through, and frankly continues to transcend time itself.

Not funny but the boys seem to enjoy this mess , as it has a lot of inventiveness . Cinematography pretty good, comedy cutting not bad. Vivian Blaine has some nice bits w the affable con man , and surprisingly okay tunes . Good scene w Stan in drag and Ollie as THE southern gentleman . Should have been done in color.

Jitterbugs (1943) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Laurel and Hardy meets a nice con man and the three set out to con back $10,000 which was stolen from a local girl. This is a decent comedy from the duo that has some nice laugh but not enough to match their classic titles from the 1930s. One of the best moments include a scene where Laurel gets caught up in the con and is drinking with a married woman. Other highlights include Laurel in drag and another scene involving the gas pills. Not all of the gags work and some of the musical numbers are rather lame but overall this wasn't too bad.