The Fixer Uppers

The Fixer Uppers
Directed byCharles Rogers
Written byStan Laurel
Frank Tashlin
Produced byHal Roach
StarringStan Laurel
Oliver Hardy
Mae Busch
Charles B. Middleton
Arthur Housman
CinematographyArt Lloyd
Edited byBert Jordan
Music byLeroy Shield
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • February 9, 1935 (1935-02-09)
Running time
20:25
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Fixer Uppers is a 1935 American short comedy film directed by Charles Rogers, starring Laurel and Hardy, and produced by Hal Roach.

Plot

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Christmas card purveyors Stan and Ollie find themselves embroiled in a scheme orchestrated by a discontented wife, aimed at igniting jealousy in her passionless marriage. However, their well-intentioned endeavor takes a perilous turn when the husband, a volatile artist, becomes excessively agitated, ultimately challenging Ollie to a midnight duel, fraught with mortal implications, in a fit of jealousy.

Navigating the predicament with characteristic ineptitude, Stan and Ollie seek refuge in a nearby tavern, where they deliberate their predicament. Realizing the husband's ignorance of their residence, Ollie imprudently notifies him of his absence and exchanges insults, precipitating further complications. Succumbing to inebriation alongside a neighbor, they attract police attention, resulting in their apprehension and subsequent deposition in the couple's apartment, where they are discovered inebriated and prone.

As tensions escalate, firearms are brandished, yet the wife intervenes, revealing the substitution of lethal ammunition with harmless blanks. Despite this reprieve, Ollie feigns mortality when confronted with a simulated gunshot, enabling their escape amidst a chaotic pursuit. The duo evading their adversary's pursuit, culminating in Ollie's resigned resignation from the vantage point of a horse-drawn refuse conveyance, having sought refuge within a refuse receptacle.

Cast

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Production

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The penultimate Laurel and Hardy short comedy made at Hal Roach Studios, the film is a reworking of Slipping Wives (1927) a silent comedy the comedians appeared in before they teamed up.[1]

The Fixer Uppers was partially remade by The Three Stooges in 1940 as Boobs in Arms.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Everson, William K. (1967). The Complete Films of Laurel and Hardy. New York City: Citadel Press. pp. 41–42. ISBN 0-8065-0146-4.
  2. ^ Okuda, Ted; Neibaur, James L. (2012). Stan Without Ollie: The Stan Laurel Solo Films, 1917-1927. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-7864-4781-7.
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