Babes in Toyland - 1934

Babes in Toyland (1934) stars Laurel and Hardy in a fairytale land battling evil and proving that virtue conquers all.  There’s quite a bit of bumbling going on, but it all comes out right in the end.

The boys are boarders in the shoe of the Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe.  They work in a toy shop which, we may be surprised to learn, is a supplier to Santa Claus.  Perhaps his elves were on strike, otherwise why would there be this outsourcing?  There were a lot of strikes in the Great Depression; quite possibly the elves had poor working conditions and low pay and no coffee breaks.  Solidarity forever, for the union makes us strong! 

Charlotte Henry plays Little Bo Peep, who keeps losing her sheep.  She’s got an even more dreadful problem, however.  A villain named Silas Barnaby, played with old-time mellerdramer exaggeration by Henry Brandon (even his makeup is exaggerated), lusts after the winsome shepherdess.  Bo Peep is also a resident of the shoe, on which there is a mortgage – held by Barnaby, of course.  He demands of the Old Woman, played by Florence Roberts, that she force Bo Beep to marry him, otherwise, he will take her shoe.  The big one that they live in.  She’s behind in payments.  It’s the Depression.

Meanwhile, Tom-Tom, the Piper’s Son, played by Felix Knight, is in love with Bo Peep, and after a duet or two, we see the feeling’s mutual.  He’s a trilling tenor (it’s a musical, of sorts), but he is no match for the persevering evil Henry Brandon as Barnaby.  Here’s where Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee step in, and that’s Stan and Ollie.

At first, they plan to take their life savings ($1.48) to pay off the mortgage, but failing that, they hope to ask their toyshop boss, played by curmudgeonly William Burress, for a loan. 

But the boss fires them for making a huge mistake…and it is huge.  The toy soldiers they were to make on order for Santa (because his long-suffering elves are on strike for a decent wage and an end to child-elf labor), have been made the wrong size.  They’re HUGE, a little bigger than life size, and when they are wound up (actually, just push a button on their backs), they clomp around like Frankenstein’s monster and are almost as scary.

The boys try to steal the mortgage document from Barnaby, Ollie nearly gets drowned in a judicial ducking, and Bo Peep, trying to save the Old Woman’s home, tearfully agrees to marry the villain.  Stan bursts into tears.  “Upset?  I’m housebroken!”

The whole menagerie of Mother Goose (who’s also there, played by Virginia Karns and sings “Toyland”) characters live in the snug little village, and we might be reminded of the later Wizard of Oz (1939) set, but this one is in black and white.  It also has, like Oz, a race of monsters seemingly controlled by Barnaby, not unlike the flying moneys, called Bogeymen, who live in the dreadful Bogeyland.  They are creepy.  Their netherworld cavern reminds one a little of the lair of the Phantom of the Opera.

After much travail, Stan and Ollie save the day with their earlier mistake – the giant toy soldiers.  They are put into action and in the movie’s climax, the battalion vanquishes the hideous Bogeymen and Barnaby, to the tune of Victor Herbert’s “March of the Wooden Soldiers.”  Some of them are figures brought to life with stop-motion animation, and in other scenes are actors.  I think the most striking scene is when one of them, in Frankenstein monster-like fashion, bursts through a wall and loses his head.  It’s funny and upsetting at the same time.

Another weird and creepy creature is a money-like Mickey Mouse.  It’s his earlier version, but it’s seeing him alive and hopping around and teasing a cat that puts one off.  Definitely, not our beloved and recognizable Mickey.

The movie has since been colorized, but the original black-and-white version is still available, including on YouTube.  For many a Boomer, this was a beloved annual holiday tradition, despite its flaws.  I can’t say it was in my house—there were other movies that were considered “musts” for the holiday season, but I think any time spent with Laurel and Hardy is well worth it.

Next week, we’ll have another visit to a mythical toyland with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in Toyland Premiere (1934).

Until then, may I wish Americans here and abroad a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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Christmas in Classic Films provides a roster of old movies with scenes to conjure Christmas of days gone by.  Makes a nice gift, if you know an old movie buff, or if you just like to give presents to yourself.  

The paperback is available at Amazon, but also here at Barnes & Noble.

The hardcover, so far, is available only at Amazon.

Here are a few other classic movie books I've written for your gift-giving pleasure:

Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. - for sale in paperback and hardcover at Amazon,

And in paperback and hardcover here at Ingram,

And in paperback and hardcover here at Barnes & Noble.

And in paperback here at Walmart.

Hollywood Fights Fascism -  here in paperback at Amazon.

Movies in Our Time - here in paperback at Amazon.

And all of these books are available as well at my page on Bookshop.org, which helps support independent bookstores.