Flying Elephants (1928) Directed by Frank Butler, Hal Roach
Comedy / Short
Film Review
Perhaps the most off-the-wall of Laurel and Hardy's silent
shorts. As its title implies, Flying
Elephants has something of the nature of a Monty Python sketch,
complete with animated insert (of the titular airborne
pachyderms). Even in bearskins and deprived their trademark
bowler hats, Stan and Ollie are instantly recognisable as the legendary
double act they would soon become. The boys' penchant for
slapstick is facilitated by the fact that in caveman times it was
(apparently) customary to beat people on the head with a stick whenever
possible - you did not have to ask the victim's permission
beforehand. The jokes are, to say the least, crude to the point
of childishness, but there is much fun to be had in this
Flintstones-style romp.
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Film Synopsis
It is the Stone Age, so-named because men are expected to make a living
on the stone pile. At the decree of the stone king, all men
between the age of 13 and 95 are ordered to marry. Mighty Giant
knows who he wants to wed, a pretty little prehistoric girl. But
just before he can pop the question, a rival appears, in the form of
Little Twinkle Star, a poetic sort who is the exact opposite of the
butch Mighty Giant. As the girl can only marry one of these two
promising suitors, there is only one course of action: Mighty Giant and
Little Twinkle Star must fight to the death...
Cast:Stan Laurel (Little Twinkle Star),
Oliver Hardy (Mighty Giant),
James Finlayson (Saxophonus),
Edna Marion (Cavewoman),
Dorothy Coburn (Gorgeous Wrestler),
Viola Richard (Blushing Rose),
Fay Lanphier (Blonde Cavewoman),
Budd Fine (Hulking Caveman),
Tiny Sandford (Hulking Caveman),
Leo Willis (Fisherman),
Arthur Stanley
Country: USA
Language: English
Support: Black and White / Silent
Runtime: 17 min
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