The Tree in a Test Tube

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The Tree in a Test Tube
Directed by	Charles McDonald
Produced by	United States Department of Agriculture
Narrated by	Pete Smith Lee Vickers
Starring	Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy
Music by	Edward Craig
Cinematography	A. Sintzenich
Editing by	Boris Vermont
Release date(s)	1943
Running time	5:30 min
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Tree In a Test Tube is a 1942 short film produced by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, featuring Laurel and Hardy, with narration by Pete Smith.

It is their only known surviving color film, shot in Kodachrome on 16mm, and is basically World War II propaganda. Their routine lasts around five minutes and was shot silent (their voices are not heard); the second half of the film is unrelated documentary footage. Laurel and Hardy shot this brief film on the back lot of Twentieth Century-Fox on November 29, 1941 and the film went into release in spring of 1942. To the voice-over commentary of Pete Smith, Stan and Oliver produce various props - the contents of a suitcase and their wallets - all manufactured from wood, or containing wood byproducts such as cellulose. These are used to demonstrate the omnipresence of wood in the American economy.