Unaccustomed As We Are
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Unaccustomed As We Are | |
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Theatrical poster for Unaccustomed As We Are (1929) |
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Directed by | Lewis R. Foster Hal Roach |
Produced by | Hal Roach |
Written by | Leo McCarey (story) H.M. Walker |
Starring | Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy Edgar Kennedy Mae Busch Thelma Todd |
Cinematography | John MacBurnie Len Powers Jack Roach George Stevens |
Editing by | Richard C. Currier |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date(s) | May 4, 1929 |
Running time | 18 min. (silent version) 20:44 (sound version) |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent film English intertitles |
Allmovie profile | |
IMDb profile |
Unaccustomed As We Are, was a 1929 comedy short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, also featuring Mae Busch, in the first of several appearances as Mrs Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, and Thelma Todd. It is notable for being Laurel and Hardy's first sound film (hence the title, drawn from the popular cliché "Unaccustomed as we are to public speaking ..."). The soundtrack was lost for fifty years until it was traced on disc in the late 1970s.
In the opening scene, Laurel and Hardy speak their very first lines in film. Hardy's first line is "And we'll have a nice thick steak, smothered with onions..." Stan's first line is "Any nuts?" Stan's fondness for nuts came up in subsequent films, including "County Hospital" (1932) and "Oliver the Eighth" (1934).
This is the first film in which Hardy says to Laurel, "Why don't you do something to help me!" which immediately became a catch-phrase, repeated in numerous subsequent films.
The plot of "Unaccustomed As We Are" was expanded into a full-length feature, "Blockheads" in 1938.