| Zenobia | |
|---|---|
VHS cover |
|
| Directed by | Gordon Douglas |
| Produced by | Hal Roach |
| Written by | Corey Ford |
| Starring | Oliver Hardy Harry Langdon Billie Burke Alice Brady Hattie McDaniel |
| Music by | Marvin Hatley |
| Cinematography | Karl Struss |
| Editing by | Bert Jordan |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | 1939 |
| Running time | 73 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Zenobia (also known as Elephants Never Forget (UK) and It's Spring Again) is a 1939 comedy film starring Oliver Hardy, Harry Langdon, Billie Burke, Alice Brady, James Ellison, Jean Parker, June Lang, Stepin Fetchit, and Hattie McDaniel. It is one of the few films after the teaming of Laurel and Hardy that features Hardy without Stan Laurel,[1] the result of a contract dispute between Laurel and producer Hal Roach, who maintained separate contracts for each performer, rather than a team contract, which would have offered them more control over their careers. Zenobia was Roach's attempt to create a new comedic pair without Laurel, and a series of films with Hardy and Langdon was planned. The dispute was short-lived, however, and Laurel and Hardy were reunited shortly thereafter.[2]
Oliver Hardy enacted his role in straight comedic leading man fashion, eschewing most of his trademark "Ollie" mannerisms.
The film, itself, enjoyed some success. The reviewer for The New York Times wrote on May 15, 1939, that the film:
Then—playing on the potential for a new comedy team of Hardy and Langdon—the reviewer said:
When seen today, though, Langdon's role is not so much that of a teammate to Hardy, as simply a comic costar.
The source of the film was the novel Zenobia's Infidelity by H.C. Bunner and was originally purchased by Roach as a vehicle for Roland Young. Other points of interest about Zenobia include the fact that the music was by Marvin Hatley, the composer of "The Cuckoo Song," Laurel and Hardy's famous theme song.
Contents |
Hardy plays Dr. Henry Tibbett, a country doctor who is called on by a travelling circus trainer to cure his sick elephant. After the doctor heals the grateful beast, the elephant becomes so attached to him that it starts to follow him everywhere. This leads to the trainer suing Dr. Tibbett for alienation of affection.