Blotto (film)

Blotto
Directed by James Parrott
Produced by Hal Roach
Written by Leo McCarey
H.M. Walker
Starring Stan Laurel
Oliver Hardy
Music by Leroy Shield
(1937 reissue)
Cinematography George Stevens
Edited by Richard C. Currier
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
  • February 8, 1930
Running time
 26' 06" (English)
39' 30" (Spanish)
Country United States
Language English

Blotto (1930) is a comedy film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Plot

During the prohibition period, Laurel and Hardy make plans to spend a wild night out at the Rainbow Club. Phoning Stan at home, Ollie suggests a ruse by which Stan is to convince his wife, who keeps him on a short leash, that he has been called away on business. Stan readily agrees to the idea, assuring Ollie that his wife is "so dumb she'll never know the difference".

Mrs. Laurel, eavesdropping on another line, is furious, but continues listening as Stan tells Ollie that he knows where he can get some liquor. His plan is to steal the bottle that his wife has hidden in the house, and later blame the loss on the ice man. Mrs. Laurel immediately launches a scheme of her own: she replaces the alcohol with a non-alcoholic mixture. Stan and Ollie proceed to get "drunk" at the nightclub, having a wonderful time. That is, until an angry Mrs. Laurel turns up armed with a shotgun, reveals that their "liquor" is merely cold tea, chases them into the street, and demolishes their cab with one well-aimed shot.

Production

The film originally had no music except for the orchestral version of the Ku Ku song on opening titles. The original version of the film also is not available for viewing and survives only in a censored 1937 re-release print which had Pre-Code sequences removed (about one reel of material was cut). On that version, a background music music track was added which was a mixture of a few Leroy Shield jazzy tunes and some music commonly used in 1937 Hal Roach films.

Although the original 1930 version is now considered a lost film, a Spanish language version produced by MGM, entitled La Vida Nocturna has survived which shows how the film was originally presented, including a gag involving an electric fan after Stan says he needs some "fresh air". This is not available in the English version due to negative damage.

Cast

International versions

The film was reshot and entitled La Vida Nocturna for the Spanish language market.

References

    External links