The Music Box: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1932 film}} |
{{Short description|1932 short film by James Parrott}} |
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{{Other uses|Music box (disambiguation)}} |
{{Other uses|Music box (disambiguation)}} |
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'''''The Music Box''''' is a [[Laurel and Hardy]] [[short film]] comedy released in 1932. It was directed by [[James Parrott]], produced by [[Hal Roach]] and distributed by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a long flight of steps, won the first [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film|Best Live Action Short (Comedy)]] in 1932.<ref name="Oscars1932">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1933 |title=The 5th Academy Awards (1932) Nominees and Winners |access-date=June 24, 2013 |work=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles, California}}</ref><ref name="HF">[http://archive.org/stream/hollywoodfilmogr12holl#page/n517/mode/2up "Here Are Complete Academy Awards"], ''Hollywood Filmograph'', November 26, 1932, p. 9. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 13, 2019. The 1932 Academy Awards dinner and presentations were held at the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Ambassador Hotel]] in Los Angeles on November 18.</ref> In 1997, it was selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being " |
'''''The Music Box''''' is a [[Laurel and Hardy]] [[short film]] comedy released in 1932. It was directed by [[James Parrott]], produced by [[Hal Roach]] and distributed by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a long flight of steps, won the first [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film|Best Live Action Short (Comedy)]] in 1932.<ref name="Oscars1932">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1933 |title=The 5th Academy Awards (1932) Nominees and Winners |access-date=June 24, 2013 |work=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles, California}}</ref><ref name="HF">[http://archive.org/stream/hollywoodfilmogr12holl#page/n517/mode/2up "Here Are Complete Academy Awards"], ''Hollywood Filmograph'', November 26, 1932, p. 9. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 13, 2019. The 1932 Academy Awards dinner and presentations were held at the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Ambassador Hotel]] in Los Angeles on November 18.</ref> In 1997, it was selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/92513%7C0/The-Music-Box.html "Film Article: The Music Box"], [[Turner Classic Movies]] (TCM), Time Warner, Inc., New York, N.Y. Retrieved May 22, 2019.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|website=Library of Congress|access-date=May 6, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=New to the National Film Registry (December 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin|url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9712/nfr.html|access-date=July 28, 2020|website=www.loc.gov}}</ref> The film is widely seen as the most iconic Laurel and Hardy short, with the featured stairs becoming a popular tourist attraction. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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In a music store, a woman |
In a music store, a woman arranges for the purchase and delivery of a player piano as a birthday surprise for her husband. Upon disclosing her address at 1127 Walnut Avenue to the store manager, the Laurel and Hardy Transfer Company is enlisted to transport the instrument using their horse-drawn freight wagon. |
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Encountering a formidable challenge in the form of a lengthy stairway leading to the residence, the duo attempts to navigate the piano up the steps. Amidst their arduous efforts, they inadvertently cause the instrument to descend the stairs multiple times, resulting in a series of mishaps and encounters with various individuals, including a nursemaid, a cop, and the imposing Professor Theodore von Schwartzenhoffen. Persisting against mounting odds, Laurel and Hardy eventually succeed in reaching the top, only to face further misfortune as the piano rolls back down, dragging Ollie along. After realizing a simpler route was available, they relocate the piano, encountering additional setbacks and ultimately damaging the instrument while attempting to maneuver it through a balcony. |
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The duo soon learn from a postman ([[Charlie Hall (actor)|Charlie Hall]]) that the home is at the top of a ''very'' long stairway. Their attempts to carry the piano up the stairs result in it rolling and crashing into the street below several times, twice with Ollie in tow. During their first attempt, they encounter a nursemaid (Lilyan Irene) pushing a baby carriage down the steps; in trying to let her pass, they knock the piano back down the stairs. After the lady laughs at them, Stan kicks her in her backside, causing her to punch him back and hit Ollie over the head with a milk bottle. Stan and Ollie then heft the piano back up the stairs. In a [[double entendre]] line, the angry woman tells a policeman ([[Sam Lufkin]]) on the corner that she was "kicked right in the middle of my daily duties". The cop then confronts the hapless duo, kicking Ollie twice and hitting Stan with his [[wikt:nightstick|nightstick]] after the latter suggests the officer is "bounding over his steps" (i.e. "overstepping his bounds"). Meanwhile, the piano has rolled down the steps again. |
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Their struggles culminate in a confrontation with the irate Professor, who, upon learning of the piano's intended recipient, regrets his actions and agrees to sign for the delivery. However, a final mishap involving an ink-spraying pen prompts the Professor to lose his temper once more, prompting Laurel and Hardy to hastily depart. |
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The two doggedly persist in carrying the piano up the stairs for a third time. Halfway up, they encounter the short-tempered and pompous Professor Theodore von Schwartzenhoffen ([[Billy Gilbert]]), M.D., A.D., D.D.S., F.L.D., F-F-F-''and''-F. He impatiently tells them to take the piano out of his way; he should like to pass. Ollie very reasonably and sensibly suggests he ''walk'' around, which sets off the Professor in a fit of Teutonic rage. He screams at Stan and Ollie to get the piano out of his way, and Stan knocks the Professor's top hat down the stairs and into the street, where it is crushed by a passing vehicle. The outraged professor leaves, loudly threatening to have the two arrested. |
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Finally, Stan and Ollie get the piano to the top, where Ollie falls into a fountain. As they ring the bell of 1127 Walnut Avenue, the piano rolls back down to the street again. They wearily drag it back up the stairs, and meet the postman by the house, who informs them they did not have to lift the piano up the stairs; they could have driven up the hill and stopped in front of the house. Stan and Ollie promptly carry the piano back down the stairs, put it back in their wagon and drive it up the hill to the house. |
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Finding no one home, they finally succeed in getting the piano in the house, after dropping it into the fountain and falling in themselves. They make a shambles of the living room while unpacking it. Meanwhile, the owner of 1127 Walnut Avenue is revealed to be Professor von Schwartzenhoffen, who returns and is outraged at what he finds, as he hates pianos. He attacks the piano with an axe, destroying it, but regrets his actions when his wife returns home and tearfully tells her husband it had been a surprise birthday present. To apologize for his actions, the Professor signs the delivery receipt, but the pen Stan and Ollie give him squirts ink over his face. Furious, Schwartzenhoffen blows his temper again and makes the duo run away. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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* [[Sam Lufkin]] as police officer |
* [[Sam Lufkin]] as police officer |
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* Lilyan Irene as nursemaid |
* Lilyan Irene as nursemaid |
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* [[Charlie Hall (actor)|Charlie Hall]] as postman |
* [[Charlie Hall (actor, born 1899)|Charlie Hall]] as postman |
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* [[William Gillespie (actor)|William Gillespie]] as piano salesman |
* [[William Gillespie (actor)|William Gillespie]] as piano salesman |
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The steps can also be seen in the [[Charley Chase]] silent comedy ''[[Isn't Life Terrible?]]'' (1925), during a scene in which Chase is trying to sell fountain pens to [[Fay Wray]]. The steps are also used, for a gag similar to ''Hats Off'' and ''The Music Box'', in ''Ice Cold Cocos'' (1926), a [[Billy Bevan]] comedy short directed by [[Del Lord]].<ref>[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/I/IceColdCocos1926.html SilentEra entry for ''Ice Cold Cocos'']. ''silentera.com''</ref> The steps are also referenced in ''[[The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair]]'', a short story by [[Ray Bradbury]], as the meeting place of the couple in the story, who call each other Ollie and Stan in homage to the comedic duo. |
The steps can also be seen in the [[Charley Chase]] silent comedy ''[[Isn't Life Terrible?]]'' (1925), during a scene in which Chase is trying to sell fountain pens to [[Fay Wray]]. The steps are also used, for a gag similar to ''Hats Off'' and ''The Music Box'', in ''Ice Cold Cocos'' (1926), a [[Billy Bevan]] comedy short directed by [[Del Lord]].<ref>[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/I/IceColdCocos1926.html SilentEra entry for ''Ice Cold Cocos'']. ''silentera.com''</ref> The steps are also referenced in ''[[The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair]]'', a short story by [[Ray Bradbury]], as the meeting place of the couple in the story, who call each other Ollie and Stan in homage to the comedic duo. |
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Although similar in appearance, the |
Although similar in appearance, the staircase is not the same one used by [[The Three Stooges]] in their 1941 film ''[[An Ache in Every Stake]]''. Those stairs (147 steps in length) are approximately two miles northeast, located at 2212 Edendale Place in the [[Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California|Silver Lake]] district of [[Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.threestooges.net/journal/view/98%20threestooges.net|title=ThreeStooges.net :: The Three Stooges Journal - Issue No. 98%20threestooges.net|author=Robert Davidson|website=threestooges.net}}</ref><ref name=Solomon>{{cite book| last = Solomon| first = Jon| author-link = Jon Solomon| title = The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion| publisher = Comedy III Productions, Inc| year = 2002| pages = 195–197| isbn = 0971186804}}</ref> |
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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The short was popular with audiences in 1932 and generally well received by critics. After previewing ''The Music Box'' in late February that year, the New York trade paper ''[[The Film Daily]]'' assured theater owners that the comedy "is up to the Laurel-Hardy standard, and should score easily."<ref>[http://archive.org/details/filmdailyvolume55859newy/page/480 "Laurel and Hardy in 'The Music Box'"], review, ''The Film Daily'' (New York, N.Y.), February 28, 1932, p. 12. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 12, 2019.</ref> ''[[Motion Picture Herald]]'', after previewing the film in March, described it as "great fun" and noted, "Unusually long for a comedy [short], it is well worth the extra length."<ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/motionpictureher106unse#page/n1137/mode/2up "SHORTS / The Music Box / (''MGM'')"], review, ''Motion Picture Herald'' (New York, N.Y.), March 12, 1932, p. 57. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 12, 2019.</ref> The Chicago-based movie magazine ''[[Motion Picture (magazine)|Motion Picture]]'' is even more enthusiastic about the comedy in its June 1932 issue:{{blockquote|[Laurel and Hardy's] latest "short" lasts thirty minutes. And it is a fast and funny half-hour. Perhaps they got their idea from [[Charlie Chaplin]], who once was screamingly funny as a piano-mover's helper—but don't hold that against them. They have improved on Chaplin, which is no easy task. Not with a pair as absurdly, ridiculously, and insanely awkward as these two. The gags are almost as side-splitting as they are.<ref>Reid, James Edwin (1932). [http://archive.org/stream/motionpicture43moti#page/n473/mode/2up/search/Laurel "Featured Shorts / The Music Box"], review, ''Motion Picture'' (Chicago, Illinois), June 1932, p. 68. Retrieved May 13, 2019.</ref>}} |
The short was popular with audiences in 1932 and generally well received by critics. After previewing ''The Music Box'' in late February that year, the New York trade paper ''[[The Film Daily]]'' assured theater owners that the comedy "is up to the Laurel-Hardy standard, and should score easily."<ref>[http://archive.org/details/filmdailyvolume55859newy/page/480 "Laurel and Hardy in 'The Music Box'"], review, ''The Film Daily'' (New York, N.Y.), February 28, 1932, p. 12. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 12, 2019.</ref> ''[[Motion Picture Herald]]'', after previewing the film in March, described it as "great fun" and noted, "Unusually long for a comedy [short], it is well worth the extra length."<ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/motionpictureher106unse#page/n1137/mode/2up "SHORTS / The Music Box / (''MGM'')"], review, ''Motion Picture Herald'' (New York, N.Y.), March 12, 1932, p. 57. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 12, 2019.</ref> The Chicago-based movie magazine ''[[Motion Picture (magazine)|Motion Picture]]'' is even more enthusiastic about the comedy in its June 1932 issue:{{blockquote|[Laurel and Hardy's] latest "short" lasts thirty minutes. And it is a fast and funny half-hour. Perhaps they got their idea from [[Charlie Chaplin]], who once was screamingly funny as a piano-mover's helper—but don't hold that against them. They have improved on Chaplin, which is no easy task. Not with a pair as absurdly, ridiculously, and insanely awkward as these two. The gags are almost as side-splitting as they are.<ref>Reid, James Edwin (1932). [http://archive.org/stream/motionpicture43moti#page/n473/mode/2up/search/Laurel "Featured Shorts / The Music Box"], review, ''Motion Picture'' (Chicago, Illinois), June 1932, p. 68. Retrieved May 13, 2019.</ref>}} |
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Not all contemporary reviews, however, were positive. ''Variety'', the entertainment industry's leading paper in 1932, did not publish its review of ''The Music Box'' until November 22, over seven months after MGM officially released the short to theaters. |
Not all contemporary reviews, however, were positive. ''Variety'', the entertainment industry's leading paper in 1932, did not publish its review of ''The Music Box'' until November 22, over seven months after MGM officially released the short to theaters. The reviewer, Alfred Greason, wrote: |
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{{blockquote|Less than average subject for this comedy pair, who depend on house wrecking for their laughs instead of upon the laughs within the situations themselves. Any pair of clowns can make haw-haws out of roughhouse; this pair have reached distinction by reason of a comic quality within themselves. Resort to house wrecking argues lack of resources in the 'script' department.<ref name="Variety32">[http://www.archive.org/stream/variety108-1932-11#page/n193/mode/2up/search/Music+box "LAUREL AND HARDY / 'The Music Box' / Comedy / 15 Mins."], review, ''Variety'', November 22, 1932, p. 16. Retrieved May 13, 2019. In his reviews for ''Variety'', Alfred Rushton Greason used the [[pen name]] "Rush". A reference to that pen name is included in the headline of his obituary [http://www.nytimes.com/1934/01/22/archives/alfred-r-greason-of-variety-is-dead-uder-pen-name-of-rush-he-was.html "ALFRED R. GREASON OF VARIETY IS DEAD: U.der Pen Name of 'Rush,' He Was Versatile Critlc of Theatrical Weekly"], ''The New York Times'', January 22, 1934, p. 15. Retrieved May 17, 2019.</ref>}} |
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One odd, seemingly inexplicable aspect of Greason's unfavorable review is his description of the Academy Award winner being a 15-minute short, only half the film's actual length. A single reference to such a drastically reduced running time could be construed as a possible editing or typographical error, but the time is cited twice by the veteran critic: once in his review's heading and again at the end of the review, where Greason notes, "Finish is only so-so and the subject doesn't hold up pace for its 15 minutes."<ref name="Variety32"/> |
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==Remakes== |
==Remakes== |
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[[File:Hats off01.jpg|thumb|A Still from the short ''Hats Off!''.]] |
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*The film is a partial [[remake]] of their silent short ''[[Hats Off (1927 film)|Hats Off]]'' (1927), directed by [[Hal Yates]], which utilized a washing machine instead of a piano, and was filmed at the same location and is today considered a [[lost film]].<ref name="LHC">Brennan, John V.; Larrabee, John (2012). [http://laurelandhardycentral.com/hatsoff.html "The Silents: ''Hats Off''"], Laurel and Hardy Central. Retrieved May 18, 2019.</ref> ''Hats Off'' was itself remade by [[Edgar Kennedy]] in 1945 as ''[[It's Your Move (1945 film)|It's Your Move]]'' (again directed by Yates), but utilizing a different staircase although located in the same vicinity where the "Music Box Steps" are in Silver Lake (known as the Descanso Stairs, they are situated at the intersection of Descanso and Larissa drives, specifically between the residences of 3217 Descanso Drive and 3200-3206 Larissa Drive, and one block from Sunset Boulevard, which can be seen in the background in several long shots). |
*The film is a partial [[remake]] of their lost silent short ''[[Hats Off (1927 film)|Hats Off!]]'' (1927), directed by [[Hal Yates]], which utilized a washing machine instead of a piano, and was filmed at the same location and is today considered a [[lost film]].<ref name="LHC">Brennan, John V.; Larrabee, John (2012). [http://laurelandhardycentral.com/hatsoff.html "The Silents: ''Hats Off''"], Laurel and Hardy Central. Retrieved May 18, 2019.</ref> ''Hats Off'' was itself remade by [[Edgar Kennedy]] in 1945 as ''[[It's Your Move (1945 film)|It's Your Move]]'' (again directed by Yates), but utilizing a different staircase although located in the same vicinity where the "Music Box Steps" are in Silver Lake (known as the Descanso Stairs, they are situated at the intersection of Descanso and Larissa drives, specifically between the residences of 3217 Descanso Drive and 3200-3206 Larissa Drive, and one block from Sunset Boulevard, which can be seen in the background in several long shots). |
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*Hal Roach Studios colorized ''The Music Box'' in 1986 with a remastered stereo soundtrack featuring the Hal Roach Studios incidental stock music score conducted by Ronnie Hazelhurst. The film was later released on VHS along with a colorized version of ''[[Helpmates]]''. |
*Hal Roach Studios colorized ''The Music Box'' in 1986 with a remastered stereo soundtrack featuring the Hal Roach Studios incidental stock music score conducted by Ronnie Hazelhurst. The film was later released on VHS along with a colorized version of ''[[Helpmates]]''. |
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*''The Music Box'' was also dubbed in Spanish, with the lengthy title ''No cualquiera aguanta un piano, mucho menos una pianola'' (the English translation being "Not anyone can load a piano, |
*''The Music Box'' was also dubbed in Spanish, with the lengthy title ''No cualquiera aguanta un piano, mucho menos una pianola'' (the English translation being "Not anyone can load a piano, let alone a pianola"). |
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*With some aspects of the original script omitted, actor [[Jorge Arvizu]] and other actors have produced additional Spanish versions of ''The Music Box'', as well as other remakes of Laurel and Hardy shorts and [[Feature film|features]]. |
*With some aspects of the original script omitted, actor [[Jorge Arvizu]] and other actors have produced additional Spanish versions of ''The Music Box'', as well as other remakes of Laurel and Hardy shorts and [[Feature film|features]]. |
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*''The Music Box'' essay [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/music_box.pdf] by [[Randy Skretvedt]] on the [[National Film Registry]] website |
*''The Music Box'' essay [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/music_box.pdf] by [[Randy Skretvedt]] on the [[National Film Registry]] website |
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*{{IMDb title|0023251}} |
*{{IMDb title|0023251}} |
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* {{ |
* {{TCMDb title|614660|The Music Box}} |
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* {{ |
* {{allMovie title|153524}} |
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* {{Rotten Tomatoes|the-music-box-1932}} |
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|the-music-box-1932}} |
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* [http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/37120567 Music Box Steps] in [[OpenStreetMap]] |
* [http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/37120567 Music Box Steps] in [[OpenStreetMap]] |
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* ''The Music Box'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 195-196 [https:// |
* ''The Music Box'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 195-196 [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC] |
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{{Laurel and Hardy filmography}} |
{{Laurel and Hardy filmography}} |
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[[Category:1932 comedy films]] |
[[Category:1932 comedy films]] |
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[[Category:American black-and-white films]] |
[[Category:American black-and-white films]] |
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[[Category:Films directed by James Parrott]] |
[[Category:Films directed by James Parrott]] |
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[[Category:Laurel and Hardy (film series)]] |
[[Category:Laurel and Hardy (film series)]] |
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[[Category:Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker]] |
[[Category:Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker]] |
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[[Category:1930s English-language films]] |
[[Category:1930s English-language films]] |
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[[Category:Films scored by Marvin Hatley]] |
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[[Category:Films scored by Leroy Shield]] |
Latest revision as of 01:17, 28 February 2024
The Music Box | |
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Lobby card, 1932 | |
Directed by | James Parrott |
Written by | H.M. Walker |
Produced by | Hal Roach |
Starring | Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy |
Cinematography | Len Powers Walter Lundin |
Edited by | Richard C. Currier |
Music by | Harry Graham Marvin Hatley Leroy Shield |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 29:16 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Music Box is a Laurel and Hardy short film comedy released in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a long flight of steps, won the first Academy Award for Best Live Action Short (Comedy) in 1932.[1][2] In 1997, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3][4][5] The film is widely seen as the most iconic Laurel and Hardy short, with the featured stairs becoming a popular tourist attraction.
Plot
[edit]In a music store, a woman arranges for the purchase and delivery of a player piano as a birthday surprise for her husband. Upon disclosing her address at 1127 Walnut Avenue to the store manager, the Laurel and Hardy Transfer Company is enlisted to transport the instrument using their horse-drawn freight wagon.
Encountering a formidable challenge in the form of a lengthy stairway leading to the residence, the duo attempts to navigate the piano up the steps. Amidst their arduous efforts, they inadvertently cause the instrument to descend the stairs multiple times, resulting in a series of mishaps and encounters with various individuals, including a nursemaid, a cop, and the imposing Professor Theodore von Schwartzenhoffen. Persisting against mounting odds, Laurel and Hardy eventually succeed in reaching the top, only to face further misfortune as the piano rolls back down, dragging Ollie along. After realizing a simpler route was available, they relocate the piano, encountering additional setbacks and ultimately damaging the instrument while attempting to maneuver it through a balcony.
Their struggles culminate in a confrontation with the irate Professor, who, upon learning of the piano's intended recipient, regrets his actions and agrees to sign for the delivery. However, a final mishap involving an ink-spraying pen prompts the Professor to lose his temper once more, prompting Laurel and Hardy to hastily depart.
Cast
[edit]- Stan Laurel as Stan
- Oliver Hardy as Ollie
Uncredited cast
- Billy Gilbert as Professor Theodore von Schwartzenhoffen, M.D., A.D., D.D.S., F.L.D., F.F.F.und F.
- Hazel Howell as Mrs. von Schwartzenhoffen[6]
- Sam Lufkin as police officer
- Lilyan Irene as nursemaid
- Charlie Hall as postman
- William Gillespie as piano salesman
Location
[edit]The steps, 133 with multiple landings,[7] which are the focal point of The Music Box, still exist in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles, near the Laurel and Hardy Park. The steps are a public staircase that connects Vendome Street (at the base of the hill) with Descanso Drive (at the top of the hill),[8] and are located at 923-925 North Vendome Street near the intersection of Del Monte Drive. A plaque commemorating the film was set into one of the lower steps.[9]
The steps can also be seen in the Charley Chase silent comedy Isn't Life Terrible? (1925), during a scene in which Chase is trying to sell fountain pens to Fay Wray. The steps are also used, for a gag similar to Hats Off and The Music Box, in Ice Cold Cocos (1926), a Billy Bevan comedy short directed by Del Lord.[10] The steps are also referenced in The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair, a short story by Ray Bradbury, as the meeting place of the couple in the story, who call each other Ollie and Stan in homage to the comedic duo.
Although similar in appearance, the staircase is not the same one used by The Three Stooges in their 1941 film An Ache in Every Stake. Those stairs (147 steps in length) are approximately two miles northeast, located at 2212 Edendale Place in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles.[11][12]
Reception
[edit]The short was popular with audiences in 1932 and generally well received by critics. After previewing The Music Box in late February that year, the New York trade paper The Film Daily assured theater owners that the comedy "is up to the Laurel-Hardy standard, and should score easily."[13] Motion Picture Herald, after previewing the film in March, described it as "great fun" and noted, "Unusually long for a comedy [short], it is well worth the extra length."[14] The Chicago-based movie magazine Motion Picture is even more enthusiastic about the comedy in its June 1932 issue:
[Laurel and Hardy's] latest "short" lasts thirty minutes. And it is a fast and funny half-hour. Perhaps they got their idea from Charlie Chaplin, who once was screamingly funny as a piano-mover's helper—but don't hold that against them. They have improved on Chaplin, which is no easy task. Not with a pair as absurdly, ridiculously, and insanely awkward as these two. The gags are almost as side-splitting as they are.[15]
Not all contemporary reviews, however, were positive. Variety, the entertainment industry's leading paper in 1932, did not publish its review of The Music Box until November 22, over seven months after MGM officially released the short to theaters. The reviewer, Alfred Greason, wrote:
Less than average subject for this comedy pair, who depend on house wrecking for their laughs instead of upon the laughs within the situations themselves. Any pair of clowns can make haw-haws out of roughhouse; this pair have reached distinction by reason of a comic quality within themselves. Resort to house wrecking argues lack of resources in the 'script' department.[16]
Remakes
[edit]- The film is a partial remake of their lost silent short Hats Off! (1927), directed by Hal Yates, which utilized a washing machine instead of a piano, and was filmed at the same location and is today considered a lost film.[17] Hats Off was itself remade by Edgar Kennedy in 1945 as It's Your Move (again directed by Yates), but utilizing a different staircase although located in the same vicinity where the "Music Box Steps" are in Silver Lake (known as the Descanso Stairs, they are situated at the intersection of Descanso and Larissa drives, specifically between the residences of 3217 Descanso Drive and 3200-3206 Larissa Drive, and one block from Sunset Boulevard, which can be seen in the background in several long shots).
- Hal Roach Studios colorized The Music Box in 1986 with a remastered stereo soundtrack featuring the Hal Roach Studios incidental stock music score conducted by Ronnie Hazelhurst. The film was later released on VHS along with a colorized version of Helpmates.
- The Music Box was also dubbed in Spanish, with the lengthy title No cualquiera aguanta un piano, mucho menos una pianola (the English translation being "Not anyone can load a piano, let alone a pianola").
- With some aspects of the original script omitted, actor Jorge Arvizu and other actors have produced additional Spanish versions of The Music Box, as well as other remakes of Laurel and Hardy shorts and features.
References
[edit]- ^ "The 5th Academy Awards (1932) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles, California. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ "Here Are Complete Academy Awards", Hollywood Filmograph, November 26, 1932, p. 9. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 13, 2019. The 1932 Academy Awards dinner and presentations were held at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on November 18.
- ^ "Film Article: The Music Box", Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Time Warner, Inc., New York, N.Y. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ "New to the National Film Registry (December 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin". www.loc.gov. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ "The Music Box at Another Nice Mess". Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- ^ "Climb the Music Box Steps ... without the piano". Los Angeles Times. October 17, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ Hutchinson, Pamela (March 3, 2020). "Silent witness: the Hollywood alley with the five-star reviews". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ "The Music Box Steps". Atlasobscura.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ SilentEra entry for Ice Cold Cocos. silentera.com
- ^ Robert Davidson. "ThreeStooges.net :: The Three Stooges Journal - Issue No. 98%20threestooges.net". threestooges.net.
- ^ Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 195–197. ISBN 0971186804.
- ^ "Laurel and Hardy in 'The Music Box'", review, The Film Daily (New York, N.Y.), February 28, 1932, p. 12. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ^ "SHORTS / The Music Box / (MGM)", review, Motion Picture Herald (New York, N.Y.), March 12, 1932, p. 57. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ^ Reid, James Edwin (1932). "Featured Shorts / The Music Box", review, Motion Picture (Chicago, Illinois), June 1932, p. 68. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "LAUREL AND HARDY / 'The Music Box' / Comedy / 15 Mins.", review, Variety, November 22, 1932, p. 16. Retrieved May 13, 2019. In his reviews for Variety, Alfred Rushton Greason used the pen name "Rush". A reference to that pen name is included in the headline of his obituary "ALFRED R. GREASON OF VARIETY IS DEAD: U.der Pen Name of 'Rush,' He Was Versatile Critlc of Theatrical Weekly", The New York Times, January 22, 1934, p. 15. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ Brennan, John V.; Larrabee, John (2012). "The Silents: Hats Off", Laurel and Hardy Central. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
External links
[edit]- The Music Box essay [1] by Randy Skretvedt on the National Film Registry website
- The Music Box at IMDb
- The Music Box at the TCM Movie Database
- The Music Box at AllMovie
- The Music Box at Rotten Tomatoes
- Music Box Steps in OpenStreetMap
- The Music Box essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ISBN 0826429777, pages 195-196 [2]
- 1932 films
- 1932 comedy films
- American black-and-white films
- Films directed by James Parrott
- Laurel and Hardy (film series)
- Live Action Short Film Academy Award winners
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films
- United States National Film Registry films
- Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker
- 1930s English-language films
- 1930s American films
- Films scored by Marvin Hatley
- Films scored by Leroy Shield