IT HAS LONG been conventional wisdom that, "Children and Dogs bring people together. The old proverb had adapted itself quite handily to the motion picture business long, long ago. W.C. Fields, for example, was a leading exponent of this belief; although his creed concentrated much more on the human portion of the statement.
WHILE DOGS MAY well reign supreme in the four-legged category, most any animal has at least a portion of this screen magic. Throughout motion picture, there has been a veritable menagerie of creatures, great and small, who have shared the spotlight with their partners of the species homo sapiens sapiens. In many an instant, they stole many a scene; if, indeed, the entire picture.
RATHER THAN HAVING humans competing with Dogs (Lassie, Benji, Yukon King, Rinty, etc.), or a Chimp (Cheetah, Zippy, J. Fred Muggs) or a Fish (Flipper*, Mr. Limpet), we have an elephant (Zenobia) in an eternal triangle with her owner (Harry Langdon) and the kindly town Doctor (Oliver Hardy). The humor is broad and varied. It is quite different;so, please don't expect this to be a Laurel & Hardy comedy; you see, Schultz, SONS OF THE DESERT it's not! IT WOULD SEEM that at this point in film history, being Anno Domini MCMXXXIX (that's 1939 A.D.), that there was a deluge of news and interest in anything and everything which even remotely related to the American Civil War was in. Although there is no specific date given in the picture, it would seem to be Ante-Bellum, that's Latin for "before the War." The costuming and situation with the Black Actors (Hattie McDaniel, Lincoln Perry) would seem to suggest neither Wartime nor the Reconstruction.
THERE IS ALSO a speech by Oliver Hardy to the young boy about how matters concerning Whites have nothing to do with Black Folks and the concerns of Black People aren't any business of Whites. We concluded that this is sort of a disclaimer for Hal Roach Studios in any historical matters that might arise; such as had been the case of the D.W. Griffith epic silent, BIRTH OF A NATION. (This may sound silly today, but one must view things through the eyes of those in that period; as well as through contemporary lenses.)
WITH RESPECT TO the film itself, it is quite amusing. Whereas we had previously said that it was no L&H Comedy, it did strike several chords wit its audience. It was a fine showcase to the versatility of Mr. Hardy, who demonstrated that he was truly an actor; with "Ollie" being his most successful character.
IN THE CASE of Oliver's co-star, Mr. Harry Langdon, it was a true tour de force; for he did a fine job of bringing a somewhat updated version of his "Adult Baby" persona from his Silent Screen days, when his name was at one time mentioned in the same breath with those of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd.
FOLLOWING HIS APPEARANCE in ZENOBIA, he returned to work as a behind the scenes gag man and to making two reelers for Roach and Columbia; all of which were okay, but mediocre shorts and surely a far cry from his salad days at Sennett and First National.
TAKING THE TIME to stop and view the film, which was known as ELEPHANTS NEVER FORGET in the U.K. will not be totally wasted time. You will most probably enjoy it a lot more than you would have thought. We certainly did.
NOTE * Alright, we know Flipper was a Dolfin, and hence a warm-blooded, live bearing MAMMAL!!
WHILE DOGS MAY well reign supreme in the four-legged category, most any animal has at least a portion of this screen magic. Throughout motion picture, there has been a veritable menagerie of creatures, great and small, who have shared the spotlight with their partners of the species homo sapiens sapiens. In many an instant, they stole many a scene; if, indeed, the entire picture.
RATHER THAN HAVING humans competing with Dogs (Lassie, Benji, Yukon King, Rinty, etc.), or a Chimp (Cheetah, Zippy, J. Fred Muggs) or a Fish (Flipper*, Mr. Limpet), we have an elephant (Zenobia) in an eternal triangle with her owner (Harry Langdon) and the kindly town Doctor (Oliver Hardy). The humor is broad and varied. It is quite different;so, please don't expect this to be a Laurel & Hardy comedy; you see, Schultz, SONS OF THE DESERT it's not! IT WOULD SEEM that at this point in film history, being Anno Domini MCMXXXIX (that's 1939 A.D.), that there was a deluge of news and interest in anything and everything which even remotely related to the American Civil War was in. Although there is no specific date given in the picture, it would seem to be Ante-Bellum, that's Latin for "before the War." The costuming and situation with the Black Actors (Hattie McDaniel, Lincoln Perry) would seem to suggest neither Wartime nor the Reconstruction.
THERE IS ALSO a speech by Oliver Hardy to the young boy about how matters concerning Whites have nothing to do with Black Folks and the concerns of Black People aren't any business of Whites. We concluded that this is sort of a disclaimer for Hal Roach Studios in any historical matters that might arise; such as had been the case of the D.W. Griffith epic silent, BIRTH OF A NATION. (This may sound silly today, but one must view things through the eyes of those in that period; as well as through contemporary lenses.)
WITH RESPECT TO the film itself, it is quite amusing. Whereas we had previously said that it was no L&H Comedy, it did strike several chords wit its audience. It was a fine showcase to the versatility of Mr. Hardy, who demonstrated that he was truly an actor; with "Ollie" being his most successful character.
IN THE CASE of Oliver's co-star, Mr. Harry Langdon, it was a true tour de force; for he did a fine job of bringing a somewhat updated version of his "Adult Baby" persona from his Silent Screen days, when his name was at one time mentioned in the same breath with those of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd.
FOLLOWING HIS APPEARANCE in ZENOBIA, he returned to work as a behind the scenes gag man and to making two reelers for Roach and Columbia; all of which were okay, but mediocre shorts and surely a far cry from his salad days at Sennett and First National.
TAKING THE TIME to stop and view the film, which was known as ELEPHANTS NEVER FORGET in the U.K. will not be totally wasted time. You will most probably enjoy it a lot more than you would have thought. We certainly did.
NOTE * Alright, we know Flipper was a Dolfin, and hence a warm-blooded, live bearing MAMMAL!!