Laurel & Hardy: Another Fine Mess

Fleeing from a policeman, two vagrants duck into a deserted mansion. When a ritzy couple shows up as prospective tenants, Ollie poses as the grandiose owner, while Stan demonstrates his versatility doing double-duty as butler and maid. His cheery, dame masquerade tête-à-tête on the sofa with sensational Thelma Todd is a pre-Code delight, completely at variance with Laurel’s usual dim bulb visage. Filmed at a mansion once owned by famed movie musical director Busby Berkeley. The film’s title does not comport with the popular catch phrase so often used: “another nice mess. ” This is a remake of an early Laurel & Hardy silent, Duck Soup, which was based on a 1908 stage sketch written by Laurel’s father, a British theatrical impresario. Directed by James Parrott. With James Finlayson, and Charles Gerrard as Lord Leopold Ambrose Plumtree.