| Two Tars | |
|---|---|
) | |
| Directed by | James Parrott |
| Produced by | Hal Roach |
| Written by | Leo McCarey (story) H.M. Walker (titles) |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | George Stevens |
| Edited by | Richard C. Currier |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 21 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English (Original intertitles) |
Two Tars is a silent short subject directed by James Parrott starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 3, 1928
Plot
Laurel and Hardy play two sailors on shore leave who decide to rent an automobile. With Laurel at the wheel, he nearly crashes the car into a pedestrian at a street corner. Hardy apologizes for Stan's poor driving, takes the wheel, and shortly thereafter crashes the car into a lamppost. Chagrined, Hardy drives off and parks in front of a drugstore where two young ladies are having difficulty with a street-side vending machine that has taken their penny without giving them a gumball. Hardy tries to shake a gumball from the dispenser but only ends up breaking the glass container, scattering gumballs all over the sidewalk.
Seeing this, the angry proprietor confronts Hardy with Stan joining in, constantly slipping on the scattered gumballs. The girls come to their rescue and rough up the proprietor, accidentally breaking another gumball machine in the process. This action leads to a chain reaction of numerous drivers and passengers battling one another and deliberately damaging their automobiles. Eventually a motorcycle policeman arrives and is told that Stan and Oliver were the instigators of the fracas.
Cast
- Stan Laurel - Stan
- Oliver Hardy - Ollie
- Edgar Kennedy - Motorist
- Thelma Hill - Brunette girl
- Ruby Blaine - Blonde girl
- Harry Bernard - Truck driver
- Chet Brandenburg - Motorist
- Baldwin Cooke - Motorist
- Edgar Dearing - Motorcycle policeman
- Frank Ellis - Motorist
- Helen Gilmore - Motorist
- Clara Guiol - Motorist
- Charlie Hall -Shopkeeper
- Jack Hill - Motorist with mattress
- Fred Holmes - Motorist
- Ham Kinsey
- Sam Lufkin
- Charles McMurphy
- Retta Palmer
- Lon Poff
- Thomas Benton Roberts
- Charley Rogers
- George Rowe
- Lyle Tayo
Production
One of the most elaborate silent comedy shorts, Two Tars was filmed as a three reel (30-minute) comedy originally called Two Tough Tars and edited down to 20 minutes. The opening scenes were shot on Main Street in Culver City, and the car battle scenes were filmed in Santa Monica along what is now Centinela Avenue.
Sons of the Desert
Chapters — called Tents — of The Sons of the Desert, the international Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society, all take their names from L&H films. There are four Two Tars Tents in Solingen, Germany; Guernsey, Channel Islands; North Illinois/Wisconsin Border; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A fifth Two Tars Tent was established in Reidsville, North Carolina, but is no longer active.
References
External links
- Two Tars at IMDb
- Two Tars at AllMovie
- Two Tars at the TCM Movie Database
- Two Tars at Rotten Tomatoes