Blotto (1930)

Just perfect...

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This short film's direction is twofold. One is to avoid their wive's control over them (they always seemed to have wives who were much smarter, and much meaner than them) by stealing some alcohol from them. The other is to see what happens to them as they drink the tea that has replaced the liquor. The title of the film tells us that someone is going to get really drunk. Of course, they have already blown it before they go to the bottle club (taking a risk during prohibition) because of Ollie's big mouth (he is overheard by his wife). Anyway, the scene at the club is hilarious because the power of suggestion is more powerful than the realities of the human body. This is laugh riot. Will they pay a price for their actions? That's the question.

"Blotto" is an American 26-minute short film starring possibly the world's most famous comedy duo: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. This film was made over 85 years ago and that was when silent film slowly transitioned into sound film. This movie here that runs for a bit under half an hour is an good example of how people were still struggling with all the new possibilities. That is why a potentially strong script got a bit lost in filmmaking. This is not necessarily a criticism again Parrott, Walker and McCarey who were really talented and prolific, but it's always difficult to adjust to entirely new circumstances. Everybody knows that, no matter which area we are talking about. I personally thought this little movie had its moments and I can somewhat see why it is among the mote known Stan & Ollie works. Still, I hoped this would be better and my expectations weren't fulfilled. I also don't think the action and comedy are sufficient for 25 minutes in terms of both quality and quantity . This could have been better. This should have been better. Not recommended.

The basic plot of this Laurel and Hardy short has been seen in movies and especially TV by other comedians. I remember a HONEYMOONERS episode that "liberally borrowed" from this short and I recall a few other shows that also reproduced the main idea. I assume that even before Laurel and Hardy, there probably were other comedy shorts with the same plot as well! Stan is a very henpecked husband. He wants to sneak out to "play", but his wife is keeping a close eye on him. Ollie calls and convinces Stan to lie to his wife so they can both sneak off to a night club. Stan tells Ollie his wife has been hiding a bottle of liquor (since it is Prohibition) and he'll smuggle it out of the house. However, the wife is quite nosy and overhears the plan, so she substitutes cold tea in the bottle.What follows is a not particularly surprising segment where Stan and Ollie think they are getting drunk, so they start to behave very obnoxiously at the night club. In the meantime, the wife arrives with a brand new gun she purchased to shoot her husband for lying to her(that seems awfully extreme and ridiculous, I know). However, despite this being a completely stupid plot element, the final scene where she shoots at the pair is still a great sight gag.A very familiar theme that was executed very, very well with the usual Laurel and Hardy style and grace.

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short.Stan & Ollie head for an evening at a ritzy nightclub, against the wishes of a furious Mrs. Laurel. After getting BLOTTO on a mixture of cold tea & Tabasco, the Boys make a noisy spectacle of themselves. But just wait until Mrs. L. shows up with a shotgun...A very funny little film. Highlight: Stan's laughing fit. The tearjerker sung by the crooner that gets the Boys crying is `The Curse Of An Aching Heart', a popular ballad from 1913. Mrs. Laurel is played by Anita Garvin.