Though hated by L&H purists and critics alike, "The Big Noise" was popular at the time, and was part of the (by now clearly ageing) pair's contribution to the war effort - a particularly appropriate and useful one given the British-American bonding that looks almost like divine providence in the context. Stan was keen to ensure that the film featured little or no destruction (unlike in their past work). The director is Los Angeles-born Malcolm St Clair, a tall guy who died tragically aged 55. The main storyline is of an advanced weapon (the "Big Noise") that is in danger of falling into enemy hands. The Boys start out as janitors (meaning that they take care of things, though literally a janitor is a door-keeper). The weapon is a very destructive bomb that ends up being dropped on a Japanese sub. The movie was released in 1944 on September 22nd (2 x 9/11???) - just under a year before Hiroshima. L&H appear as Jones detective Agency detectives that both at one point dress as Sherlock Holmes (no Watson). Paradoxically, British pair Rathbone and Bruce had also appeared in Holmes movies updated to the 40s in an anti-Nazi context - and in fact operating to foil plots involving secret weapons. In the movie L&H appear in a location called "Elm Road" (though Stan refers to it as a street - giving us a prophetic nod towards nightmare scenarios - although the NOES movies are set in Ohio, the original idea supposedly comes from refugees from Vietnam living in Los Angeles). As well as inventing a modern home with all gadgets (and pills in place of meals!), the Professor is the inventor of the bomb, and is working on "an aeroplane with no wings". [This is also a bit paradoxical, as a famous picture of L&H - apparently from the 1920s - has them riding astride a large rocket in the direction of a city - in a scene quite recalling Dr Strangelove]. The scientist in this case has the given name Alva - meaning sublime, enlightened high or exalted one. His surname is Hartley meaning "the meadow of the deer". Surprisingly, a key figure on the Manhattan Project (which produced bombs known as "Fat Man" and "Little Boy") was engineer Hartley Rowe... Somewhat remarkably, the actor's name here is (Charles) Arthur Space. One of his lines in the movie is that his bomb "would shorten the War by months, maybe years", while another notes how it could destroy a whole city if "properly detonated" (yes, really!) By wrongly using the scientist's paint-removing technology, which has just cleaned up Ollie, stan sprays white paint all over a Van Dyck painting called "Height of Spring". It's a simple rural scene. The main reason for the artist to be Van Dyck is apparently to allow for a joke about a Van Dyke beard. It is now suggested that the white-out picture should be changed in name to "Depth of Winter" - a good joke but making us think of nuclear winter. Stan and Ollie note that scientists are not like them, being "a little bit twisted". When the scientist realises he has given the Boys the real bomb to take to Washington by train, rather than a dummy, Alva's oath is "great suffering Christopher" - somewhat specific since Christopher (the bearer of Christ) is the Saint associated with travel! He hopes to intercept them at a station called Ashton Forks - the town of ash!!! However, Ashton is more associated with ash trees than burnt ash, except that the ash tree gets its name because of its grey bark! On the train they share a bunk with a drunk guy, convincing themselves it is necessary to make sacrifices in time of war. When they tell him they are going to Washington, he advises against it as the capital city is too crowded. To escape crooks, and for speed, L&H take a remote-controlled robot plane (drone as we would now say), which is going to be used for target practice by the Artillery. When they come under fire the best they can come up with is to "PRESS A BUTTON" - this is the exact script. Further wording is also rather telling. Ollie says to Stan: "Don't forget the bomb and be careful". The Army responds with "cease firing". They drop the bomb on "an enemy submarine nest in the habor". They manage a direct hit. Stan plays a concertina (an instrument allowing concerts to be given), but that is a version of an accordion (instrument that offers harmony and is in tune). He plays "Mairzy dotes" - which was an absolute hit of that time, for no very good reason since it seems as ridiculous and lightweight as do Laurel and Hardy. The Merry Macs sang it and one of their other (wartime) songs was "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition" (believe it or not). A core lyric when the words are explained out of their nonsense form is "mares eat oats and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy". In an American context ivy could refer to either poison ivy or the introduced English ivy - which has the US association with academia (planted on university buildings). Jesus is the Lamb of God, and sheep can eat both kinds of ivy (though it is not very good for them). People absolutely cannot eat either kind without being harmed and poisoned. Earlier on in the movie, Stan's playing interrupts Ollie from playing cards. But at the end when Stan plays the tune it brings up the fish to listen in a scene that precisely parallels the preaching of Saint Anthony of Padua (when people would not listen, Anthony left the town and preached by the river, and the fish came up to the surface to listen, being more faithful than the Italian people). Of course, fish are also the symbol of Christianity. The movie ends with Ollie smiling at the sight of the fish and happy innocence reigns supreme, despite the bombing, wartime context, and the pair's apparently hopeless situation...
Ollie's facial expressions were just GOLD
Great!
Hilarious hahaha
Wished I could find the high resolution version that used to be here.
yes, i edited this in 720p but RUclips shrunk it down to 240p
@@dominikku7090 Could you dropbox it to me?
Though hated by L&H purists and critics alike, "The Big Noise" was popular at the time, and was part of the (by now clearly ageing) pair's contribution to the war effort - a particularly appropriate and useful one given the British-American bonding that looks almost like divine providence in the context. Stan was keen to ensure that the film featured little or no destruction (unlike in their past work). The director is Los Angeles-born Malcolm St Clair, a tall guy who died tragically aged 55. The main storyline is of an advanced weapon (the "Big Noise") that is in danger of falling into enemy hands. The Boys start out as janitors (meaning that they take care of things, though literally a janitor is a door-keeper). The weapon is a very destructive bomb that ends up being dropped on a Japanese sub. The movie was released in 1944 on September 22nd (2 x 9/11???) - just under a year before Hiroshima. L&H appear as Jones detective Agency detectives that both at one point dress as Sherlock Holmes (no Watson). Paradoxically, British pair Rathbone and Bruce had also appeared in Holmes movies updated to the 40s in an anti-Nazi context - and in fact operating to foil plots involving secret weapons. In the movie L&H appear in a location called "Elm Road" (though Stan refers to it as a street - giving us a prophetic nod towards nightmare scenarios - although the NOES movies are set in Ohio, the original idea supposedly comes from refugees from Vietnam living in Los Angeles). As well as inventing a modern home with all gadgets (and pills in place of meals!), the Professor is the inventor of the bomb, and is working on "an aeroplane with no wings". [This is also a bit paradoxical, as a famous picture of L&H - apparently from the 1920s - has them riding astride a large rocket in the direction of a city - in a scene quite recalling Dr Strangelove]. The scientist in this case has the given name Alva - meaning sublime, enlightened high or exalted one. His surname is Hartley meaning "the meadow of the deer". Surprisingly, a key figure on the Manhattan Project (which produced bombs known as "Fat Man" and "Little Boy") was engineer Hartley Rowe... Somewhat remarkably, the actor's name here is (Charles) Arthur Space. One of his lines in the movie is that his bomb "would shorten the War by months, maybe years", while another notes how it could destroy a whole city if "properly detonated" (yes, really!) By wrongly using the scientist's paint-removing technology, which has just cleaned up Ollie, stan sprays white paint all over a Van Dyck painting called "Height of Spring". It's a simple rural scene. The main reason for the artist to be Van Dyck is apparently to allow for a joke about a Van Dyke beard. It is now suggested that the white-out picture should be changed in name to "Depth of Winter" - a good joke but making us think of nuclear winter. Stan and Ollie note that scientists are not like them, being "a little bit twisted". When the scientist realises he has given the Boys the real bomb to take to Washington by train, rather than a dummy, Alva's oath is "great suffering Christopher" - somewhat specific since Christopher (the bearer of Christ) is the Saint associated with travel! He hopes to intercept them at a station called Ashton Forks - the town of ash!!! However, Ashton is more associated with ash trees than burnt ash, except that the ash tree gets its name because of its grey bark! On the train they share a bunk with a drunk guy, convincing themselves it is necessary to make sacrifices in time of war. When they tell him they are going to Washington, he advises against it as the capital city is too crowded. To escape crooks, and for speed, L&H take a remote-controlled robot plane (drone as we would now say), which is going to be used for target practice by the Artillery. When they come under fire the best they can come up with is to "PRESS A BUTTON" - this is the exact script. Further wording is also rather telling. Ollie says to Stan: "Don't forget the bomb and be careful". The Army responds with "cease firing". They drop the bomb on "an enemy submarine nest in the habor". They manage a direct hit.
Stan plays a concertina (an instrument allowing concerts to be given), but that is a version of an accordion (instrument that offers harmony and is in tune). He plays "Mairzy dotes" - which was an absolute hit of that time, for no very good reason since it seems as ridiculous and lightweight as do Laurel and Hardy. The Merry Macs sang it and one of their other (wartime) songs was "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition" (believe it or not). A core lyric when the words are explained out of their nonsense form is "mares eat oats and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy". In an American context ivy could refer to either poison ivy or the introduced English ivy - which has the US association with academia (planted on university buildings). Jesus is the Lamb of God, and sheep can eat both kinds of ivy (though it is not very good for them). People absolutely cannot eat either kind without being harmed and poisoned. Earlier on in the movie, Stan's playing interrupts Ollie from playing cards. But at the end when Stan plays the tune it brings up the fish to listen in a scene that precisely parallels the preaching of Saint Anthony of Padua (when people would not listen, Anthony left the town and preached by the river, and the fish came up to the surface to listen, being more faithful than the Italian people). Of course, fish are also the symbol of Christianity. The movie ends with Ollie smiling at the sight of the fish and happy innocence reigns supreme, despite the bombing, wartime context, and the pair's apparently hopeless situation...
Ears Bleed
full English please mate
COME ON MAN U!
Mares eat oats and doe's eat oats and little lambs eat ivy.
Not a great L&H film, but perhaps not as bad a movie as fans always claimed it to be!