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'''''The Music Box''''' is a [[Laurel and Hardy]] [[short film]] comedy released in 1932. It was directed by [[James Parrott]], produced by [[Hal Roach]] and distributed by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a large flight of steps, won the first [[Academy Award for Live Action Short Film]] (Comedy) in 1932.<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/153524/The-Music-Box/details |title=NY Times.com: The Music Box |accessdate=2010-11-28 |work=NY Times}}</ref> In 1997, this film was selected for preservation in the [[United States National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="NY Times" /> |
'''''The Music Box''''' is a [[Laurel and Hardy]] [[short film]] comedy released in 1932. It was directed by [[James Parrott]], produced by [[Hal Roach]] and distributed by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a large flight of steps, won the first [[Academy Award for Live Action Short Film]] (Comedy) in 1932.<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/153524/The-Music-Box/details |title=NY Times.com: The Music Box |accessdate=2010-11-28 |work=NY Times}}</ref> In 1997, this film was selected for preservation in the [[United States National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="NY Times" /> |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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Revision as of 17:09, 15 February 2012
| The Music Box | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card | |
| Directed by | James Parrott |
| Written by | H.M. Walker |
| Produced by | Hal Roach |
| Starring | Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy |
| Cinematography | Len Powers Walter Lundin |
| Edited by | Richard C. Currier |
| Music by | Harry Graham Marvin Hatley Leroy Shield |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date | April 16, 1932 |
Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country | Template:Film US |
| Language | English |
The Music Box is a Laurel and Hardy short film comedy released in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a large flight of steps, won the first Academy Award for Live Action Short Film (Comedy) in 1932.[1] In 1997, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1] While all of the team's short films ran no more than 20 minutes (two reeler), The Music Box was an exception, running at 30 minutes (three reels).[2]
Plot
Laurel and Hardy are to deliver a piano to a house which sits atop an enormous flight of stairs. Their attempts to carry the piano up the stairs results in it rolling and crashing into the street below several times, often with Ollie in tow. They finally succeed in getting the piano in the house, where they make a shambles of the living room. The owner of the house, Professor Theordore Von Schwarzenhoffen, returns and is outraged at what he finds. He attacks the piano with an axe, but regrets his actions when he discovers it was a present from his wife.
Cast
- Stan Laurel as Stan Laurel
- Oliver Hardy as Oliver Hardy
- Billy Gilbert as Professor Theodore Von Schwarzenhoffen, M.D., A.D., D.D.S., F.L.D., F.F.F and F.
- Charlie Hall as Postman
- Lilyan Irene as Nursemaid
- Sam Lufkin as Police Officer
- William Gillespie as Piano Salesman
- Hazel Howell as Mrs. von Schwarzenhoffen
Location
The steps which served as the location still exist in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles, near the "Laurel and Hardy Park". The "Music Box" steps are a public staircase, and do not lead to a single residence (as in the film), but instead connect Vendome Street (at the base of the hill) with Descanso Drive (at the top of the hill). They are located near the neighborhood where Sunset Boulevard and Silver Lake Boulevard intersect. The address is 923-935 Vendome Street near the intersection of Del Monte Street. A plaque was set into one of the lower steps between 1993 and 1995 at 34°4′59″N 118°16′30.50″W / 34.08306°N 118.2751389°W.
The "Music Box" steps can be seen in the background of an earlier Charley Chase silent comedy produced at the Hal Roach Studios, Isn't Life Terrible? (1925), during a scene in which Chase is trying to sell fountain pens to Fay Wray.
Film remakes
The film is a partial remake of their silent short Hats Off (1927), which was filmed at the same location and is today considered a lost film. Hats Off was itself remade in the same location in a film called It's Your Move starring Edgar Kennedy in 1945.
Hal Roach Studios colorized The Music Box in 1986 with a remastered stereo soundtrack featuring the Hal Roach Studios incidental stock music score conducted by Ronnie Hazelhurst. The film was later released on VHS as part of a double bill release with the colorized version of the 1932 Laurel and Hardy short Helpmates.
In popular culture
A series of TV ads for a windshield wiper company featured actors who looked much like Laurel and Hardy. One of the ads referred to this film by portraying them trying to safely deliver a piano.[citation needed]
A scene from the film appeared on a movie screen in the February 3, 2011 edition of the Luann comic strip.
Ray Bradbury's short story The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair from the collection The Toynbee Convector features the stairs prominently as the catalyst for the beginning of a love affair between a couple who affectionately refer to each other as 'Stan' and 'Ollie'. His short story Another Fine Mess from the collection Quicker Than the Eye features the ghosts of Laurel and Hardy haunting the staircase by replaying the scene.
References
- ^ a b "NY Times.com: The Music Box". NY Times. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
- ^ The Music Box at laurelandhardycentral.com
External links
