1940
7
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NR
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A Chump at Oxford
1940
7
3.0K
NR
views
saved
The boys get jobs as a butler and maid-- Stan in drag-- for a dinner party. When that ends in disaster, they resort to sweeping streets and accidentally capture a bank robber. The grateful bank president sends them to Oxford, at their request, and higher-education hijinks ensue.
Countries:
US
Languages:
English
Content Rating:
NR
Runtime:
1hrs 1min
Status:
Released
Release date:
1940-01-25
Release format:
Theater
Along with "Saps At Sea", this was one of the last films that Laurel and Hardy made for Hal Roach Studios, before moving on to 20th Century Fox and MGM. These two films prove that Laurel and Hardy had by no means lost any of their magic as they grew older. The drastic change from these two amazing films to the dreadful "Great Guns" (their first Fox film) proves that the bigger studios had made a huge mistake by refusing to allow Stan to write or direct their films. If they had lost their magic by this point, then surely the last few Roach films would be disappointing as well.
The reality is: "A Chump At Oxford" and "Saps At Sea" are among their best. This film has far too many wonderful moments to pin-point them all, but the more you watch it, the more you begin to realise how phenomenal the scene is when Stan is playing with the "ghost's" hand in the maze. It is genuinely the other guy's hand and yet is is rehearsed so well, you can trick yourself into believing it's actually Stan's hand. The performance is surreal.
The dialogue in this film is absolutely hilarious, and yet there are so many brilliant lines that you wouldn't even notice from first viewing. Such as when they finally arrive at one of the most famous Universities in the country and Ollie says: "You'd think they'd advertise this college to let people know it was on the map!"
When Stan turns into Lord Paddington, and is about to fight the students, he turns to his valet and says: "Meredith, hold my handkerchief!"
As with most Laurel and Hardy films, you will miss out on so much if you only watch it once. I've seen this film over a hundred times or more, and it still has me in stitches every time I watch it. I really feel sorry for people who don't watch Laurel and Hardy.