Double Whoopee
Encyclopedia
Double Whoopee is a 1929 Hal Roach Studios silent short comedy starring Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...

. It was shot during February 1929 and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...

 on May 18 of that year.

Synopsis

Laurel and Hardy play the roles of a footman (Hardy
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...

) and doorman (Laurel
Stan Laurel
Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...

) at an upper class hotel. Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...

 also makes a brief appearance in this film, as a blonde bombshell who gets partially stripped by Laurel & Hardy. One of the funnier scenes is one with an automatic elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...

. A haughty prince tries to get on the elevator from the first floor. Simultaneously Oliver summons the elevator. For some reason the outer doors don't close and when the prince (who has been busy giving a speech) tries to step in, he falls into the elevator well. Oliver rides down in the elevator and disappears. The prince is pulled out of the well, all disheveled and dirty. He tries it again. This time Stan summons the elevator and the whole thing repeats.

Cast

  • Stan Laurel
    Stan Laurel
    Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...

     – Stan
  • Oliver Hardy
    Oliver Hardy
    Oliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...

     – Ollie
  • Jean Harlow
    Jean Harlow
    Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...

     – swanky blonde
  • Ed Brandenburg
    Ed Brandenburg
    Ed Brandenburg , was an American actor. He appeared in 37 films between 1922 and 1938.He was born in Kentucky, USA and died in Temple City, California.-Selected filmography:* Block-Heads...

     – bellhop
  • William Gillespie
    William Gillespie (actor)
    William Gillespie was a Scottish actor who started in Hollywood films from the silent era. Born in Aberdeen, he supported such comedians as Charlie Chaplin, Charley Chase and Laurel and Hardy, but was most prolific supporting Harold Lloyd in over 50 films.-Selected filmography:* The Cure * Easy...

     – hotel manager
  • Charlie Hall – cab driver
  • Hans Joby
    Hans Joby
    Hans Joby was a German film actor. He appeared in 63 films between 1920 and 1944. He was also billed as "Captain John Peters", and often played aristocratic Prussian-types, memorably in Laurel and Hardy's silent short Double Whoopee.He was born in Kronstadt, Austria-Hungary and died in Los...

     – prince
  • Ham Kinsey
    Ham Kinsey
    Ham Kinsey , was an American actor. He appeared in 39 films between 1926 and 1936 mostly at the Hal Roach Studios where he supported Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy.He died in Los Angeles, California, USA....

     – cab driver
  • Sam Lufkin
    Sam Lufkin
    Samuel "Sam" William Lufkin was an American actor who usually appeared in small or bit roles in short comedy films.-Career:Born in Utah, Lufkin spent most of his career at the Hal Roach Studios where he made over 60 films...

     – man poked in eye
  • Charley Rogers
    Charley Rogers
    Charley Rogers was an English film actor, director and screenwriter, best known for his association with Laurel and Hardy. He appeared in 37 films between 1912 and 1954...

     – prime minister
  • Tiny Sandford
    Tiny Sandford
    Stanley J. "Tiny" Sandford was a tall, burly actor who is best remembered for his roles in Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin films. He was usually cast as a comic heavy, and often played policemen, doormen, prizefighters, or bullies.Sandford was born in Osage, Iowa. After working in stock...

     – policeman
  • Rolfe Sedan
    Rolfe Sedan
    Rolfe Sedan was an American character actor.Born Edward Sedan in New York City, his mother was a Broadway theatre fashion designer and his father a symphony conductor....

     – desk clerk

1969 "talkie" version

While this is a silent film, a version with post-synchronized dialogue tracks provided by voice actors — not Stan's or Ollie's actual voices — was created in 1969. L&H mimic Chuck McCann
Chuck McCann
Chuck McCann is a film actor, television actor, stage actor, and a voice actor from Brooklyn, New York.-Early career:...

plays both Stan and Ollie in the talking version. McCann had his own local TV show in New York in the sixties where he used puppets of Stan and Ollie to entertain kids. He was also seen in the 1970s in a television commercial for windshield wipers playing Oliver Hardy opposite a Stan Laurel lookalike.
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