Helpmates

Encyclopedia : H : HE : HEL : Helpmates

Helpmates is a 1931 Laurel and Hardy short film, produced by Hal Roach and released by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer on January 23, 1932.

Plot

Ollie's house has been trashed beyond recognition after a wild party from the previous night. He reprimands and punishes himself for this stupid blunder. Only seconds later, Ollie receives a telegram from his wife (who is on vacation in Chicago), which tells him that she is returning home in the afternoon. Fearing his wife's wrath, he calls Stanley over to help him with a hurried clean-up operation. And of course, they do everything but that. Things go downhill from there. Ollie becomes so frustrated that he lights his oven the wrong way, turning on the gas first instead of lighting the oven. The result is a minor explosion that trashes the living room and kitchen, as well as Ollie's hat.

Throughout the morning, Ollie's suits get stained with soot, soaked with dirty water, and covered in flour, until he has no choice but to go meet his wife in his Civil War Army suit, the only proper wardrobe he has left. Stanley somehow manages to restore the house's interior to its proper look, but just when it seems everything is resolved, Stanley decides to light a fire in the fireplace for Ollie and his wife to come home to. When the logs fail to ignite, Stanley soaks the fireplace with gasoline, lights a match, and moves it towards the logs...

A title card appears right after this sequence that reads: One hour later, Mr. Hardy returned from the train station alone, sadder, wiser, and dizzier. Ollie's sword is twisted and he has a black eye. Not only does he return without his wife, but he finds the house in smouldering ruins, with a blackened Stanley spraying water around it. The gasoline he poured on the fireplace has created a bomb that destroyed the house.

Quotes

(Ollie chastising himself in the mirror after the wild party.)
Ollie: Mm, mm, mm. Now, aren't you ashamed of yourself? A man of your supposed intelligence, acting like an empty-headed idiot! What did you do? I'll tell you what you did! You took advantage of your wife's absence and pulled a wild party! And that's not all—you lost all of your ready money in a poker game. Can anything be more crass, more disgusting? There were times when I had high hopes for you, but that time has passed. I'll tell you what's wrong with you in two words: Im-possible!

Ollie: Shut up and get this mess cleaned up! Do you realize my wife will be home at noon?
Stan: (sick of Ollie's bossiness) Say, who do you think I am, Cinderella? If I had any sense, I'd walk out on you.
Ollie: Well, it's a good thing you haven't any sense!
Stan: It certainly is!

Ollie (after Stan questions helping Ollie with Mrs. Hardy returning home to the messy house): Well I'd do the same for you! Stan (calmly): No you wouldn't. Ollie: Why not? Stan (with innocence): Because I'm not going to get married.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.