Figure 1.-- Here Laruel and Hardy, the slapstick comedians, are dressed as little boys in the style of the early 1920s. The photo comes from the 1930 film "Brats". Laurel and Hardy dress up as little boys in Fauntleroy and sailor suits with short pants, white socks, and Mary Jane strap shoes. This is the earliest film I know of with the Fauntleroy suit being used in a comedy routine. Click on the image to see an example of the trick photography used.

Laurel and Hardy film in which they dress up as little boys in Fauntleroy and sailor suits with short pants, white socks, and Mary Jane strap shoes. This is the earliest film I know of with the Fauntleroy suit being used in a comedy routime. "Brats" is a slapstick film in which Laurel and Hardy play their own sons. It was produced by Hal Roach and directed by James Parrott--an early example of Laurel and Hardy comedy after the shift from silent films to sound or "talkies." In the plot, Laurel and Hardy spend an exasperating evening with their own sons (played by the two actors themselves in children's clothes and miniaturized so that the boys look small in comparison to the adults). The irony here is of course that the adults are in their own way just as childish as the children--all of the characters being "boys" of great immaturity. The adult boys have their evening together ruined by their two sons who get into all sorts of mischief such as leaving the water in the bathroom running.

Filmology

"Brats" was produced by Hal Roach and directed by James Parrott--an early example of a Laurel and Hardy "talkie". Hal Roach produced most of the Laurel and Hardy comedies, as well as the "Our Gang" shorts. "Brats" was made in 1930. The movie is one of the whackiest of the Laurel and Hardy films, made shortly after the famous comedy team shifted from silent films in the 1920s to sound films at the end of the decade.

Cast

"Brats" is a slapstick film in which Laurel and Hardy play their own sons using trick photography. The adult Laurel and Hardy are shown with their boys, played by the same actors in photographic minature and dressed absurdly in little boy clothes. Of course the two comedians always acted like children--and also totally wacky and brainless in most cases. Laurel and Hardy were usually referred to as "the boys."

Setting

Plot

Laurel and Hardy spend an exasperating evening with their own sons (played by the two actors themselves in children's clothes and miniaturized so that the boys look small in comparison to the adults). The irony here is of course that the adults are in their own way just as childish as the children--all of the characters being "boys" of great immaturity. The adult boys have their evening together ruined by their two sons who get into all sorts of mischief such as leaving the water in the bathroom running. The adults try to put the boys to bed, and the kids agree to settle down if they can have a glass of water. Stan (Laurel) starts for the bathroom, but Ollie (Hardy) stops him: "Just a moment--you might spill it!" The apartment, as well as Ollie's dignity, is dampened in the ensuing flood. The movie distinguishes between the adults (called Laurel and Hardy) and the children (called Stan and Babe). The comedy was very funny and shown in Europe to delighted audiences in French, German, and Spanish versions.

Costuming

Laurel and Hardy dress up as little boys in Fauntleroy and sailor suits with short pants, white socks, and Mary Jane strap shoes. This is the earliest film I know of with the Fauntleroy suit being used in a comedy routime. The clothes are meant to be contemporary--i.e., 1930--but the formal styles are deliberately exaggerated for comic effect and suggest slightly earlier styles. Also the clothes are dress-up clothes, but the boys are shown playing and getting into all sorts of mischief. I'll send a full review of the movie a bit later including a shot that shows the adult Laurel and Hardy in the same frame as Laurel and Hardy as children, the "brats" of the title. In one episode the adult Laurel turns the child Hardy over his knee to spank him while the adult Hardy expostulates, "Don't you dare hit my son." Stan (i.e., Laurel), the smaller of the two figures, wears a sailor suit with short pants, a dark dickie, a lanyard, white ankle socks and black patent leather strap shoes--the kind of sailor suit that some boys of 5 or 6 wore in the 1920s for dress-up occasions. Ollie (i.e., Hardy) wears a black velvet one-piece suit (almost a shortall) with white collar and cuffs, a very full floppy tie, white ankle socks, and black patent-leather strap shoes--a somewhat sissy boy's outfit made ridiculous by the fat legs of the wearer. Notice that they are photographed in a mamoth overstuffed chair big enough to make the men look miniature and therefore like little boys. Such clothes were worn by real little boys of the upper classes in America in the 1920s, but Laurel and Hardy make the clothes seem absurd.

Created: 1:57 AM 12/22/2005
Last updated: 1:57 AM 12/22/2005