Eureka! … Since 1981

Eureka! Classics | Babes in Toyland

Stannie Dum (Stan Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy) are well-meaning but brainless toymakers in Toyland. They misinterpret an order from Santa Claus for 600 one foot high toy soldiers and come up instead with 100 six foot high soldiers. But their toy army comes in handy when the evil Barnaby (Henry Brandon) and his furry Bogeymen invade Toyland, and the boys end up as heroes when they save the Widow Peep’s daughter Bo (Charlotte Henry) from his clutches.

This priceless nine reel comedy from veteran Laurel and Hardy producer Hal Roach, was the personal favourite of Oliver Hardy. Better known as ‘Babes In Toyland’, the film was the best of their feature-length operettas and certainly had the most lavish fantasy sets. It was rarely seen in public after a poor Walt Disney remake in 1961 and, when it was shown, the censors had often butchered it.

TV stations considered some scenes in Bogey-land too grim for young children and snipped them out. Early cinema screenings were often without some of the film’s charming songs because it was thought that people would only want to see Laurel and Hardy going through their comedy paces.

Roach originally wanted Laurel and Hardy to play Simple Simon and The Pie Man, parts they did in fact ‘play’ in a 1938 Walt Disney cartoon – “Mother Goose Goes To Hollywood” – which was nominated for an Academy Award. Brooklyn-born Charlotte Henry, a popular child star of the 1930s, and the star of the 1933 film ‘Alice In Wonderland’, has the lead role of Bo Peep.

A priceless 9-reel comedy – a beautiful example of family entertainment