37 reviews
Gorillas in Switzerland, who cares?
This film is poorly regarded in the L & H canon because it has an execrable plot and a dire musical score. The most mind-numbing number is a song in praise of Switzerland called 'I can't get over the Alps'. Fans of the dystopian duo will forgive all this, however, because it contains two of their most inspired scenes. In the first, Stan tricks a St Bernard dog into dispensing its keg of brandy by lying on the ground and covering himself with a snowstorm of feathers. In the second, Stan and Ollie attempt to push a piano across a rope bridge and are met by a gorilla going in the opposite direction. Gorilla's in Switzerland, who cares?
"I had my mouth all set for apple pie!"
- ShadeGrenade
- Jul 24, 2007
- Permalink
Despite dire music, there's plenty of classic L&H moments...
I can't see what all the moaning is about when it comes to the musical moments in SWISS MISS. So the music isn't exactly up to the standards of a Rodgers & Hart, but who cares? It's LAUREL and HARDY who carry the main weight of the story with occasional interludes from WALTER WOOLF KING as a frustrated song composer and DELLA LIND as a light soprano who actually has a very nice voice and operatic vocal range.
The boys are the whole reason for watching, that's for sure. And why not? They have some classic moments--Stan putting over a clever deception on the St. Bernard dog by throwing a snow of feathers over himself and lying down to pretend he's in need of rescue--after several attempts to take the brandy from the dog's neck. Or the boys assigned to take the piano to a higher perch in the mountains where Woolf can compose his masterpiece without any interruptions. Naturally, they have to negotiate a flimsy rope bridge over a deep gorge, which leads to the kind of mishaps the duo are famous for--including a gorilla who returns at the end of the film for a final joke.
It passes the time pleasantly with some picturesque looks at a Swiss village and Tyrolian garb from the cast members, which includes ERIC BLORE in a minor role. He's rather wasted here, but still the film is good fun for L&H fans.
The boys are the whole reason for watching, that's for sure. And why not? They have some classic moments--Stan putting over a clever deception on the St. Bernard dog by throwing a snow of feathers over himself and lying down to pretend he's in need of rescue--after several attempts to take the brandy from the dog's neck. Or the boys assigned to take the piano to a higher perch in the mountains where Woolf can compose his masterpiece without any interruptions. Naturally, they have to negotiate a flimsy rope bridge over a deep gorge, which leads to the kind of mishaps the duo are famous for--including a gorilla who returns at the end of the film for a final joke.
It passes the time pleasantly with some picturesque looks at a Swiss village and Tyrolian garb from the cast members, which includes ERIC BLORE in a minor role. He's rather wasted here, but still the film is good fun for L&H fans.
A poor L&H film 70 minutes just for 2 or 3 good scenes!?
Laurel and Hardy are travelling through Switzerland selling mouse traps (unsuccessfully it has to be said). When a man offers to buy the business from them, Hardy accepts and takes the foreign money. After the duo eat a large meal at a posh hotel they find that the note is worthless in Switzerland and are forced to work in the hotel to pay off their debt (and pay for every plate they break). While they are there they also get involved in a marital spat between a composer and his famous singer wife.
As someone who has seen more of their shorts than I have of their features, I was worried that a longer running time (70 minutes) would be too much for the duo to sustain. Having seen other features I knew they COULD do it if they were given the chance sadly here they weren't given that chance. Instead they are given surprisingly little screen time and not allowed to work their magic for very long, with an off-putting amount of time devoted to the martial problems I have previously alluded to.
I don't know who made the decision that Laurel and Hardy were unable to carry a feature and required a structure to base their routines around - they should always be within the structure! The mistake shines through though in several funny scenes where Laurel and Hardy are given the good material the gorilla (in Switzerland!) on a bridge may not make much sense but it is funny, although my highlight was Laurel trying to coax brandy out of a St Bernard's! Sadly the chances for them to produce are limited by the tradition (and overdone) song and dance numbers (where we also have the usual `Laurel does funny voice' stuff) and the romantic subplot.
Hardy is good as is Laurel, but Laurel's character is much stronger than in the shorts he still bears the brunt of stuff but he is more forceful than before, not to mention a lot chubbier! I personally didn't take to this as well as I'd hoped I would for whatever reason the changes were made, they off balanced the relationship that I love between the two. The support cast are roundly OK but it is hard to get interested in them simply because, while they are on, Laurel and Hardy aren't.
Overall this is a very weak feature from the usually reliable pair. The majority of the running time is taken up by the songs and the romantic subplot, with the duo only given a few chances to shine (which, happily, they take). In the 70 minutes it took to watch this I could have watched three of their shorts each of which would have been better than this!
As someone who has seen more of their shorts than I have of their features, I was worried that a longer running time (70 minutes) would be too much for the duo to sustain. Having seen other features I knew they COULD do it if they were given the chance sadly here they weren't given that chance. Instead they are given surprisingly little screen time and not allowed to work their magic for very long, with an off-putting amount of time devoted to the martial problems I have previously alluded to.
I don't know who made the decision that Laurel and Hardy were unable to carry a feature and required a structure to base their routines around - they should always be within the structure! The mistake shines through though in several funny scenes where Laurel and Hardy are given the good material the gorilla (in Switzerland!) on a bridge may not make much sense but it is funny, although my highlight was Laurel trying to coax brandy out of a St Bernard's! Sadly the chances for them to produce are limited by the tradition (and overdone) song and dance numbers (where we also have the usual `Laurel does funny voice' stuff) and the romantic subplot.
Hardy is good as is Laurel, but Laurel's character is much stronger than in the shorts he still bears the brunt of stuff but he is more forceful than before, not to mention a lot chubbier! I personally didn't take to this as well as I'd hoped I would for whatever reason the changes were made, they off balanced the relationship that I love between the two. The support cast are roundly OK but it is hard to get interested in them simply because, while they are on, Laurel and Hardy aren't.
Overall this is a very weak feature from the usually reliable pair. The majority of the running time is taken up by the songs and the romantic subplot, with the duo only given a few chances to shine (which, happily, they take). In the 70 minutes it took to watch this I could have watched three of their shorts each of which would have been better than this!
- bob the moo
- Jul 7, 2003
- Permalink
Very Hit and Miss
SWISS MISS often shows the problems Laurel and Hardy had at the Hal Roach studios when they stopped making their short films and were forced into making only features.It is rather sad that they became victims of their own success;their series of silent and sound shorts are generally acknowledged to be consistently the most famous,loved,best-made and revived series in movie history,even above such comic greats as Chaplin,Keaton and Lloyd.The symptoms of this unparallelled triumph was that their boss Hal Roach was increasingly forced to put the boys into features as well as short comedies,in the name of economy.As a result,producer Roach was forced to exert more control over such more expensive productions,which led to increasing tensions in his professional(and personal)relationship with Stan Laurel. Laurel,of course,was the main creative force behind the camera of the L & H partnership,and Roach rarely interfered artistically when producing their short films.Sadly in the features,Roach took it upon himself to supervise the content on a larger basis,much to Stan's chagrin.While it is true that Roach still left Laurel a substantial amount of creative freedom in most of these features,the two still quarrelled about scripts on occasion.BABES IN TOYLAND,made four years previous,was one example.Roach apparently wrote a script which Laurel rejected;Stan's eventual story was filmed,much to his boss's anger,and relations between the two were said to be somewhat damaged thereafter.
It is remarkable in many ways that Roach didn't sack Laurel on the spot there and then after such apparent insurgence.We can be thankful than Stan and Babe Hardy remained at Roach for another six years,where they still produced some genuine classics(WAY OUT WEST the best regarded),but it was always obvious L & H were more comfortable in the shorter film mould.They still made some classic features(SONS OF THE DESERT and the above;with BLOCKHEADS and OUR RELATIONS not too far behind),but SWISS MISS is decidedly average compared to most of their Roach features.Their best features were those in which the story was just about Laurel and Hardy and their adventures,not needing frequent straight,humourless romantic sub-plots or pauses for musical numbers.It is infested with many of the above faults between the L & H routines in this film,which drag it down considerably and lead to much tedium.SWISS MISS often doesn't have the proper feel of a Roach L & H vehicle either,with an untypical and rather uninspired supporting cast,consisting of mainland European performers as befits the foreign setting.It is nice to see the inimitable British comedy actor Eric Blore present,but he hardly gets a chance to interact with the boys,and his role unfortunately consists of unfunny platitudes.
The only really familiar face on view is Anita Garvin,returning to the L & H world after a gap of seven years.Her scene with the boys is quite amusing,but is all too brief.The best remembered sequences,involving a St.Bernard dog with a tot of brandy,and delivering a piano over a swing-bridge,only to be confronted by a gorilla,are enough to save the film from total mediocrity,but for various reasons,Roach involved himself in the production rather too much for Stan's comfort,editing key scenes out,like a bomb put into the piano(which would have added more power to the piano delivery scene)and a musical number featuring cheese shop owner Charles Judels,in which only a few lyrics remain intact in the released version.
As it is,SWISS MISS also befits from an elaborate production for Roach standards,and although not necessarily as poor as their post-1940 features,it is still heavily flawed and one of their weaker features at Roach.
It is remarkable in many ways that Roach didn't sack Laurel on the spot there and then after such apparent insurgence.We can be thankful than Stan and Babe Hardy remained at Roach for another six years,where they still produced some genuine classics(WAY OUT WEST the best regarded),but it was always obvious L & H were more comfortable in the shorter film mould.They still made some classic features(SONS OF THE DESERT and the above;with BLOCKHEADS and OUR RELATIONS not too far behind),but SWISS MISS is decidedly average compared to most of their Roach features.Their best features were those in which the story was just about Laurel and Hardy and their adventures,not needing frequent straight,humourless romantic sub-plots or pauses for musical numbers.It is infested with many of the above faults between the L & H routines in this film,which drag it down considerably and lead to much tedium.SWISS MISS often doesn't have the proper feel of a Roach L & H vehicle either,with an untypical and rather uninspired supporting cast,consisting of mainland European performers as befits the foreign setting.It is nice to see the inimitable British comedy actor Eric Blore present,but he hardly gets a chance to interact with the boys,and his role unfortunately consists of unfunny platitudes.
The only really familiar face on view is Anita Garvin,returning to the L & H world after a gap of seven years.Her scene with the boys is quite amusing,but is all too brief.The best remembered sequences,involving a St.Bernard dog with a tot of brandy,and delivering a piano over a swing-bridge,only to be confronted by a gorilla,are enough to save the film from total mediocrity,but for various reasons,Roach involved himself in the production rather too much for Stan's comfort,editing key scenes out,like a bomb put into the piano(which would have added more power to the piano delivery scene)and a musical number featuring cheese shop owner Charles Judels,in which only a few lyrics remain intact in the released version.
As it is,SWISS MISS also befits from an elaborate production for Roach standards,and although not necessarily as poor as their post-1940 features,it is still heavily flawed and one of their weaker features at Roach.
- BJJManchester
- Nov 13, 2006
- Permalink
Excellent example of dialectical comedy.
This marvellous film neatly sets up a position - that the Swiss Tyrol is the traditional pleasant place of thigh slapping, jolly peasants and picturesque vies. From these images, composer will create his masterpiece. But to get the right mood, the staff at the swank hotel he is staying at must get themselves up in traditional costume - the image is artifice. Into this artificial, romantic world comes the dialectical opposition: Laurel & Hardy, with their arguments and bad luck. Immediately they arrive, the locals are shown to be devious cheats. They are then forced to work as slaves in the hotel to pay off an enormous food bill. All the while the composer is writing his ridiculous score, full of innocent mountain maids and singing crickets. The composer's prima-donna wife arrives and his false vision of innocence is shattered. She wants to play the innocent Swiss miss in his new work but he, rightly, rejects her as too worldly. To get the role, she connives, flirts and manipulates the hotel staff, including L & H. The greatest sequence involves our heroes attempting to get a piano across an Alpine valley rope bridge - the precarious position of artificial human culture within a dangerous natural world is exposed. To add icing to this cake, they are finally attacked on the rope bridge by a gorilla! This gorilla in the Swiss Alps might be something which Luis Bunuel would have enjoyed. In the end, the composer welcomes his wife back and accepts the artificial, anything-but-innocent nature of his art. L & H, the latter of whom has been in love with the wife, are chased away from the village by, of course, the gorilla.
Better than it gets credit for
I think this picture gets bashed undeservedly. By 1938 Hal Roach was branching out into other movie genres, and he liked adding music to comedy and comedy to adventure. Laurel and Hardy had been successful in "The Devil's Brother" and "Babes in Toyland", and this film was not a stretch from those. He added good sets, a better than usual supporting cast, and popular music to this picture. Stan, for his part, created gags that were unusual for the team, such as the St. Bernard scene, the piano-bridge scene, and the organ scene. Both men were in the 40's; Stan had been ill and Oliver was really adding weight, and they were less than believable doing banana peel slide routines any more. They all tried mightily to produce a pleasant hybrid movie, but because it wasn't traditional L&H picture they got resentment instead. The light was visible at the end of the tunnel for Stan and Ollie by this time, and they attempted a direction change they hoped would retain their place as major stars.
- Grendel1950
- Oct 21, 2010
- Permalink
"Singing merrily, all day long!"
- theowinthrop
- Aug 14, 2007
- Permalink
Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy Visit The Alps
Working as an Alpine hotel maid, a SWISS MISS prima donna tries to capture her composer husband's attention - with a little help from Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy.
Although given good production values by the Hal Roach Studios, Stan & Ollie are the only real reason to watch this minor comedy. While on screen, they never fail to amuse and entertain. (Watch Laurel try to steal brandy from a sturdy St. Bernard - and Hardy sing `Let Me Call You Sweetheart,' accompanied by Stan on a tuba.) The trouble arises from the long stretches when they are missing, while the romantic subplot threatens to swamp the boat. Why couldn't Mr. Roach understand that the Boys' fans wanted to see the Boys, not a pair of vacuous lovers work out their marital difficulties?
Walter Woolf King & Della Lind are in good voice as the composer & his wife, and their songs are pleasant, if unremarkable. But we care not a whit for them, and regret every moment they filch from L & H. Even the usually humorous Eric Blore, as the composer's manager, has to deliver lines that are rather forced & flat.
But the Boys come through hilariously with what time they are allotted. Whether trying to sell mousetraps to suspicious Swiss, or attempting to move a heavy piano across a most vertiginous swinging bridge (while being hampered by a gorilla), they are never anything less than magnificent - the sweetly innocent visitors from a zany parallel universe all their own.
Although given good production values by the Hal Roach Studios, Stan & Ollie are the only real reason to watch this minor comedy. While on screen, they never fail to amuse and entertain. (Watch Laurel try to steal brandy from a sturdy St. Bernard - and Hardy sing `Let Me Call You Sweetheart,' accompanied by Stan on a tuba.) The trouble arises from the long stretches when they are missing, while the romantic subplot threatens to swamp the boat. Why couldn't Mr. Roach understand that the Boys' fans wanted to see the Boys, not a pair of vacuous lovers work out their marital difficulties?
Walter Woolf King & Della Lind are in good voice as the composer & his wife, and their songs are pleasant, if unremarkable. But we care not a whit for them, and regret every moment they filch from L & H. Even the usually humorous Eric Blore, as the composer's manager, has to deliver lines that are rather forced & flat.
But the Boys come through hilariously with what time they are allotted. Whether trying to sell mousetraps to suspicious Swiss, or attempting to move a heavy piano across a most vertiginous swinging bridge (while being hampered by a gorilla), they are never anything less than magnificent - the sweetly innocent visitors from a zany parallel universe all their own.
- Ron Oliver
- Jan 27, 2002
- Permalink
I Can't Get Over the Crickets
Swiss Miss would have been far far better had Hal Roach dispensed altogether with the operetta format and just allowed Stan and Ollie to do their thing. Away from them the film sinks like the Titanic.
Walter Woolf King and Greta Natzler are the husband and wife romantic leads and there's a strain in their relationship. He's a composer, she's a singer and poor Walter is jealous of the attention she gets and no one pays attention to what he writes. He goes off to the Alps to compose his masterpiece. She follows him there.
The banter and the songs are typical of a MacDonald/Eddy film, but Nelson and Jeanette never had to sing stuff like I Can't Get Over the Alps and the Cricket Song. They wouldn't have had careers if they did.
Interestingly enough the bit with King composing the Cricket Song after hearing their chirping is similar to Jerome Kern hearing a bird call and getting I've Told Every Little Star out of it. Of course it wasn't Jerome Kern who gave us the Cricket Song.
Walter Woolf King who's best known as the egotistical Lespari from A Night at the Opera just doesn't come across as a good guy. Maybe with better material Allan Jones could have done this part.
But with Stan and Ollie the film is enjoyable. They've got some classic bits, Laurel trying to steal some brandy from a St. Bernard, drilling holes in a shopkeeper's floor and hitting a gas line for their trouble and best of all the insane idea of moving an upright piano across a rope bridge and encountering an escaped gorilla.
Mute the sound whenever Stan and Ollie aren't around and you might enjoy Swiss Miss.
Walter Woolf King and Greta Natzler are the husband and wife romantic leads and there's a strain in their relationship. He's a composer, she's a singer and poor Walter is jealous of the attention she gets and no one pays attention to what he writes. He goes off to the Alps to compose his masterpiece. She follows him there.
The banter and the songs are typical of a MacDonald/Eddy film, but Nelson and Jeanette never had to sing stuff like I Can't Get Over the Alps and the Cricket Song. They wouldn't have had careers if they did.
Interestingly enough the bit with King composing the Cricket Song after hearing their chirping is similar to Jerome Kern hearing a bird call and getting I've Told Every Little Star out of it. Of course it wasn't Jerome Kern who gave us the Cricket Song.
Walter Woolf King who's best known as the egotistical Lespari from A Night at the Opera just doesn't come across as a good guy. Maybe with better material Allan Jones could have done this part.
But with Stan and Ollie the film is enjoyable. They've got some classic bits, Laurel trying to steal some brandy from a St. Bernard, drilling holes in a shopkeeper's floor and hitting a gas line for their trouble and best of all the insane idea of moving an upright piano across a rope bridge and encountering an escaped gorilla.
Mute the sound whenever Stan and Ollie aren't around and you might enjoy Swiss Miss.
- bkoganbing
- Aug 31, 2007
- Permalink
this movie COULD have been a lot better--why did they need to ruin it with too much plot and singing?!
You know you are in trouble when Laurel and Hardy don't make their appearance in this film until the six minute mark!! Despite their being the funniest comedy team in the world, the studio insisted on sticking too many diversions into the film--including lots of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy-style songs and portions where the dialog is done in rhyme! With any comedy team, usually the more songs the more bland the film and this film is certainly no exception. Only a maniac would have thought of doing this or adding rhymes in a film like this!
And, speaking of maniacs, whose idea was it to include a guy in a gorilla suit?! The idea of a "wild gorilla" running about the Swiss mountains just doesn't make any sense--even in a comedy.
Most of the movies in the latter portion of Laurel and Hardy's careers were rather poor and stale. Of the movies made from the late 1930s on, perhaps the best are Blockheads and A Chump at Oxford. While not as bad as the 20th Century Fox Laurel and Hardy pictures or Atoll K, this movie just isn't up the quality of their earlier pictures. Simply put, the duo are looking rather old and ragged and the jokes that worked well the first few times look a bit stale here.
My advice, see something else or else you might not appreciate this comedy team. This is far from their "A game".
And, speaking of maniacs, whose idea was it to include a guy in a gorilla suit?! The idea of a "wild gorilla" running about the Swiss mountains just doesn't make any sense--even in a comedy.
Most of the movies in the latter portion of Laurel and Hardy's careers were rather poor and stale. Of the movies made from the late 1930s on, perhaps the best are Blockheads and A Chump at Oxford. While not as bad as the 20th Century Fox Laurel and Hardy pictures or Atoll K, this movie just isn't up the quality of their earlier pictures. Simply put, the duo are looking rather old and ragged and the jokes that worked well the first few times look a bit stale here.
My advice, see something else or else you might not appreciate this comedy team. This is far from their "A game".
- planktonrules
- Jul 1, 2005
- Permalink
Kitsch Laurel and Hardy with a memorable monkey
A pair of mouse trap salemen in Switzerland can't afford to pay for their meal at a mountain hotel and are forced to work in the kitchen. Meanwhile, a composer (Walter Woolf King) arrives incognito to work, but when his wife (Della Lind) secretly arrives after, Ollie falls for her.
A rather kitsch classic Laurel and Hardy feature with many memorable scenes including Ollie serenading under a window as Stanley plays the tuba, an ape played (played by regular man-in-a-monkey costume, Charles Gemora. Gemora had also played the ape in the short THE CHIMP, 1932 with Stan and Ollie) and Stan trying to take a St. Bernard dog's brandy.
A rather kitsch classic Laurel and Hardy feature with many memorable scenes including Ollie serenading under a window as Stanley plays the tuba, an ape played (played by regular man-in-a-monkey costume, Charles Gemora. Gemora had also played the ape in the short THE CHIMP, 1932 with Stan and Ollie) and Stan trying to take a St. Bernard dog's brandy.
- vampire_hounddog
- Aug 14, 2020
- Permalink
It's not about cocoa. It's about cuckoos.
- mark.waltz
- Nov 25, 2016
- Permalink
Hit and Miss
Laurel and Hardy worked best in their shorts. The feature length films they made were too padded out such as with Swiss Miss which had songs that go on and on.
Laurel and Hardy have travelled from the USA to Switzerland to sell mouse traps unsuccessfully, after being ripped off by some locals with fake currency they end up working in a hotel as dishwashers. For every dish they break, they have to work extra days. Unfortunately they keep breaking dishes.
They encounter a singer who is in disguise as she wants to work at her husband's latest musical which he is writing in the Swiss Alps. Laurel tells Hardy that the lady fancies him!
The film works best when it concentrates on the duo such as Stanley trying to coax brandy from a St Bernard or when the two try to move a piano through a drawbridge but get chased by a gorilla.
Unfortunately the film does not feature Laurel and Hardy enough and has too many interminable song and dance numbers.
Laurel and Hardy have travelled from the USA to Switzerland to sell mouse traps unsuccessfully, after being ripped off by some locals with fake currency they end up working in a hotel as dishwashers. For every dish they break, they have to work extra days. Unfortunately they keep breaking dishes.
They encounter a singer who is in disguise as she wants to work at her husband's latest musical which he is writing in the Swiss Alps. Laurel tells Hardy that the lady fancies him!
The film works best when it concentrates on the duo such as Stanley trying to coax brandy from a St Bernard or when the two try to move a piano through a drawbridge but get chased by a gorilla.
Unfortunately the film does not feature Laurel and Hardy enough and has too many interminable song and dance numbers.
- Prismark10
- Sep 9, 2017
- Permalink
Stan and Ollie are great, but...
Disappointing Laurel and Hardy film. Stan and Ollie are hilarious, of course, and their encounter with a gorilla on a rope bridge is a classic, but they're still done-in by subplots and musical numbers that command more time than their antics. Definitely worth seeing, but if you're new to the L&H cult and haven't seen it and are thinking of buying it, be advised that, despite their top billing, they are almost guest stars here.
Laurel and Hardy or Albert vs. Albert?
- sno-smari-m
- Sep 21, 2006
- Permalink
Substandard Laurel and Hardy musical comedy, with one memorable comedy gag.
- weezeralfalfa
- Nov 27, 2018
- Permalink
A Weaker Effort But Has a Few Moments
It's kind of sad that the plot of this thing supersedes the appearances of Laurel & Hardy. Apparently, an opera singer has gone to Switzerland to hide from her domineering composer husband. I wouldn't hire these two to make a soup commercial. The music is just awful and while there are some nice gimmicks, the songs never made the Top 40 in 1938, Now the good stuff. The boys are in Switzerland selling mousetraps; the reason. There is lots of cheese so there must be lots of mice. Great. They stupidly sell their business for what appears to be a lot of money, but the notes are worthless. They eventually get a job helping out around the hotel so they can pay off the debt they have incurred by using the phony money for a very expensive meal. While moving a piano to a tree house over a rickety bridge, they are attacked by a gorilla (what the hell--oh, why not. Stan and Ollie have had trouble with pianos before. There is a neat scene where they spill soap suds into an organ and the bubble keep the sound of the notes inside of them. Watch for these things and don't worry about the plot. It is just tiresome anyway.
Perhaps better than its current reputation.
This is by no means the best full length Laurel & Hardy picture but there is still plenty to enjoy here. Many people have issues with this movie but there basically is very little wrong with the movie itself. Therefor this movie is perhaps a bit too under-appreciated by most.
It's not the funniest Laurel & Hardy movie but at least its story is enjoyable enough and has plenty of entertainment value in it. Of course Laurel & Hardy were already over their top in 1938 but there were some moments in this movie which reminded me of their glory days, from back in the late '20's till the mid-'30's. I'm talking about the moments when the boys are drilling holes in the floor, when they have to do the dishes and when they have to push a piano across a canyon. The movie is filled with moments which reminded me of their best years, that were unfortunately already behind them when they made this movie. The movie has some memorable moments in it and the movie is consistent enough to consider this movie a watchable as well as a very enjoyable one, that unfortunately can not conceal that the two boys already had their best years behind them though.
I never really understood why long Laurel & Hardy movies always also had a serious subplot-line it, which always involved serious characters played by actors why play their roles in a non-comical way. The entire love story of the movie with the more serious characters certainly does no good to the movie its entertainment value or pace. Surely the movie would had been better if more characters and subplots were erased from the script. I mean when you already have 2 characters such as Laurel and Hardy, you just don't need no other characters who play a just as prominent role in the movie as the two boys. It only works distracting, since we never really get to care about any of those characters and are only interested in the faith, antics and silly situations the two boys get themselves into.
A not entirely successful- but still a very enjoyable late Laurel & Hardy picture that deserves some more credit.
7/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
It's not the funniest Laurel & Hardy movie but at least its story is enjoyable enough and has plenty of entertainment value in it. Of course Laurel & Hardy were already over their top in 1938 but there were some moments in this movie which reminded me of their glory days, from back in the late '20's till the mid-'30's. I'm talking about the moments when the boys are drilling holes in the floor, when they have to do the dishes and when they have to push a piano across a canyon. The movie is filled with moments which reminded me of their best years, that were unfortunately already behind them when they made this movie. The movie has some memorable moments in it and the movie is consistent enough to consider this movie a watchable as well as a very enjoyable one, that unfortunately can not conceal that the two boys already had their best years behind them though.
I never really understood why long Laurel & Hardy movies always also had a serious subplot-line it, which always involved serious characters played by actors why play their roles in a non-comical way. The entire love story of the movie with the more serious characters certainly does no good to the movie its entertainment value or pace. Surely the movie would had been better if more characters and subplots were erased from the script. I mean when you already have 2 characters such as Laurel and Hardy, you just don't need no other characters who play a just as prominent role in the movie as the two boys. It only works distracting, since we never really get to care about any of those characters and are only interested in the faith, antics and silly situations the two boys get themselves into.
A not entirely successful- but still a very enjoyable late Laurel & Hardy picture that deserves some more credit.
7/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
- Boba_Fett1138
- Apr 22, 2006
- Permalink
Why does this get a bad rap?
This is one of my favorite Laurel & Hardy films, so I don't get what's not to like about it. Sure the music may be a little outdated, but the talent is definitely there. Everything about this movie screams class--from the sight gags to the outrageous costumes (which if you really look at the costumes and sets they probably cost a fortune in Depression money) Laurel and Hardy are great for the whole movie with some of the goofiest antics I've seen in any of their films (selling mouse traps: they drill holes in the floor so the mice can get in and then cap them with golf balls so they can't get back out) The gorilla in Switzerland is hilarious (and really random) but makes me laugh every time. The organ filled with soap is fun as well as the great fight scene with the chef, and their antics in the kitchen. For me the best part of the movie is when the boys go to serenade the chambermaid (complete with Stan playing the tuba). Give this movie a chance, it is artistic comedy at its finest!
Laurel and Hardy try to sell mouse traps to a cheese maker in Switzerland...what could go wrong?
I am not the biggest Laurel and Hardy fan, but I found this film strangely enjoyable. Their silly storyline was strangely balanced by a composer and his opera singer wife...along with ethnic Swiss scenes.
Laurel and Hardy have the brilliant idea to invest all their money into mouse traps to sell door to door. And what better place to sell them but Switzerland? Unfortunately, no one seems to be buying their products and just when they are down to their last bit of money they decide to go to a cheese maker (surely they will need mouse traps to protect their product?). There they get swindled by the cheese maker into excepting valueless currency that they then try to use to pay for a nice meal at a fancy hotel...which is how they come to be working at the kitchen in the hotel to pay off their debt. Of course every broken plate adds another day to their sentence...which the cook, who they insulted before they found out they couldn't pay, delights in taking advantage of.
Meanwhile a famous composer has come to their hotel for some privacy in order to compose his next show...his famous opera singing wife follows him to his chagrine...and the hilarity ensues!
Hilarity that eventually involves a gorilla and Laurel and Hardy trying to get a piano in a tree house!
To be honest, I recorded this film thinking it was a Shirley Temple movie...but I can't say I was disappointed. There was a lot of good natured comedy in this film and it maybe the best Laurel and Hardy pairing that I have seen to date.
Laurel and Hardy have the brilliant idea to invest all their money into mouse traps to sell door to door. And what better place to sell them but Switzerland? Unfortunately, no one seems to be buying their products and just when they are down to their last bit of money they decide to go to a cheese maker (surely they will need mouse traps to protect their product?). There they get swindled by the cheese maker into excepting valueless currency that they then try to use to pay for a nice meal at a fancy hotel...which is how they come to be working at the kitchen in the hotel to pay off their debt. Of course every broken plate adds another day to their sentence...which the cook, who they insulted before they found out they couldn't pay, delights in taking advantage of.
Meanwhile a famous composer has come to their hotel for some privacy in order to compose his next show...his famous opera singing wife follows him to his chagrine...and the hilarity ensues!
Hilarity that eventually involves a gorilla and Laurel and Hardy trying to get a piano in a tree house!
To be honest, I recorded this film thinking it was a Shirley Temple movie...but I can't say I was disappointed. There was a lot of good natured comedy in this film and it maybe the best Laurel and Hardy pairing that I have seen to date.
'A mouse never comes out of the same hole twice.'
Swiss Miss is easily one of Stan and Ollie's worst films of the 30s. Much of the comedy is fairly stale and is often recycled from earlier movies. The boys play mousetrap salesmen who travel to Switzerland figuring that's where all the mouse will be. The boys are hoodwinked by an unscrupulous cheese shop salesman (they're a dodgy lot, those cheese shop salesmen) into selling their entire outfit for a counterfeit note which they then try to spend on a slap-up meal in the local hotel. Needless to say, when the forged note is discovered the boys are put to work in the kitchen.
The film's plot revolves around a great maestro cloistering himself away from the world at the Tyrolean hotel in which the boys are paying off their debt in order to write his musical masterpieces – which is unfortunately the cue for a couple of operetta-style musical numbers to pad out the running time. His wife tracks him down however and, when Maestro sends her away, deliberately refuses to pay for her slap-up meal so that she can stay. I've got to say that I wouldn't send her away if she was following me to remote mountain hideaways. Anyway, this part of the story is typically rubbish and best fast-forwarded past.
Laurel & Hardy's routines raise only fitful laughs. Stan looks old in this picture, and Ollie, always a big man, is truly obese here. Apart from the boy's final picture together (made in 1951), I can't recall him ever looking so large. Anyway, there's still the occasional moment that raises a laugh – but they're woefully few and far between. In fact the final shot is probably the best of the entire film.
The film's plot revolves around a great maestro cloistering himself away from the world at the Tyrolean hotel in which the boys are paying off their debt in order to write his musical masterpieces – which is unfortunately the cue for a couple of operetta-style musical numbers to pad out the running time. His wife tracks him down however and, when Maestro sends her away, deliberately refuses to pay for her slap-up meal so that she can stay. I've got to say that I wouldn't send her away if she was following me to remote mountain hideaways. Anyway, this part of the story is typically rubbish and best fast-forwarded past.
Laurel & Hardy's routines raise only fitful laughs. Stan looks old in this picture, and Ollie, always a big man, is truly obese here. Apart from the boy's final picture together (made in 1951), I can't recall him ever looking so large. Anyway, there's still the occasional moment that raises a laugh – but they're woefully few and far between. In fact the final shot is probably the best of the entire film.
- JoeytheBrit
- Mar 1, 2010
- Permalink
Swiss Miss
- jboothmillard
- Nov 30, 2009
- Permalink
Swiss Miss was one of the most uneven of Laurel & Hardy features
Like Laurel & Hardy's previous feature, Bonnie Scotland, this movie of theirs has two storylines that hardly seem to go together. It begins with a composer wanting to be alone to write his music. Later scenes has his singer wife basically not letting him write in peace. That plot is mostly for the birds though the songs are tolerable enough. Stan & Ollie are trying to sell mousetraps at the Swiss Alps with initially no success. They eventually meet this female singer thinking she's a chambermaid with Ollie instantly smitten. I'll just now say that the boys have a funny sequence when they think they're successful in selling their wares after drilling holes in the floor of a cheese factory followed by another funny sequence of Stan trying to get a drink from the barrel of a St. Bernard. The getting-a-piano-through-a-loosely-swinging-bridge-with-a-gorilla-also-waiting-on-it wasn't as funny but still amusing enough. Also pretty funny was the return of Anita Garvin, after several years off of L & H films, as the wife of a man she argues with about whether or not to look at the boys' mousetrap. After all that, Stan & Ollie just bring mere chuckles or just smiles though they're never less than entertaining which can't be said for the other plot I mentioned. Still, Swiss Miss is worth a look for any L & H fan. P. S. Reportedly, both Hal Roach's wife Margaret and Stan's daughter Lois appear as extras but I haven't been able to locate them. Oh, and the ending of this film is very similar to the last movie I watched and reviewed: In Society starring that other comedy team I've been commenting on. So as we leave Stan & Ollie at the Swiss mountains, I'll next review Abbott & Costello at snow-capped ones in Hit the Ice.