IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
Two guys end up in prison after attempting to sell beer to a policeman during Prohibition.Two guys end up in prison after attempting to sell beer to a policeman during Prohibition.Two guys end up in prison after attempting to sell beer to a policeman during Prohibition.
Tiny Sandford
- Shields - Prison Guard
- (as Stanley J. Sanford)
Frank Austin
- Prisoner with Sore Tooth
- (uncredited)
Chester A. Bachman
- Insurgent Convict
- (uncredited)
Eddie Baker
- Plantation Boss
- (uncredited)
Belle
- Bloodhound
- (uncredited)
Harry Bernard
- Desk Sergeant
- (uncredited)
Phil Bloom
- Convict
- (uncredited)
Bobby Burns
- Dental Patient
- (uncredited)
Baldwin Cooke
- Insurgent Convict
- (uncredited)
Al Corporal
- Singer in chorus
- (uncredited)
Charles Dorety
- Insurgent Convict
- (uncredited)
Gordon Douglas
- Typist
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- H.M. Walker
- Oliver Hardy(uncredited)
- Stan Laurel(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFour foreign language versions were also shot: Pardon Us (1931) (French), Hinter Schloss und Riegel (1931) (German), Pardon Us (1931) (Italian) and Los presidiarios (1931) or "De Bote en Bote" (Spanish) . Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spoke their lines phonetically, and many supporting roles were recast, including Boris Karloff playing "The Tiger" in the French version.
- GoofsThe boom mic, the lighting and the cameras are reflected on the warden's car as Stan and Ollie are fixing it.
- Quotes
Schoolteacher: You spell "Needle!"
Oliver: [pause] N-E-I-D-L-E.
Schoolteacher: There is no "I" in needle!
Stanley: Then it's a rotten needle.
- Alternate versions"Whatta Stir" is an edited, abbreviated version of the feature recut for 50s TV.
- ConnectionsAlternate-language version of Los presidiarios (1931)
- SoundtracksLazy Moon
(1903) (uncredited)
Words and Music by Bob Cole and J. Rosamond Johnson
Performed by Oliver Hardy and the Hall Johnson Choir
Featured review
"They'll never recognise us in a hundred years!"
So says Ollie at the start of a sustained eleven-minute sequence where he and Stan paint their hands and faces to hide amongst a black community. On two occasions the paint gets washed off and has to be replaced; Stan with dirt from a puddle, Ollie with oil. Like the stereotypical black people that occupy the piece, it's one of those "would never be allowed nowadays" moments that marks Pardon Us out as an unusual curio. The boundaries between innocence and unintentional risk-taking occur throughout. Set largely in a prison, there's a later scene where Stan is threatened by a knife, and an inmate is shown to be a potential rapist when coming face to face with the warden's daughter. Although Stan's sharing a bed with Hardy and the same inmate promising that he and Stan will be "great pals" is played without any form of sexual connotation.
This sort of politically incorrect humour is not only common to Pardon Us, however. In the following year's Pack Up Your Troubles the duo would pretend to have only one arm in order to escape being drafted into the army. Stan would pour boiling hot water over three men, while the two would steal $2000 from a bank. The 1932 film would also tackle the theme of wife battery and feature another race joke, which takes us back to Pardon us. In a curious scene, Stan mistakes two prisoners one black, one Asian as the radio "blackface" double-act, Amos and Andy. It's impossible to condemn the film on such matters, and I wouldn't even try, as that sort of thing was commonplace for the time it was made. But it's notable, and slightly alarming, even so. Whoever would have thought such naive humour still had the ability to shock seventy years on?
Laurel and Hardy perhaps never had wide ambitions, though did some pretty groundbreaking stuff in terms of stunts and special effects. More intelligent than The Three Stooges, they nevertheless didn't aspire to the same terms of art and film as, say, Chaplin. But while they may not be as admired as Charlie, Keaton or even Lloyd, they are doubtless more loved. Even though most of the jokes are clearly set-up, their assured execution, by Laurel, particularly, means they never fall flat. It must be said that the interplay between the two stars isn't as good as it would be, and that as their first full-length talkie, the pace is notably slower than what was to follow. The age of the silent movie is still felt throughout, with a lone damsel in distress in a burning building, and some overstated body language from the bit players. The film opens with a caption, and incidental music is almost omnipresent both now redundant, and slightly distracting. Though while the rapport between the two would be stronger - only their 24th talkie, they would appear in another 52 together after this - Pardon Us is still a fine example of their work. Stan's gormless, inane smile, dopey eyes and sticky ears are a delight, while his mastery of physical comedy is exceptional. Those who wish to build an argument that Stan was the talented one will be served here by a Hardy who gets to be second fiddle all the way, and is encouraged to double-take to camera a few too many times.
Lastly, two points come to mind. One is a dentist calling Stan "Rosebud" was Orson Welles inspired? And Ollie here says "another nice mess", not the oft-quoted "fine".
This sort of politically incorrect humour is not only common to Pardon Us, however. In the following year's Pack Up Your Troubles the duo would pretend to have only one arm in order to escape being drafted into the army. Stan would pour boiling hot water over three men, while the two would steal $2000 from a bank. The 1932 film would also tackle the theme of wife battery and feature another race joke, which takes us back to Pardon us. In a curious scene, Stan mistakes two prisoners one black, one Asian as the radio "blackface" double-act, Amos and Andy. It's impossible to condemn the film on such matters, and I wouldn't even try, as that sort of thing was commonplace for the time it was made. But it's notable, and slightly alarming, even so. Whoever would have thought such naive humour still had the ability to shock seventy years on?
Laurel and Hardy perhaps never had wide ambitions, though did some pretty groundbreaking stuff in terms of stunts and special effects. More intelligent than The Three Stooges, they nevertheless didn't aspire to the same terms of art and film as, say, Chaplin. But while they may not be as admired as Charlie, Keaton or even Lloyd, they are doubtless more loved. Even though most of the jokes are clearly set-up, their assured execution, by Laurel, particularly, means they never fall flat. It must be said that the interplay between the two stars isn't as good as it would be, and that as their first full-length talkie, the pace is notably slower than what was to follow. The age of the silent movie is still felt throughout, with a lone damsel in distress in a burning building, and some overstated body language from the bit players. The film opens with a caption, and incidental music is almost omnipresent both now redundant, and slightly distracting. Though while the rapport between the two would be stronger - only their 24th talkie, they would appear in another 52 together after this - Pardon Us is still a fine example of their work. Stan's gormless, inane smile, dopey eyes and sticky ears are a delight, while his mastery of physical comedy is exceptional. Those who wish to build an argument that Stan was the talented one will be served here by a Hardy who gets to be second fiddle all the way, and is encouraged to double-take to camera a few too many times.
Lastly, two points come to mind. One is a dentist calling Stan "Rosebud" was Orson Welles inspired? And Ollie here says "another nice mess", not the oft-quoted "fine".
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- The_Movie_Cat
- Feb 5, 2001
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Rap
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime56 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1(sound on film version, original aspect ratio)
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