''Scram!'' is a 1932

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

film produced by

Hal Roach Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter, ...

, directed by

Ray McCarey Raymond Benedict McCarey (September 6, 1904 – December 1, 1948) was an American film director, brother of director Leo McCarey. Biography McCarey began working at Hal Roach Studios, where he did work on short films with Our Gang and Laure ...

, and distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

Plot

Stan and Ollie find themselves entangled in a legal predicament, appearing before Judge Beaumont on charges of vagrancy. Despite their usual behavior, the judge's anger is palpable, aggravated further by the overcrowded jail, which prevents him from enforcing the standard sentence. Consequently, he issues a stern ultimatum, granting the duo one hour to vacate the town under threat of unspecified consequences. During a fortuitous encounter in a rainstorm, Stan and Ollie assist an inebriated gentleman in retrieving his car keys from a grate. Grateful for their assistance, the man extends an invitation to his mansion, inadvertently leading them to Judge Beaumont's residence. Upon entry, a series of comical missteps ensue, including startling a young woman and inadvertently indulging in alcoholic beverages. Meanwhile, the intoxicated host, unaware of his own home's location, meanders off to find his way. The situation escalates when Judge Beaumont returns to find Stan and Ollie in compromising circumstances with his wife. Incensed by the intrusion, the judge confronts the duo, prompting a frenzied retreat to a corner of the bedroom. In a frantic attempt to evade the judge's wrath, Stan extinguishes the lights, plunging the scene into darkness as chaos ensues, culminating in a cacophony of crashing sounds and uproar.

Cast

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 sh ...

as Mr. Laurel *

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his ...

as Mr. Hardy *

Richard Cramer Richard Earl Cramer (July 3, 1889 – August 9, 1960) was an American actor in films from the late 1920s to the early 1950s. Cramer specialized in villainous roles in many low-budget westerns, but is today best remembered for his several app ...

as Judge Beaumont *

Arthur Housman Arthur Housman (October 10, 1889 – April 8, 1942) was an American actor in films during both the silent film era and the Golden Age of Hollywood. Career Arthur Housman was one of the first screen comedians known to the public by name, and on ...

as Drunk *

Vivien Oakland Vivien Oakland (born Vivian Ruth Andersen; May 20, 1895 – August 1, 1958), was an American actress best known for her work in comedies in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably with the Hal Roach Studios. Oakland appeared in 157 films ...

as Mrs. Beaumont *

Wilson Benge George Frederick "Wilson" Benge (1 March 1875 – 1 July 1955) was an English actor who mostly featured in American films from the silent days. He appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1955. Along with actors Charles Coleman and Robert ...

as Butler

Controversy

According to the book ''Laurel & Hardy Compleet'' by Dutch author and Laurel and Hardy specialist Thomas Leeflang, this film was banned in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 1932. Moral crusaders thought the scene in which Stan and Ollie lie on a bed with a woman was indecent. Today the ban is no longer in effect.

Preservation

''Scram!'' was preserved and restored by the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

from the nitrate original picture negative, a nitrate lavender master and the nitrate original track negative. The restoration premiered at the UCLA Festival of Preservation in 2022.

References

External links

* * * 1932 films 1932 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Ray McCarey Laurel and Hardy (film series) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker 1932 short films Censorship in the Netherlands American comedy short films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language short films {{short-comedy-film-stub