''Zenobia'' (also known as ''Elephants Never Forget'' ( UK) and ''It's Spring Again'') is a 1939

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Oliver Hardy,

Harry Langdon Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39. Life and career Bor ...

Billie Burke Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North ...

Alice Brady Alice Brady (born Mary Rose Brady; November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked until six months before her death from cancer in ...

James Ellison James Ellison may refer to: * James O. Ellison (1929–2014), U.S. federal judge * James T. Ellison (1862–1920s), New York gangster *James Ellison (actor) (1910–1993), American film actor *James Ellison (footballer, born 1901) (1901–1958), En ...

Jean Parker Jean Parker (born Lois May Green; August 11, 1915 – November 30, 2005) was an American film and stage actress. A native of Montana, indigent during the Great Depression, she was adopted by a family in Pasadena, California at age ten. She in ...

June Lang June Lang (born Winifred June Vlasek, May 5, 1917 – May 16, 2005) was an American film actress. Early life Born Winifred June Vlasek in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she was the daughter of Edith and Clarence Vlasek, After the family moved to Los An ...

Stepin Fetchit Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (May 30, 1902 – November 19, 1985), better known by the stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black a ...

and

Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, ...

. The source of the film was the 1891 short story "Zenobia's Infidelity" by H.C. Bunner, which was originally purchased by producer

Hal Roach Harry 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, ...

as a vehicle for

Roland Young Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

Plot

In 1870, Dr. Henry Tibbett, a Mississippi country doctor is called on by a travelling circus trainer to cure his sick elephant. After the doctor heals the grateful beast, the elephant becomes so attached to him that it starts to follow him everywhere. This leads to the trainer suing Dr. Tibbett for alienation of affection. The presence of the elephant also endangers the engagement of Dr.Tibbett's daughter Mary to the son of the prominent Carter family, who are social snobs looking for an excuse to call off the wedding. Things are resolved to everyone's satisfaction when the "male" elephant is discovered to be pregnant; and Dr.Tibbett helps deliver a healthy baby pachyderm.

Cast

* Oliver Hardy as Dr. Tibbett *

as Prof. McCrackle *

as Mrs. Tibbett *

as Mrs. Carter *

as Jeff Carter *

as Mary Tibbett *

as Virginia *

Olin Howland Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor. Life and career Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Joby A. Howland, one of the youngest enlisted participants in the Civil War, an ...

as Attorney Culpepper *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as the Judge *

as Zero *

as Dehlia (credited as "Hattie McDaniels") *

Philip Hurlic Philip Raymond Hurlic (December 20, 1927 – July 7, 2014) was an American child actor. Biography Hurlic appeared in a number of films in the 1930s and early 1940s. Hurlic's income from his film work was used to support his East Los Angeles famil ...

as Zeke (Declaration of Independence) *

Hobart Cavanaugh Hobart Cavanaugh (September 22, 1886 – April 26, 1950 ) was an American character actor in films and on stage. Biography He was born in Virginia City, Nevada on September 22, 1886. Cavanaugh attended the University of California. He worked in ...

as Mr. Dover *

Clem Bevans Clem Guy Bevans (October 16, 1880 – August 11, 1963) was an American character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men. Early life Bevans was born in Cozzadale, Ohio. Career Bevans had a very long career, starting in va ...

as the Sheriff * Tommy Mack as the Butcher * Robert Dudley as the Court Clerk * The

Hall Johnson Francis Hall Johnson (March 12, 1888 – April 30, 1970) was an American composer and arranger of African-American spiritual music. He is one of a group—including Harry T. Burleigh, R. Nathaniel Dett, and Eva Jessye—who had great success p ...

Choir * Zenobia as 'Miss Zenobia' - the Elephant *

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Ma ...

as Farmer (uncredited) *

Nigel De Brulier Nigel De Brulier (born Francis George Packer; 8 August 1877 – 30 January 1948) was an English stage and film actor who began his career in the United Kingdom before relocating to the United States. Biography De Brulier was born in Frenchay, a ...

as Townsman (uncredited)

Background

''Zenobia'' is one of the few films after the teaming of Laurel and Hardy that features Hardy without Stan Laurel, the result of a contract dispute between Laurel and producer

, who maintained separate contracts for each performer, rather than a team contract, which would have offered them more control over their careers. ''Zenobia'' was Roach's attempt to create a new comedic pair without Laurel, and a series of films with Hardy and Langdon was planned. The dispute was short-lived, however, and Laurel and Hardy were reunited shortly thereafter.

Reception

The film was a box-office disaster. United Artists even had trouble booking the film into theatres. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote on May 15, 1939, that the film: :"... asa rough idea of what would happen to ''Gone With the Wind'' if Hal Roach had produced it ... an antebellum, costume romance in slapstick, in which an elephant adopts Oliver Hardy and, it appears, Harry Langdon has adopted the partnership perquisites formerly reserved for Stan Laurel." Then—playing on the potential for a new comedy team of Hardy and Langdon—the reviewer said: :"Harry Langdon's pale and beautifully blank countenance ... has probably already excited the professional jealousy of Mr. Laurel."

In popular culture

The film is mentioned quite frequently (referred to as "the elephant movie") during the ''Stan and Ollie'' biopic. In the film, Laurel begrudged Hardy for doing the film; however, this was not the case in real life, as it was Laurel himself who encouraged Hardy to continue at Hal Roach Studios without him. After his contract was up, Hardy refused to form a new team with Langdon, left Roach, and followed Laurel to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Restoration

The 35mm nitrate stock was digitally restored, and released on dvd in 2018. Unrestored and restored comparisons of the same scenes appear side-by-side in the menu's 'Special Features'. Millions of imperfections were removed.

Music

* The music is by

Marvin Hatley Thomas Marvin Hatley (April 3, 1905 – August 23, 1986), professionally known simply as Marvin Hatley, was an American film composer and musical director, best known for his work for the Hal Roach studio from 1929 until 1940. Hatley wrote many ...

, the composer of "Dance of the Cuckoos", Laurel and Hardy's famous theme song.Louvish, Simon (2001). ''Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy: The Double Life of Laurel and Hardy'', p. 267. St. Martin's Press.

Notes

External links

* * *
1926-1957 Legendary Laurel & Hardy's 31+ years still Record Long comic duo Partnership / boys' legacy, unequaled longevity!!!The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:''..Zenobia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zenobia (Film) 1939 films American black-and-white films 1939 comedy films 1930s English-language films Films about elephants Films directed by Gordon Douglas Films set in 1870 Films set in Mississippi Films based on short fiction United Artists films American comedy films 1930s American films English-language comedy films