''Brats'' is a 1930

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) ...

comedy short. The film was directed by

James Parrott James Parrott (August 2, 1897 – May 10, 1939) was an American actor and film director; and the younger brother of film comedian Charley Chase. Biography Early years James Gibbons Parrott was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Charles a ...

. Laurel and Hardy play dual roles as their own children. It also inspired a helper group for the Michigan tent for The Sons of the Desert, which is composed of all the child members of the tent. This is the first of only three films where the boys each play a

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

: the second is '' Twice Two'' and the third and last is '' Our Relations''.

Plot

Laurel and Hardy are spending a night in with the kids. The fathers are playing

checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), is a group of Abstract strategy game, strategy board games for two players which involve forward movements of uniform game ...

and

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

, but are constantly distracted by their own incompetence and by their children, who are constantly bullying each other and trying to stay up late. The film begins with Stan and Ollie playing a game of checkers, and Little Stan and Little Ollie. playing with blocks. They smash a vase and are sent to bed. Little Ollie is pushed into a full bath and chases Little Stan out (leaving the taps and the shower on), but slips on the soap causing part of the ceiling to crash onto the pool table. Big Stan and Big Ollie are furious and rush upstairs, only to find their little versions in bed pretending to be asleep. When both boys ask for a drink of water, Oliver opens the door to the by-now flooded bathroom, and the water gushes out from the bathroom in a torrent, bowling them over in a drenched heap as the film ends.

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 ...

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 ...

Production

''Brats'' was one of four Laurel and Hardy sound shorts reissued in 1937. At that time, new background music scores by Leroy Shield, which were used in many 1937 Hal Roach films, were added. The films reissued that way were ''Blotto'', ''County Hospital'' and ''Perfect Day''. Additionally, ''Brats introductory title ("Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy remained at home to take care of the children---"/"Their wives had gone out for target practice--") was eliminated from the reissue prints. This is one of just two shorts to feature only Stan and Ollie in the cast; the other is the 1928 silent '' Early to Bed''. It is also the only film in which they play natural fathers. The illusion of Laurel and Hardy as children was achieved using oversized furniture. Each room of the house was re-created in large scale to achieve the effect of both duos being in the same house. Doors and staircases had to be duplicated to appear as though the "children" were child-size. The "children" are as tall as a doorknob and a sink and Little Stan must use a stepstool to reach the tub's taps, the tub seeming more like a small pool. Little Ollie's bulk causes him to crash through some dresser drawers. The mouse that Little Stan nearly shoots with a pellet gun was animated. In 2011, both the 1937 soundtrack version and the original 1930 soundtrack version were issued on "Laurel & Hardy - The Essential Collection" DVD box set. These are also included on the 2020 "Laurel and Hardy - The Definitive Restorations" DVD and Blu-Ray collections.

References

External links

* * * {{James Parrott 1930 films 1930 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by James Parrott Laurel and Hardy (film series) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker American comedy short films 1930 short films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films scored by Leroy Shield English-language short films