II. Anmerkungen zum Buchtext, Teil II - Einsnull

The next appearances of the emerging duo on German screens were CALL O THE CUCKOO with the popular
and «priceless comedian» (trade paper Reichsfilmblatt) MaxDavidson, supported by Laurel and Hardy et al,
and the delightful PUTTING PANTS ON PHILIP. Censorship records for the latter substantiate that the two actors
began to be perceived as a team, with what used to be All-Star comedies now featuring «Stan Laurel
and Oliver Hardy».
The increasing popularity of the team reflected in such records was undiminished by issues such as censorship
or the variable quality of the live musical support typical in those days. However, this is less true
for the sometimes outrageous projection of silents at far too high a speed (sometimes said to have been up
to 40 frames a second or – in Hungary – a devastating 80 frames). Critics opposed this practice, even at the
time: «Even in [the] case of an American comedy, the film must not rush by like a spectre on the screen».
Still, the Germans had embraced a new American comedy team, demanding further releases.
Thus, LEAVE ‘EM LAUGHING was followed by ROM SOUP TO NUTS (the German censors, incidentally, were
not happy with Stan’s appreciation – via title card – of attractive comedienne Anita Garvin’s derrière), and
the now-elusive HATS O. While the film is known to be long lost, research for this book has resulted in the
strange discovery that even the German censorship records for this film seem to have disappeared. Luckily,
the US and Dutch title texts exist, giving an idea of the film until some day it may turn up again in a forgotten
attic or among the acquisitions of some film archive. By the way, famous film critic Lotte Eisner (the
later emigrée and author of the books ritz Lang and Murnau) saw the film, but wasn’t all that pleased. Alluding
to Laurel and Hardy’s character names in THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS, she just saw an «ordinary Bully
and Billy comedy.» Her lack of enthusiasm is, however, easily surpassed by what a long forgotten film critic
with little sense of humour had to say about the team’s next, partially lost film, THE BATTLE O THE CENTURY:
«smeary dirty mess ... Such a film cries out for a psychiatrist.»
The German edition of their next film, YOU’RE DARN TOOTIN’, saw the team as ‹ridolin and Adolar›, but at
the time of THEIR PURPLE MOMENT’s German release in early 1929, Laurel and Hardy officially became Dick
und Doof (at and Dumb), orDof as it was intentionally misspelled at the time. That trademark name has
stuck ever since, yet it is impossible to learn who conceived it, let alone why. The obvious candidate, of
course, is distributor Parufamet (the joint distribution of Paramount, Ufa and Metro). And while speculation,
a motivation might have been to establish a recognizable trade name, likely one to distinguish the
team from the tremendously popular Danish duo y og Bi (aka Long and Short, Carl Schenstrøm & Harald
Madsen), who appeared on the German screens as Pat und Patachon. And although the equally alliterative
Dick und Doof was not used in the title of the subsequently-released THE INISHING TOUCH, the censorship
card does confirm these names in its cast list and within the plot summary. Thus, Laurel and Hardy had
established their German fan base. And now they were just – Dick und Dof.
With an audience base established, the Germans were treated to a steady flow of Laurel and Hardy product.
SHOULD MARRIED MEN GO HOME? premiered together with Lon Chaney’s THE BIG CITY, while TWO TARS
was shown alongside the Lillian Gish/Sjöstrom masterpiece THE WIND – quite a combination of opposite
emotions! EARLY TO BED was followed by WE AW DOWN. With sound on disc, this release was a sign of times
to come, though it has been impossible to establish whether the discs for the film’s US release – a music
and effects track – were imported along with it, or whether the film was shown as a conventional silent
with live music. Several of the team’s films – the most obvious being LIBERTY, with its homosexual jokes –
were, however, banned from exhibition to adolescents.
The team was now sufficiently popular even to warrant a belated release of the pre-teaming comedy
SLIPPING WIVES, though not as a Dick und Dof film. Regardless, all in all quite a number of now-classic
shorts remained unseen during that period, among them the hilarious masterpiece BIG BUSINESS.
In May 1929, Laurel and Hardy entered the talkie era with the talkative, yet delightful UNACCUSTOMED AS
WE ARE. Unaccustomed as they may have been to sound, they handled it admirably, but for obvious reasons,
talking films meant quite a challenge to film export. Laurel and Hardy’s first seven sound films remained
unseen (or unheard) in pre-WWII Germany. Whereas the mere changing of titling had sufficed to adapt
a silent film for foreign releases, new techniques needed to be found to translate the spoken dialogue. One
such way was the use of on-screen subtitles, and this was employed for the 1930 Technicolor feature THE
ROGUE SONG, a comic-opera featuring Dick und Doof in supporting roles. According to contemporary reviews,
the audience got a chance to appreciate the sidekicks’ antics, but also laughed at Lawrence Tibbett’s