II. Anmerkungen zum Buchtext, Teil II - Einsnull

900 club members were to expect «a free invitation to the screening of a new Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
film.» Nevertheless, it seems doubtful that there ever was a German Laurel and Hardy Club in Nazi Germany
before the annexation of Austria.
Soon, HOLLYWOOD PARTY and THE BOHEMIAN GIRL were to become the first Laurel and Hardy films to be
subjected to Nazi censorship. Apparently it was the depiction of gypsy life in BOHEMIAN GIRL to which Nazi
censors – among them Dr. Mabuse himself, actor Rudolf-Klein-Rogge – objected. In contrast, the earlier
decision on HOLLYWOOD PARTY – which was released in Austria as well as the banned BOHEMIAN GIRL – can
only be speculated upon. With these alterations in mind, M-G-M’s own removal of THE MIDNIGHT PATROL’s
dark ending appears as a comparatively minor intrusion, and certainly with «youth protection» rather than
«ethnic» issues in mind.
Considering how popular the team was, an ad appearing on New Year’s Eve 1936 must have looked like a
dream come true for the German admirers of Laurel and Hardy. Promoting the variety theatre Scala’s program,
it showed caricatures of seven unnamed comedians. On top: the unmistakable likenesses of Dick und
Doof. Considering their failed plans for a 1932 visit, the excitement was even bigger. Laurel and Hardy in
Berlin! A more extensive brochure elaborated: Laurel and Hardy were to be seen, together with other comedians,
in Spooks in the Museum and, on their own, in the last third of a programme of, all in all, 30 stage
acts. Two fingerprints were reproduced to confirm the act was to be the real thing.
Not quite. All tickets were sold, but no trace of the real L&H. Instead: Laury und Hardel, two imitators of
the team. Even the nationalities were wrong: the surprisingly silent comedians were actually both from
rance! Three months later, the ‹carbon copies› resurfaced in Hamburg, even providing an interview – but
unable to speak a single word of English. The ilm-Kurier’s critic was annoyed at the deception, yet could
not make out much of a difference between the American original and the rench stage variant.
M-G-M was not that amused and took legal action. Their German branch warned: «The artists appearing in
Hamburg are the rench comedians Laury and Hardel who appeared in the Berlin Scala’s January program and
whose very names aim at deceiving the public, and who are absolutely not identical with the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
stars. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-ilm-AG had their attorney take immediate legal action
against the respective movie theatre.»
That, in fact, proved to be the last trace of Laury and Hardel in Germany. Whether the legal action prevailed
or whether they had a chance to appear in other cities remains unknown. But if imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery, then this once more put Laurel and Hardy in the same league as the often imitated
Chaplin and Pat and Patachon as far as German audience affection is concerned.
Notably though, since M-G-M was issuing warnings anyway, they further reconfirmed: «On the occasion
we would like to emphasize once more that in presenting their films, Laurel and Hardy must not be announced
as Dick und Doof under any circumstances ...»
In 1937 – once again following the screening of a subtitled version – WAY OUT WEST became the next
German-dubbed L&H film. Walter Bluhm (his first established appearance as Laurel) voiced Stan, and now
Will Dohm was Ollie. The film was a tremendous success, with even the Nazi critic for Angriff («The Attack»)
reporting the audience’s «rattling laughter».
But this western parody was to be the last German screen appearance of Laurel and Hardy until 1949.
Unless, that is, one counts selected screenings of SWISS MISS and BLOCKHEADS in the Reichskanzlei and at
Hitler’s Obersalzberg resort near Berchtesgaden in 1938. ilm buff Hitler considered SWISS MISS as «good»
and BLOCKHEADS as «very good ... full of nice ideas and ingenious jokes.» Still, the Goebbels censorship institution
considered the films “questionable.» Thus, they remained unseen, though public interest in the
team was certainly unchanged, and trade papers reported gossip about Stan Laurel’s disagreements with
Roach and his marital troubles.
Soon, Laurel and Hardy films were not the only ones to remain unavailable to German audiences, following
the boycott of all American film imports. In September 1940, M-G-M were forced to close down their
Berlin office, laying off all 116 employees. What happened to the Laurel and Hardy prints? Quite likely,
they contained treasures now deemed lost – from elusive German dubbed tracks to the even more exciting
phonetic versions and, who knows – possibly even those two famous lost L&H films, HATS O and THE RO-
GUE SONG. Whatever prints remained in Germany were eventually integrated into the Berlin-based Reichsfilmarchiv
and brought to Moscow later on by the Red Army, where they are to this day. So far, only German
productions have been «repatriated». At least one phonetic example of Laurel and Hardy’s friend Buster