Babes in Toyland [March of the Wooden Soldiers] **** (1934, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Florence Roberts, Henry Brandon, Charlotte Henry) – Classic Movie Review 5221

Directors Gus Meins and Charles Rogers’s delightful 1934 classic musical comedy Babes in Toyland [March of the Wooden Soldiers] provides ideal work for stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

They sparkle as Santa Claus’s assistants Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee, who try to pay off Widow Peep (Florence Roberts)‘s mortgage and derail the evil Barnaby Barnicle (Henry Brandon)’s attempts to marry Little Bo-Peep (Charlotte Henry). Barnaby’s Bogeymen are set to invade Toyland, so Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee make giant wooden soldiers to oppose them.

This quirky, likeable and amusing version of Victor Herbert’s comedy operetta has an appealing fantasy element, fair Hal Roach Studios and MGM production values and the classic 1903 Victor Herbert music (‘Toyland’ and ‘March of the Toys’).

After all these years, it wears surprisingly well, and still looks great in good old black and white, especially compared with director Jack Donohue’s 1961 Disney version Babes in Toyland (with Ray Bolger, Tommy Sands, Annette Funicello and Tommy Kirk) or director Clive Donner’s 1986 TV movie version (with Drew Barrymore, Richard Mulligan, Eileen Brennan, Keanu Reeves and Pat Morita).

Also in the cast are Felix Knight as Tom-Tom, Johnny Downs, Marie Wilson, William Burress and Virginia Karns as Mother Goose.

Frank Butler and Nick Grinde write the screenplay, Art Lloyd and Francis Corby are behind camera and Hal Roach produces.

It is also known as Laurel and Hardy in Toyland, and was re-released as March of the Wooden Soldiers.

It was cut by six minutes after its premiere but it is now restored to its full length of 78 minutes with the original Production Code Seal and MGM/NRA logo, the song ‘Go To Sleep’ and a sequence in the underground caves.

It was restored and colorised for video in 1991 by the Samuel Goldwyn Company and again for DVD in 2006 by Legend Films with its original title.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5221

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