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County Hospital (1932 film)
Encyclopedia
County Hospital is a Laurel and Hardy
short film made in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott
, produced by Hal Roach
and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. Ollie is in hospital with a broken leg, Stan comes to visit and ends up getting Ollie kicked out; on the way home Stan crashes the car.
. Stanley comes to visit but gets lost on the way to the room. But he does make it to Ollie's room and tells him he didn't have anything else to do, so he thought he'd come to see him. Ollie thanks Stan somewhat sarcastically for the visit. Stan has also brought Ollie a gift: a bag of hard boiled eggs
and nuts
. Ollie is not impressed and complains he can't eat them, suggesting that Stan could have brought candy
. Stan complains that candy costs too much and Ollie hasn't paid him for the last box.
Stan starts to eat one of the eggs which he seasons with a salt cellar
he's brought in his pocket. Then he drops another one into Ollie's drinking water jug
. Ollie tells him not to put his hand in the pitcher to get it ("I have to drink that water!"), so Stan retrieves the egg by pouring the water (and the egg) into a glass. Then he pours the water back into the pitcher, catching the egg. In drying the egg, Stan spills the water onto Ollie and Ollie hits Stan over the head with a bedpan.
When the doctor
(Billy Gilbert
) arrives to check on Ollie, Stan absent-mindedly
picks up a weight attached to Ollie's leg harness by a rope
. The doctor yanks the weight from Stan propelling himself out the top-floor window
. Now the doctor is hanging by the rope; in addition, his weight has lifted Ollie up, suspending him over the bed. The rope snaps and the doctor grabs the window at the last moment. Ollie falls on to the bed breaking it. The commotion brings a number of nurses
in to the room. One of them puts a hypodermic syringe on the chair. While the doctors attend to Ollie, Stan manages to get the doctor back inside, but not without splitting his trousers.
Outraged and embarrassed, the doctor first dismisses all the other doctors and nurses attending to Ollie at the moment and then orders Ollie to leave at once. Ollie blames Stan for ruining his peaceful stay in the hospital and tells Stan to get his clothes, still grumbling about Stan's gift of "hard-boiled eggs and nuts!" Stan fetches Ollie's clothes (involving a short comic episode with the closet light bulb) but has a hard time getting Ollie's trousers
on. Exasperated and impatient, Ollie tells Stan to get a pair of scissors and cut the leg off, but of course, Stan at first thinks Ollie was asking him to cut off his leg! In exasperation, Ollie specifies he meant cut the leg of his trousers
off so he can put them on. Stan cuts the wrong leg off. Ollie is annoyed and asks for the scissors so he can cut the correct trouser leg off: "Hind to front!" Ollie's roommate
appears, "all aflutter" because the doctor has told him he can now go back home. He gathers his clothes and it turns out he has put Ollie's trousers on by mistake, which means Stan has cut both legs off the roommate's pair. Then Stan sits on the needle. The nurse returns to retrieve it and, finding it in Stan's rear, laughs herself silly: the syringe contains a tranquilizer
, and her supervisor points out that Stan will sleep for a month.
Finally, the boys leave. Ollie wisely offers to drive, but as he can't fit in the driver's seat for his broken leg, he sits in the back seat, leaving the lethargic Stan to drive. The accidental injection begins to take effect on Stan as he starts the car, and proceeds to drive home in a daze. They narrowly miss a number of vehicles, as a panicky Ollie repeatedly tries in vain to nudge Stan awake, shouting, "Why don't you watch THAT!!" (pointing to a car Stan was about to bump into) and "Turn THAT way!!"
They finally crash into two tram
s and come to a halt. A police officer
is on hand and tells Stan to pull over. He tries to, but the smash-up has bent the car into a 90-degree angle and it only moves in a circle
. The police officer starts writing a them a ticket.
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
short film made in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott
James Parrott
James Parrott , was an American actor and film director; and the younger brother of film comedian Charley Chase.-Early years:...
, produced by Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. Ollie is in hospital with a broken leg, Stan comes to visit and ends up getting Ollie kicked out; on the way home Stan crashes the car.
Plot
Ollie has broken his leg and he is in County HospitalHospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
. Stanley comes to visit but gets lost on the way to the room. But he does make it to Ollie's room and tells him he didn't have anything else to do, so he thought he'd come to see him. Ollie thanks Stan somewhat sarcastically for the visit. Stan has also brought Ollie a gift: a bag of hard boiled eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
and nuts
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
. Ollie is not impressed and complains he can't eat them, suggesting that Stan could have brought candy
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
. Stan complains that candy costs too much and Ollie hasn't paid him for the last box.
Stan starts to eat one of the eggs which he seasons with a salt cellar
Salt cellar
A salt cellar is a vessel, usually small and made of glass or silver, used on the table for holding salt. An individual salt dish or squat open salt cellar placed near a trencher was called a trencher salt...
he's brought in his pocket. Then he drops another one into Ollie's drinking water jug
Jug (container)
A jug is a type of container used to hold liquid. It has an opening, often narrow, from which to pour or drink, and nearly always has a handle. One could imagine a jug being made from nearly any watertight material, but most jugs throughout history have been made from clay, glass, or plastic...
. Ollie tells him not to put his hand in the pitcher to get it ("I have to drink that water!"), so Stan retrieves the egg by pouring the water (and the egg) into a glass. Then he pours the water back into the pitcher, catching the egg. In drying the egg, Stan spills the water onto Ollie and Ollie hits Stan over the head with a bedpan.
When the doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
(Billy Gilbert
Billy Gilbert
Billy Gilbert was an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows starting in 1929. He is not to be confused with silent film actor Billy Gilbert Billy Gilbert (September 12, 1894 – September 23,...
) arrives to check on Ollie, Stan absent-mindedly
Absent-mindedness
Absent-mindedness is where a person shows inattentive or forgetful behaviour. It can have three different causes:# a low level of attention...
picks up a weight attached to Ollie's leg harness by a rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
. The doctor yanks the weight from Stan propelling himself out the top-floor window
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
. Now the doctor is hanging by the rope; in addition, his weight has lifted Ollie up, suspending him over the bed. The rope snaps and the doctor grabs the window at the last moment. Ollie falls on to the bed breaking it. The commotion brings a number of nurses
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
in to the room. One of them puts a hypodermic syringe on the chair. While the doctors attend to Ollie, Stan manages to get the doctor back inside, but not without splitting his trousers.
Outraged and embarrassed, the doctor first dismisses all the other doctors and nurses attending to Ollie at the moment and then orders Ollie to leave at once. Ollie blames Stan for ruining his peaceful stay in the hospital and tells Stan to get his clothes, still grumbling about Stan's gift of "hard-boiled eggs and nuts!" Stan fetches Ollie's clothes (involving a short comic episode with the closet light bulb) but has a hard time getting Ollie's trousers
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
on. Exasperated and impatient, Ollie tells Stan to get a pair of scissors and cut the leg off, but of course, Stan at first thinks Ollie was asking him to cut off his leg! In exasperation, Ollie specifies he meant cut the leg of his trousers
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
off so he can put them on. Stan cuts the wrong leg off. Ollie is annoyed and asks for the scissors so he can cut the correct trouser leg off: "Hind to front!" Ollie's roommate
Roommate
A roommate is a person who shares a living facility such as an apartment or dormitory. Similar terms include suitemate, housemate, flatmate , or sharemate...
appears, "all aflutter" because the doctor has told him he can now go back home. He gathers his clothes and it turns out he has put Ollie's trousers on by mistake, which means Stan has cut both legs off the roommate's pair. Then Stan sits on the needle. The nurse returns to retrieve it and, finding it in Stan's rear, laughs herself silly: the syringe contains a tranquilizer
Tranquilizer
A tranquilizer, or tranquilliser , is a drug that induces tranquility in an individual.The term "tranquilizer" is imprecise, and is usually qualified, or replaced with more precise terms:...
, and her supervisor points out that Stan will sleep for a month.
Finally, the boys leave. Ollie wisely offers to drive, but as he can't fit in the driver's seat for his broken leg, he sits in the back seat, leaving the lethargic Stan to drive. The accidental injection begins to take effect on Stan as he starts the car, and proceeds to drive home in a daze. They narrowly miss a number of vehicles, as a panicky Ollie repeatedly tries in vain to nudge Stan awake, shouting, "Why don't you watch THAT!!" (pointing to a car Stan was about to bump into) and "Turn THAT way!!"
They finally crash into two tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s and come to a halt. A police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
is on hand and tells Stan to pull over. He tries to, but the smash-up has bent the car into a 90-degree angle and it only moves in a circle
Circle
A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius....
. The police officer starts writing a them a ticket.
Cast
- Stan LaurelStan LaurelArthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
(Himself) - Oliver HardyOliver HardyOliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
(Himself) - Billy GilbertBilly GilbertBilly Gilbert was an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows starting in 1929. He is not to be confused with silent film actor Billy Gilbert Billy Gilbert (September 12, 1894 – September 23,...
as The Doctor - May Wallace as Miss Wallace, head nurse
- Estelle Etterre as Nurse Smith
- William Austin as Ollies' Roommate
- Belle Hare as a Nurse
- Lilyan Irene as a Nurse
- Dorothy LaytonDorothy LaytonDorothy Layton was an American film actress of the early 1930s.Born as Dorothy Ann Wannenwetsch in Cincinnati, Ohio, Layton was selected as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars" for 1932. Layton had a promising acting career and starred in eight films in 1932 and 1933, notably appearing several times...
as a Nurse - Sam LufkinSam LufkinSamuel "Sam" William Lufkin was an American actor who usually appeared in small or bit roles in short comedy films.-Career:Born in Utah, Lufkin spent most of his career at the Hal Roach Studios where he made over 60 films...
as a Police Officer - Baldwin CookeBaldwin CookeBaldwin Cooke, also known as Baldy Cooke , was a comedic American actor. Born in New York, Cooke and his wife, Alice, toured in vaudeville with Stan Laurel, remaining close friends over the years. He appeared in some thirty Laurel and Hardy comedies...
as an Orderly - Ham KinseyHam KinseyHam Kinsey , was an American actor. He appeared in 39 films between 1926 and 1936 mostly at the Hal Roach Studios where he supported Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy.He died in Los Angeles, California, USA....
as an Orderly - Frank HollidayFrank Holliday-BIO:Frank Holliday Born 1957, North Carolina, USAis a painter who became known in the New York art world in the 1970s and 1980s and is often associated with the East Village scene....
as a Visitor