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The Music Box (film)
Encyclopedia
The Music Box is a Laurel and Hardy
short film comedy released in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott
, produced by Hal Roach
and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a large flight of steps, won the first Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
(Comedy) in 1932. In 1997, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
as a surprise birthday present for her husband Professor Theodore von Schwarzenhoffen. Stan and Ollie have started a "transfer co." and must deliver it. As they near the address in their horse and cart they ask a postman for directions. He tells them that it is at the top of the 'stoop', up a preposterously tall flight of stairs
. Stan and Ollie unload the piano from their cart, but their horse ("Susie") takes a malicious step, dumping the piano right onto Ollie's back. Carrying it across the street, they start to carry the piano up the stairs. A quarter of the way up a nursemaid
with a baby carriage asks to pass by. They let go of the piano and it careens to the bottom of the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs the nursemaid begins to laugh at the duo and says "of all the dumb things." Stan kicks her backside, so she punches him. Ollie laughs, and she breaks a bottle on his head. The woman goes off to complain to a police officer
telling him that Stan kicked her "right in the middle of my daily duties." The police officer arrives as they are halfway up the stairs with the piano. Ollie sends Stan to the bottom of the stairs to talk to the officer, but he wants to speak to Ollie ("I don't want you – I want that other monkey!"). Stan calls him down ("He wants the other monkey!"), and the piano chases Ollie back to the bottom of the stairs once again. The police officer kicks Ollie in the backside and hits Stan on the head with his truncheon
to teach the boys a lesson.
Halfway up the stairs again, they meet Professor von Schwarzenhoffen who asks to pass. When told to go around, he becomes outraged: "What, walk around?! Me, Professor Theodore Von Schwarzenhoffen, M.D.
, A.D., D.D.S., F.L.D., F-F-F- and F, should walk around?!!" He tries to shove the piano out of his path by force, and Stan retaliates by knocking off his hat, which bounds all the way down the stairs into the street and is immediately flattened by a truck. The Professor storms off after his hat in a rage, shouting threats. With a new set of "Heave! Ho!"s, the boys arrive at the delivery address with the piano (after Ollie, not realizing they've reached the top, continues climbing stairs until he trips into an ornamental fountain), only to let the piano go once again. Ollie hangs on and is dragged to the bottom of the stairs. They carry the piano up the stairs once again, just in time to meet the postman again at the top, who tells them that they could have driven the piano around to the house and needn't have carried it up the stairs at all. Realizing this, the two protagonists take the piano back downstairs one last time, so that they can take the route the postman suggested.
Ollie realizes he's about to be crushed by the piano as they take it off the cart, so he unhooks Susie. They wheel it to the front door and ring the doorbell but nobody is home. They decide to lift the piano into the house through an open upstairs window. The pair create a colossal mess and destroy most of the fabric of the house's interior getting the piano down the stairs and into the living room; they then unpack the piano (flooding the room in the process, since the box had filled up with water after accidentally being dropped in the ornamental pool Ollie had earlier stepped in), and set it playing a medley of "Patriotic Songs" (which inexplicably includes "The Arkansas Traveler"), to which the boys perform an impromptu dance while they begin to tidy up, whereupon the professor arrives home. Furious at seeing the deliverymen again, and in his house without permission, he flies into a rage, proclaims his hatred for pianos, and takes an axe
to it. The piano starts to play the Star Spangled Banner and they all stand to attention. The professor turns the piano off and takes the axe to it once more. The professor's wife arrives home and he tells her that "these idiots delivered this piano by mistake". She tells him it is his birthday present, so he decides he likes pianos and in fact he's "nuts" about them. He asks Stan and Ollie what he can do for them. They ask him to sign the delivery note and hand him the note and a fountain pen
. The pen squirts ink into his face, and he then chases Stan and Ollie out of the house.
. The "Music Box" steps are a public staircase, and do not lead to a single residence (as in the film), but instead connect Vendome Street (at the base of the hill) with Descanso Drive (at the top of the hill). They are located near the neighborhood where Sunset Boulevard
and Silver Lake Boulevard intersect. The address is 923-935 Vendome Street near the intersection of Del Monte Street. A plaque was set into one of the lower steps between 1993 and 1995. (Google Maps link to the location.)
The "Music Box" steps can be seen in the background of an earlier Charley Chase
silent comedy produced at the Hal Roach Studios, Isn't Life Terrible?
(1925), during a scene in which Chase is trying to sell fountain pens to Fay Wray
.
short Hats Off
(1927), which was filmed at the same location and is today considered a lost film
. Hats Off was itself remade in the same location in a film called It's Your Move starring Edgar Kennedy
in 1945.
Hal Roach Studios colorized The Music Box in 1986 with a remastered stereo soundtrack featuring the Hal Roach Studios incidental stock music score conducted by Ronnie Hazelhurst. The film was later released on VHS as part of a double bill release with the colorized version of the 1932 Laurel and Hardy short Helpmates
.
A scene from the film appeared on a movie screen in the February 3, 2011 edition of the Luann
comic strip.
Ray Bradbury
's short story The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair from the collection The Toynbee Convector
features the stairs prominently as the catalyst for the beginning of a love affair between a couple who affectionately refer to each other as 'Stan' and 'Ollie'. His short story Another Fine Mess from the collection Quicker Than the Eye
features the ghosts of Laurel and Hardy haunting the staircase by replaying the scene.
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 comedy released 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...
. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a large flight of steps, won the first Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
This name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...
(Comedy) in 1932. In 1997, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
Mrs. von Schwarzenhoffen has bought a player pianoPlayer piano
A player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in...
as a surprise birthday present for her husband Professor Theodore von Schwarzenhoffen. Stan and Ollie have started a "transfer co." and must deliver it. As they near the address in their horse and cart they ask a postman for directions. He tells them that it is at the top of the 'stoop', up a preposterously tall flight of stairs
Stairs
-People:* Scott Kannberg , guitarist of Pavement* A. Edison Stairs , New Brunswick politician* Denis Stairs , engineer, Montreal businessman* Ernest W. Stairs , New Brunswick politician...
. Stan and Ollie unload the piano from their cart, but their horse ("Susie") takes a malicious step, dumping the piano right onto Ollie's back. Carrying it across the street, they start to carry the piano up the stairs. A quarter of the way up a nursemaid
Nursemaid
A nursemaid or nursery maid, is mostly a historical term of employment for a female servant in an elite household. In the 21st century, the position is largely defunct, owing to the relatively small number of households who maintain large staffs with the traditional hierarchy.The nursery maid...
with a baby carriage asks to pass by. They let go of the piano and it careens to the bottom of the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs the nursemaid begins to laugh at the duo and says "of all the dumb things." Stan kicks her backside, so she punches him. Ollie laughs, and she breaks a bottle on his head. The woman goes off to complain to a police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
telling him that Stan kicked her "right in the middle of my daily duties." The police officer arrives as they are halfway up the stairs with the piano. Ollie sends Stan to the bottom of the stairs to talk to the officer, but he wants to speak to Ollie ("I don't want you – I want that other monkey!"). Stan calls him down ("He wants the other monkey!"), and the piano chases Ollie back to the bottom of the stairs once again. The police officer kicks Ollie in the backside and hits Stan on the head with his truncheon
Truncheon
Truncheon may refer to:*Baton *Cutting , means of plant propagation used by gardeners*HMS Truncheon , a British submarine commissioned during Word War II and later sold to Israel...
to teach the boys a lesson.
Halfway up the stairs again, they meet Professor von Schwarzenhoffen who asks to pass. When told to go around, he becomes outraged: "What, walk around?! Me, Professor Theodore Von Schwarzenhoffen, M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, A.D., D.D.S., F.L.D., F-F-F- and F, should walk around?!!" He tries to shove the piano out of his path by force, and Stan retaliates by knocking off his hat, which bounds all the way down the stairs into the street and is immediately flattened by a truck. The Professor storms off after his hat in a rage, shouting threats. With a new set of "Heave! Ho!"s, the boys arrive at the delivery address with the piano (after Ollie, not realizing they've reached the top, continues climbing stairs until he trips into an ornamental fountain), only to let the piano go once again. Ollie hangs on and is dragged to the bottom of the stairs. They carry the piano up the stairs once again, just in time to meet the postman again at the top, who tells them that they could have driven the piano around to the house and needn't have carried it up the stairs at all. Realizing this, the two protagonists take the piano back downstairs one last time, so that they can take the route the postman suggested.
Ollie realizes he's about to be crushed by the piano as they take it off the cart, so he unhooks Susie. They wheel it to the front door and ring the doorbell but nobody is home. They decide to lift the piano into the house through an open upstairs window. The pair create a colossal mess and destroy most of the fabric of the house's interior getting the piano down the stairs and into the living room; they then unpack the piano (flooding the room in the process, since the box had filled up with water after accidentally being dropped in the ornamental pool Ollie had earlier stepped in), and set it playing a medley of "Patriotic Songs" (which inexplicably includes "The Arkansas Traveler"), to which the boys perform an impromptu dance while they begin to tidy up, whereupon the professor arrives home. Furious at seeing the deliverymen again, and in his house without permission, he flies into a rage, proclaims his hatred for pianos, and takes an axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
to it. The piano starts to play the Star Spangled Banner and they all stand to attention. The professor turns the piano off and takes the axe to it once more. The professor's wife arrives home and he tells her that "these idiots delivered this piano by mistake". She tells him it is his birthday present, so he decides he likes pianos and in fact he's "nuts" about them. He asks Stan and Ollie what he can do for them. They ask him to sign the delivery note and hand him the note and a fountain pen
Fountain pen
A fountain pen is a nib pen that, unlike its predecessor the dip pen, contains an internal reservoir of water-based liquid ink. The pen draws ink from the reservoir through a feed to the nib and deposits it on paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action...
. The pen squirts ink into his face, and he then chases Stan and Ollie out of the house.
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...
as Stan Laurel - 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:...
as Oliver Hardy - 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 Professor Theodore Von Schwarzenhoffen, M.D., A.D., D.D.S., F.L.D., F.F.F and F. - Charlie Hall as Postman
- Lilyan Irene as Nursemaid
- 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 Police Officer - William GillespieWilliam Gillespie (actor)William Gillespie was a Scottish actor who started in Hollywood films from the silent era. Born in Aberdeen, he supported such comedians as Charlie Chaplin, Charley Chase and Laurel and Hardy, but was most prolific supporting Harold Lloyd in over 50 films.-Selected filmography:* The Cure * Easy...
as Piano Salesman - Gladys Gale as Mrs. von Schwarzenhoffen
Location
The steps which served as the location still exist in the Silver Lake district of Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The "Music Box" steps are a public staircase, and do not lead to a single residence (as in the film), but instead connect Vendome Street (at the base of the hill) with Descanso Drive (at the top of the hill). They are located near the neighborhood where Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
and Silver Lake Boulevard intersect. The address is 923-935 Vendome Street near the intersection of Del Monte Street. A plaque was set into one of the lower steps between 1993 and 1995. (Google Maps link to the location.)
The "Music Box" steps can be seen in the background of an earlier Charley Chase
Charley Chase
Charley Chase was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his work in Hal Roach short film comedies...
silent comedy produced at the Hal Roach Studios, Isn't Life Terrible?
Isn't Life Terrible?
Isn't Life Terrible? is a 1925 film starring Charley Chase and featuring Oliver Hardy and Fay Wray. This short is a parody on D. W. Griffith's 1924 drama Isn't Life Wonderful.-Cast:* Charley Chase - Charley* Katherine Grant - The Wife...
(1925), during a scene in which Chase is trying to sell fountain pens to Fay Wray
Fay Wray
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
.
Film remakes
The film is a partial remake of their silentSilent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
short Hats Off
Hats Off
Hats Off is a Laurel and Hardy silent comedy film. It was made in 1927 by the Hal Roach Studios. It starred Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and is considered a lost film.- Plot :...
(1927), which was filmed at the same location and is today considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
. Hats Off was itself remade in the same location in a film called It's Your Move starring Edgar Kennedy
Edgar Kennedy
Edgar Livingston Kennedy was an American comedic film actor, known as "the king of the slow burn". A slow burn is an exasperated facial expression, performed very deliberately; Kennedy embellished this by rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face, in an attempt to hold his temper...
in 1945.
Hal Roach Studios colorized The Music Box in 1986 with a remastered stereo soundtrack featuring the Hal Roach Studios incidental stock music score conducted by Ronnie Hazelhurst. The film was later released on VHS as part of a double bill release with the colorized version of the 1932 Laurel and Hardy short Helpmates
Helpmates
Helpmates is a Laurel and Hardy short film comedy. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and released by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer on January 23, 1932.- Plot :...
.
In popular culture
A series of TV ads for a windshield wiper company featured actors who looked much like Laurel and Hardy. One of the ads referred to this film by portraying them trying to safely deliver a piano.A scene from the film appeared on a movie screen in the February 3, 2011 edition of the Luann
Luann (comic strip)
Luann is a syndicated newspaper comic strip distributed by United Features Syndicate since 17 March 1985. Luann is written and drawn by Greg Evans, who won the 2003 Reuben Award as Cartoonist of the Year....
comic strip.
Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
's short story The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair from the collection The Toynbee Convector
The Toynbee Convector (collection)
The Toynbee Convector is a short story collection by Ray Bradbury. Several of the stories are original to this collection. Others originally appeared in the magazines Playboy, Omni, Gallery, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Woman's Day, and Weird Tales.-Contents:* "The Toynbee Convector"*...
features the stairs prominently as the catalyst for the beginning of a love affair between a couple who affectionately refer to each other as 'Stan' and 'Ollie'. His short story Another Fine Mess from the collection Quicker Than the Eye
Quicker Than the Eye
Quicker Than the Eye is a collection of short stories by American writer Ray Bradbury, published nearly a decade after his last collection.-Contents:...
features the ghosts of Laurel and Hardy haunting the staircase by replaying the scene.