Unaccustomed As We Are
Encyclopedia
Unaccustomed As We Are is a 1929 comedy
short film starring Stan Laurel
and Oliver Hardy
, also featuring Mae Busch
(in the first of several appearances as "Mrs. Hardy"), Edgar Kennedy
(in the first of several talkie appearances as "Officer Kennedy"), and Thelma Todd
. It is notable for being Laurel and Hardy
's first sound film
(hence the title, drawn from the popular cliché "Unaccustomed as we are to public speaking ..."). The soundtrack was lost for fifty years until it was traced on disc in the late 1970s. A silent version, with intertitles, was also released, as well as a Victor disc
hybrid (featuring a synchronized music score and sound effects).
In the opening scene, Laurel and Hardy speak their very first lines in film. Hardy's first line is "And we'll have a nice thick steak, smothered with onions..." Stan's first line is "Any nuts?" Stan's fondness for nuts came up in subsequent films, including County Hospital
(1932) and Oliver the Eighth
(1934).
This is the first film in which Hardy says to Laurel, "Why don't you do something to help me!" which immediately became a catchphrase, repeated in numerous subsequent films. Also heard for the first time is Stan's distinctive, high-pitched whimper of distress.
The plot of "Unaccustomed As We Are" was expanded into a full-length feature, Block-Heads
, in 1938.
The gag of the spaghetti ending on Ollie's lap was originally conceived for their 1928 silent Habeas Corpus
, but was left unfilmed.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
short film starring Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel
Arthur 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...
and Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy
Oliver 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:...
, also featuring Mae Busch
Mae Busch
Mae Busch was an Australian film actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career, she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, where she frequently played Hardy's shrewish wife.-Early life and career:Born in Melbourne, Australia, Busch was...
(in the first of several appearances as "Mrs. Hardy"), 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 the first of several talkie appearances as "Officer Kennedy"), and Thelma Todd
Thelma Todd
Thelma Alice Todd was an American actress. Appearing in about 120 pictures between 1926 and 1935, she is best remembered for her comedic roles in films like Marx Brothers' Monkey Business and Horse Feathers, a number of Charley Chase's short comedies, and co-starring with Buster Keaton and Jimmy...
. It is notable for being Laurel and Hardy
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...
's first sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
(hence the title, drawn from the popular cliché "Unaccustomed as we are to public speaking ..."). The soundtrack was lost for fifty years until it was traced on disc in the late 1970s. A silent version, with intertitles, was also released, as well as a Victor disc
Sound-on-disc
The term Sound-on-disc refers to a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or playback sound in sync with a motion picture...
hybrid (featuring a synchronized music score and sound effects).
In the opening scene, Laurel and Hardy speak their very first lines in film. Hardy's first line is "And we'll have a nice thick steak, smothered with onions..." Stan's first line is "Any nuts?" Stan's fondness for nuts came up in subsequent films, including County Hospital
County Hospital (1932 film)
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...
(1932) and Oliver the Eighth
Oliver the Eighth
Oliver The Eighth is a 1934 short film comedy starring Laurel and Hardy. It was directed by Lloyd French, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by MGM.- Plot :...
(1934).
This is the first film in which Hardy says to Laurel, "Why don't you do something to help me!" which immediately became a catchphrase, repeated in numerous subsequent films. Also heard for the first time is Stan's distinctive, high-pitched whimper of distress.
The plot of "Unaccustomed As We Are" was expanded into a full-length feature, Block-Heads
Block-Heads
Block-Heads is a 1938 comedy film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, produced by Hal Roach Studios for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, a reworking of elements from the Laurel and Hardy shorts We Faw Down and Unaccustomed As We Are , was Roach's final film for MGM, and is remembered as one of...
, in 1938.
The gag of the spaghetti ending on Ollie's lap was originally conceived for their 1928 silent Habeas Corpus
Habeas Corpus (1928 film)
Habeas Corpus is a 1928 short comedy silent film starring Laurel and Hardy as grave-robbers hired by a mad scientist. It was shot in July 1928 and released by M-G-M on December 1st...
, but was left unfilmed.