Zenobia (film)
Encyclopedia
Zenobia is a 1939
comedy film
starring Oliver Hardy
, Harry Langdon
, Billie Burke
, Alice Brady
, James Ellison, Jean Parker
, June Lang
, Stepin Fetchit
, and Hattie McDaniel
. It is one of the few films after the teaming of Laurel and Hardy
that features Hardy without Stan Laurel
, the result of a contract dispute between Laurel and producer Hal Roach
, who maintained separate contracts for each performer, rather than a team contract, which would have offered them more control over their careers. Zenobia was Roach's attempt to create a new comedic pair without Laurel, and a series of films with Hardy and Langdon was planned. The dispute was short-lived, however, and Laurel and Hardy were reunited shortly thereafter.
Oliver Hardy enacted his role in straight comedic leading man fashion, eschewing most of his trademark "Ollie" mannerisms.
The film, itself, enjoyed some success. The reviewer for The New York Times
wrote on May 15, 1939, that the film:
Then—playing on the potential for a new comedy team of Hardy and Langdon—the reviewer said:
When seen today, though, Langdon's role is not so much that of a teammate to Hardy, as simply a comic costar.
The source of the film was the novel Zenobia's Infidelity by H.C. Bunner and was originally purchased by Roach as a vehicle for Roland Young
. Other points of interest about Zenobia include the fact that the music was by Marvin Hatley
, the composer of "The Cuckoo Song," Laurel and Hardy's famous theme song.
trainer to cure his sick elephant
. After the doctor heals the grateful beast, the elephant becomes so attached to him that it starts to follow him everywhere. This leads to the trainer suing Dr. Tibbett for alienation of affection.
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
comedy film
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...
starring 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:...
, Harry Langdon
Harry Langdon
Harry Philmore Langdon was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films , and talkies. He was briefly partnered with Oliver Hardy.-Life and career:...
, Billie Burke
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...
, Alice Brady
Alice Brady
Alice Brady was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked up until six months before her death from cancer in 1939...
, James Ellison, Jean Parker
Jean Parker
-Career:Born as Lois Mae Green in Deer Lodge, Montana, she appeared in 70 movies from 1932 through 1966. She was discovered by Ida Koverman, secretary to MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer, after she saw a poster featuring Parker portraying Father Time. She attended Pasadena schools and graduated from John...
, June Lang
June Lang
-Early life:Born Winifred June Vlasek in Minneapolis, Minnesota , she originally trained as a dancer in "kiddie reviews" and went to Hollywood at the urging of her mother.-Career:...
, Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit was the stage name of American comedian and film actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry....
, and Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
. It is one of the few films after the teaming of 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...
that features Hardy without 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...
, the result of a contract dispute between Laurel and producer 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...
, who maintained separate contracts for each performer, rather than a team contract, which would have offered them more control over their careers. Zenobia was Roach's attempt to create a new comedic pair without Laurel, and a series of films with Hardy and Langdon was planned. The dispute was short-lived, however, and Laurel and Hardy were reunited shortly thereafter.
Oliver Hardy enacted his role in straight comedic leading man fashion, eschewing most of his trademark "Ollie" mannerisms.
The film, itself, enjoyed some success. The reviewer for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote on May 15, 1939, that the film:
- "...[was] a rough idea of what would happen to Gone With the Wind if Hal Roach had produced it...[it was] an antebellum, costume romance in slapstick...".
Then—playing on the potential for a new comedy team of Hardy and Langdon—the reviewer said:
- "...Harry Langdon has adopted the partnership prerequistes formerly reserved for Stan Laurel...Harry Langdon's pale and beautifuly blank countenance...has probably already excited the professional jealousy of Mr. Laurel..."
When seen today, though, Langdon's role is not so much that of a teammate to Hardy, as simply a comic costar.
The source of the film was the novel Zenobia's Infidelity by H.C. Bunner and was originally purchased by Roach as a vehicle for Roland Young
Roland Young
Roland Young was an English actor.-Early life and career:Born in London, England, Young was educated at Sherborne School, Dorset and the University of London before being accepted into Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
. Other points of interest about Zenobia include the fact that the music was by Marvin Hatley
Marvin Hatley
Thomas Marvin Hatley , professionally known simply as Marvin Hatley, was an American film composer and musical director, best known for his work for the Hal Roach studio from 1929 until 1940....
, the composer of "The Cuckoo Song," Laurel and Hardy's famous theme song.
Plot
Hardy plays Dr. Henry Tibbett, a country doctor who is called on by a travelling circusCircus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
trainer to cure his sick elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
. After the doctor heals the grateful beast, the elephant becomes so attached to him that it starts to follow him everywhere. This leads to the trainer suing Dr. Tibbett for alienation of affection.