This was the second Laurel and Hardy film on the disc with Air Raid Wardens. Like that film, Nothing But Trouble is set in a different era when times were hard. There are jokes about ration stamps and hoarding and the rarity of meat that today’s kids won’t understand at all. I only understand them because my mom told me about those days.
There is one big difference between Air Raid Wardens and Nothing But Trouble that I noticed. Nothing But Trouble is funnier. This is still a much tamer Stan and Ollie compared to the memories I have of them from my youth. I remember Ollie being much more domineering and quick to anger with Stanley. I recall Stanley crying quite a bit as well. In this film they are the best of buds and there is little dissention between them. The plot concerns a boy king that sneaks away and spends the day with our duo while they prepare a dinner for a society climbing lady and her husband who are hosting a party that night for the self-same king.
The plot is like half of the Prince and the Pauper without the use of a twin look a like. Of course plenty of time is also given to Laurel and Hardy’s antics as the chef and butler to this woman. They do a lousy job, but their hearts are in the right place, so when she berates them and fires them, even though she is justified, we still feel bad for the boys.
A secondary plot concerns plans by the king’s uncle to have him killed and the death blamed on their political rivals. This leads to a couple of funny scenes with a poisoned salad.
The disc doesn’t feature any special features other than the trailer for the film, but it is another one of those trailers that manages to show us the last scene in the movie as well as several other late in the picture bits. If the plot were explained in the trailer it would likely give away the whole film. It’s a 9 on the Quarantine scale. As for the movie itself, I give it 2 1/4 stars. It was interesting, but more as a nostalgic curiosity. I’m still waiting to catch one of the Laurel and Hardy comedies that I saw as a kid.
365 Days of DVDs 