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Laurel And Hardy - March Of The Wooden Soldiers [1934] [DVD]
 
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Laurel And Hardy - March Of The Wooden Soldiers [1934] [DVD]

DVD ~ Stan Laurel
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £5.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Laurel And Hardy - March Of The Wooden Soldiers [1934] [DVD] + Laurel And Hardy - Bogus Bandits [1933] [DVD] + Laurel And Hardy Collection Vol. 2 - The Bullfighters/Dancing Masters/A Haunting We Will Go [DVD]
Total RRP: £40.97
Price For All Three: £21.64

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Product details

  • Actors: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlotte Henry, Felix Knight, Henry Brandon
  • Directors: Charley Rogers, Gus Meins
  • Writers: Stan Laurel, Frank Butler, Glen MacDonough, Hal Roach, Nick Grinde
  • Format: Black & White, Full Screen, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Eureka Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 21 Oct 2002
  • Run Time: 77 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004CZU8
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 46,873 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

The most lavish feature built around Laurel and Hardy, 1934's March of the Wooden Soldiers is also the most bizarre. Opening unpromisingly with one of several mawkish numbers derived from Victor Herbert's musical Babes in Toyland, the antics of toyshop labourers Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee are worked into a scenario midway between Lewis Carroll and The Brothers Grimm. Nursery-rhyme characters come and go in a surreal fantasy, with the evil Mr Barnaby threatening to evict Widow Peep from her shoe unless he receives her daughter Bo in marriage. The movie culminates in a full-scale invasion of Toyland by the yeti-ish Bogeymen and their defeat by the 100 six-foot wooden soldiers that Stan and Ollie have built by mistake. Henry Brandon gives a characterful performance, while 1930s child star Charlotte Henry is an appealing heroine. Directors Gus Meins and Charles R Rogers milk the slapstick to an increasingly unnerving degree. Reputedly Hardy's favourite among the double act's features, March of the Wooden Soldiers emerges now as their most audacious screen appearance.

On the DVD: March of the Wooden Soldiers on disc reproduces the original black and white print in 4:3 ratio with pristine clarity; the mono soundtrack has similarly worn well. The potted biographies of Laurel and Hardy are too brief to be worthwhile, but the inclusion of the 1915 short Hustling for Health--among the earliest of Stan Laurel's film appearances--is a valuable bonus. --Richard Whitehouse



Special Features

4:3 Full Frame
Region 2
Mono
Interactive Menus
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS, 29 Jun 2001
By Robert C. Graham (OGMORE BY SEA, VALE OF GLAMORGAN United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
March of the Wooden Soldiers (Babes in Toyland) is one of a few Laurel and Hardy features in which Hal Roach lost ownership. Over the years it has been reissued and mostly cut in the process on the grounds of the Bogeymen sequences being too grim or to remove some or all of the songs in a misguided attempt to concentrate Stan and Ollie`s scenes. It is only fairly recently that a complete pristine master has been produced and superbly computer colourised now looking better than it has for decades.

In its original form it is the best of the Laurel and Hardy operettas and, with its detailed studio created fantasy sets, is the most elaborate of all of their features.

The colour version is so carefully effected that it gives the appearance of an early Technicolour film providing an extra dimension and depth reinforcing a more credible Mickey Mouse and the Three Pigs which was not quite achieved in black and white.

Stan Laurel once said that his only regret about this film was that it had not been made in colour. This is probably the only Laurel and Hardy film to really benefit and be enhanced by an accurate colourisation.

The film is a successful attempt to appeal to all ages. It is interesting to note that Disney granted permission to use Mickey Mouse and the Three Pigs together with their theme song. Perhaps `Toyland` may just have given Walt some inspiration for his first Disneyland. In fact Disney studied this film quite closely and remade it under the original title `Babes in Toyland` with obvious mimics of Stan and Ollie, but it was a poor, jazzed-up, shadow of the original.

This version produced by Eureka Video is only mediocre The transfer, although black and white, appears to be taken from the colourised version. Picture quality and definition are good but the sound is unfortunately the original mono track and somewhat flat. It is interesting to note that the opening original MGM title and Board of Review certificate included in the US version is missing from the UK version of the film.

A still from `Bohemian Girl` is actually used on the DVD case which coupled with the only extra being a wonky transfer of `Hustling for Health` gives the impression that no one could really care less...

The best DVD of this film available is from the US by Goodtimes Video and available from AMAZON.com... It is also ALL region, so you do not even need a region free DVD player (although you will need an NTSC compatible TV, which most are now).

The US version is accurately and superbly colourised and the extras include the original theatrical trailer, short (1.5 mins) probably 16mm silent home movie of Stan and a 3.5 min sound interview of Ollie. The extras are of varying quality due to the source material.

Overall the UK version is a poor substitute for the US DVD which presents a high quality, excellent value, version of a delightful, enduring minor classic.

ROBERT C GRAHAM (UK)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Colorisation Is Good on this release, 4 Aug 2004
By Mrs. Elizabeth Smith "Andrew T. Smith" (Gateshead, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: March of the Wooden Soldiers [DVD] [1934] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
I would be the first to agree that regularly colourisation detracts from films. In fact on other laurel and hardy releases it looks like they've let a child loose with crayons on the film.
However this film is different, Stan Laurel always regretted this wasn't filmed in colour and the colourisation was handled by a different company to the other releases, resulting in a product that does look like it was originally shot in two colour technicolour.
I appreatiate some would still prefer the film in it's original format but give this a chance too, far more accesable to kids.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "I don't love 'im!", 22 April 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: March of the Wooden Soldiers [1934] [DVD] [US Import] (DVD)
What a pleasure to find March of the Wooden Soldiers in glorious black &white! This Passport Video release (listed by Amazon as Koch Entertainmentfor some unfathomable reason) presumably contains the full-length version(77+ minutes) and is of very high quality. Audio is nice clear mono, andthe video is just fine--flicker occurs occasionally, but nothing major andthe images are sharp with good contrast. One is easily able to navigatethe chapters and can scan in either direction and pause, which sometimesisn't the case with budget DVD's. It would be nice if subtitles wereavailable (I have foreign-born friends who like to "see" and hear Englishsimultaneously), as well as a printed list of chapters, but these areminor quibbles. A bonus short of the boys' first screen appearancetogether is also included and is lots of fun.
As much as I detestcolorization of black & white classics, both in principle and foraesthetic reasons, I've read so many favorable reviews of the colorizedversion of this film that I'd be willing to give it a shot, especiallyconsidering its price. One reviewer wrote that she remembers seeing ahand-tinted print of this film at the movies when she was a child in the50's, so clearly there's precedent. It would be nice to get a choice ofboth on one disk--maybe something along this line will turn up eventually.In the meantime, my recommendation is that first-time viewers see it theway audiences in 1934 saw it and then move on to "color" if so inclined.Either way, this is a fabulous film--it's about time justice was done toit, but better late than never. Thank goodness I no longer have to dependon the whims of local TV stations with their edits and commercials towatch one of my holiday favorites.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Laurel & Hardy DVD March Of The Wooden Soldiers
Just a note to advise people that this Eureka release is Black And White only! The actual quality is fair without being too good. Read more
Published on 29 April 2007 by A. Fan

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a great holiday movie
Some like it colored and some don't. Ether way this based on a 1903 VictorHerbert operetta, film and is still fun to watch. Read more
Published on 26 April 2004 by bernie

5.0 out of 5 stars A film for the family as well as for Laurel and Hardy fans!
This is one of the best Laurel and Hardy films, but it is also an enchanting musical fantasy that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2001 by Lee David Glover

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