[Inspector Abberline]

The Chimp.(1933)

What is basically a remake of the classic Laughing Gravy,The Chimp is by far one of the silliest of the duos comedies,but still very funny,even if the plot is preposterous in the extreme.This time the boys are working in a circus,we first see them as a panto mine horse,then as Destructo's helpers in his cannonball act,unfortunately they manage to the blow the big top down and close the circus at the same time.With the circus in bankruptcy the owner has to pay off its employees with the circus's assets.Stan manages to inherit the flea circus while Ollie has obtained Ethel, a tutu wearing gorilla in a hat.From the offset Ethel is not to keen on Ollie but seems to have a crush on Stan,and pretty much does what ever Stan asks.The scene where Ollie tries to get Ethel into a crate he has been building for her,is priceless,especially the glances Ethel and Stan give each other,while Ollie looks on not knowing what to make of these new turn of events.While obviously Ethel is just a man in a suit ( the great ape impersonator Charles Gemora),they really do manage to get some great expressions and some nice gestures from Ethel,and this was a million years before Rick Baker and his long list of ape effects. There's plenty of funny little scenes in The Chimp,mainly when Ethel is chasing Ollie,even after Stan has coaxed Ethel into the crate,she (I call her she but Ethel does get referred to in the film a couple of times as a him?) manages to chase Ollie and get him in the crate instead. In the end the trio are chased away by a lion called MGM,who escapes the circus as well.The chimp has plenty of memorable moments,while being chased by MGM,Ollie manages to loose his trousers and end up wearing Ethel's tutu,or when Ethel climbs into the bed sitting room and snuggles up to Ollie in his bed,much to Ollie's annoyance. The Chimp is a really nice but silly film,there really is nothing dafter than having a man dressed as an ape chasing Oliver Hardy,then again there is nothing more dafter than having a man in ape suit dancing around the bedroom with Stan and Oliver and then managing to get hold of a gun.Ollie: Ethel! Come back to bed!