Our Wife (1931) starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Ben Turpin
Our Wife is a classic Laurel and Hardy short film. Oliver Hardy is trying to marry, despite Stan Laurel’s help …. Can they elope?
Our Wife begins with the cheerfully chubby Oliver Hardy preparing to marry his equally overweight fiancée, Dulcy. Best man Stan Laurel is there, trying to get everything ready for a perfect wedding. Oliver uses a throat spray bottle as he practices saying, “I do”.
The same bottle that Stan later fills with insect repellent to kill the bugs on the top of the wedding cake, unknown to Ollie – who later uses it again! “Do something to help me!” Ollie demands, as the pair scramble into the kitchen for some water – a hilarious scene in itself, as Stan demonstrates his mastery of physical comedy by running into the wall instead of through the door.
Oliver Hardy is no slouch in that department either as he trips on a block of ice from the icebox (this is before refrigeration, back in the “good old days” when people kept their food cold with large blocks of ice), lands onto the table destroying the cake and, in an unexpected moment, destroys the entire room as well; this is a laugh-out-loud moment that my children enjoyed as they watched the film with me.
Trouble in paradise for the young lovers
There’s trouble in paradise, however, when Dulcy’s father (played by Laurel and Hardy regular James Finlayson) discovers that she’s planning on marrying Oliver Hardy. He absolutely refuses, and locks Dulcy in her room “until you come to your senses!” Dulcy phones Oliver, and they decide to elope; Ollie entrusts Stanley with the task of renting a limousine. A mistake that will haunt him later in the picture.
Later, Stan meets Ollie at Dulcy’s house, where Ollie borrows a ladder from the garage to climb up to Dulcy’s window. However, the ladder is on Stan’s foot, and he pulls it free – knocking over the ladder and sending Ollie through a window. Adding insult to injury, Stan goes to the front door and rings the bell, asking for Oliver Hardy who’s there to elope with Dulcy. The cat’s out of the bag, but clever Dulcy sneaks out when her father comes into her room. She sneaks out and locks the door behind him.
Justice of the Peace – Ben Turpin
Oliver, Dulcy and Stan repair to the limousine that Stan has rented – and what a limousine! It can only be described as a clown car. Watching the corpulent Dulcy and Ollie get in is very funny, followed by Stan (and Dulcy’s trunks). Thankfully, the scene is short enough to not wear out the joke. And they make their way to the justice of the peace. After Stan has a slight run-in with the justice’s wife (see the funny movie quotes below), the cross-eyed preacher (played by the famous Ben Turpin) weds them. They leave in the overloaded clown car – which “pops a wheelie” and sends Stan’s head crashing through the roof as they drive away.
Our Wife is a very funny Laurel and Hardy film that had me laughing almost the entire time. I recommend it highly and rate it 4 clowns out of 5.
Funny movie quotes from Our Wife, starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Ben Turpin
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): Goodbye, Ducky Lover.
Dulcy: Goodbye, Dimple Dumpling.
Mrs. Gladding: What do you want?
Stan Laurel: What do we want?
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): We wanna get married.
Stan Laurel: Oh yeah, we wanna get married.
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): Not we, us!
Stan Laurel: Not we. Us.
Mrs. Gladding: Well, how about it?
Stan Laurel: How about it?
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): How about what?
Stan Laurel: How about what?
Mrs. Gladding: What are you talking about?
Stan Laurel: What are you talking about?
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): Tell her we want to get married!
Stan Laurel: We want to get married.
Mrs. Gladding: Hey! There’s a couple out here that wants to get married, Pa!
William Gladding, Justice of the Peace (Ben Turpin): Okay, I’ll be right up!
Mrs. Gladding: He’ll be right up.
Stan Laurel: Who?
Mrs. Gladding: The … Who!
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): Well how about it?
Stan Laurel: How about what?
Ollie (Oliver Hardy): What did she say?
Stan Laurel: Who?
Cast of characters in Our Wife
- Stan Laurel (Pack Up Your Troubles) … Stan
- Oliver Hardy (Angora Love) … Ollie
- James Finlayson (Block-Heads) … Father of the Bride
- Babe London (A Day’s Pleasure) … Dulcy – the Bride (uncredited)
- Blanche Payson (Helpmates) … Mrs. William Gladding (uncredited)
- Charley Rogers (Habeas Corpus) … Finlayson’s Butler (uncredited)
- Ben Turpin (The Champion) … William Gladding – Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Updated September 12, 2022