Wrong Again (1929), starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy
Synopsis of Wrong Again
In Wrong Again, the boys mistake a horse named Blue Boy for the painting named Blue Boy. And try to return the stolen Blue Boy for the reward …
Review of Wrong Again
Wrong Again begins by setting the stage. The owner of the Piping Rock Riding Academy can be “heard” (it’s a silent film) talking to one of him employees. He plans to make a gift of one of his horses, Blue Boy, to his daughter for a birthday present. Then hay comes flying through the air, hitting them both, as a sheepish Oliver Hardy (the culprit) comes out to clean up the mess.
Oliver struggles to put the horse into the stall that he just came out of … and eventually Stan Laurel makes his way out. There’s some very funny slapstick comedy as Stan and Ollie try — and fail — to fill a bucket with water. And then they overhear two men reading from a newspaper about the famous “Blue Boy” having been stolen. And there’s a $5,000 reward!
Returning Blue Boy
Blue Boy is a very famous painting, but the boys don’t know that. The police apprehend the thieves and recover the painting. They call the owner to inform them, and he’s expecting Blue Boy to be returned. So when Oliver arrives with the horse Blue Boy, he’s told to bring it into the house. Oliver’s puzzled, but “it’s his house — ‘an his horse” and so they bring the horse inside.
Oliver, in a funny scene, accidentally breaks a life-size statue into three pieces, and tries to put it back. In the meanwhile, Stan ties the horse … to a lid. And they wait, talking about how millionaires don’t think like ordinary people. “Even now he’s taking a bath. ‘An it’s only Monday.” And then the millionaire asks them to put it on top of the piano …
And in conclusion …
Once there, the horse initiates a hat fight between Stan and Ollie. And then the piano leg breaks … It’s a very funny bit! Then the millionaire’s wife appear with the police, and the painting. And the boys sheepishly leave with the horse. Then the millionaire chases with a shotgun. And the two police officers add to the comic ending.
Editorial review of Wrong Again courtesy of Amazon.com
Among the horses that stable hands Stanley and Oliver are tending is a thoroughbred named “Blue Boy.” But when they overhear two men talking about a $5000 reward for the return of the stolen “Blue Boy,” they miss the part about it being the painting, not the horse. They get the owner’s address, though, and bring the horse along to claim the reward. They wonder at the rich man’s instructions to put “Blue Boy” on the piano but, Oliver explains, “these millionaires are peculiar.”