Zenobia (1939) stars Oliver Hardy and Harry Langdon. Stan Laurel's contract with producer Hal Roach had expired and Stan refused to renew the contract unless Roach agreed to increase Hardy's salary to the same figure as Stan's. Roach refused on the grounds that Hardy's box office lure was not as powerful as Stan's, and to prove his point he cast Oliver as the lead in Zenobia. The movie was not a success. In fact, it actually lost money when first exhibited, and in a desperate move to bolster its appeal, the title was changed to Elephants Never Forget. That didn't work either. The movie was lucky to find a niche at New York's newsreel theatre, The Globe, on May 14, 1939, where it actually lasted the whole week before being replaced by Columbia's Chester Morris "B", Blind Alley. (I wouldn't mind seeing that one. It was directed by Charles Vidor). Anyway, even with the best will in the world, Zenobia is a chore to sit through. Furthermore, it boasts Stepin Fetchit in its roll-up of support players. I'll admit that Mr. Fetchit is only half as obnoxious in some movies, but in this one, Stepin takes up a great deal of the footage with his full, nauseating zombie treatment, so that further reduces Zenobia to a one-joke story that – despite the clumsy efforts of Hardy and Langdon – was neither particularly funny to begin with nor amusingly developed,
Review of Zenobia
