Those of you who watched the fantastic biopic Stan & Ollie may have heard about "the elephant movie" that Oliver Hardy made without his comic partner. Now that I've seen this obscure movie, I can't believe anyone's preserved it, but for the only reason of watching "the elephant movie." It's so unbelievably secure in its racism, it's sickening.
Stepin Fetchit, an actor who famously turned "the system" on its ear by playing horrifyingly characters in movies but becoming a millionaire in real life, puts his act on incredibly thick in this movie. It's quite painful to watch. Hattie McDaniel also plays a "pseudo slave" in this 1870s period piece, but as she bustles around in the kitchen, at least she doesn't have to humiliate herself like he does. And while their son, Philip Hurlic, has a long conversation with Oliver Hardy about racism-during which Ollie basically praises the separate but equal philosophy-it's heartbreaking when he asks, "Will I ever grow up to be white?" because he can't go to a fancy party that the rest of the house is attending. Philip has the last laugh, though: he recites the entire Declaration of Independence in front of the entire town.
But what's the plot of Zenobia? Ollie plays a country doctor, married to the ridiculous Billie Burke, and their daughter Jean Parker wants to marry the wealthy Alice Brady's son, James Ellison. For no other reason than to bring an elephant into the story, a traveling circus has an ailing elephant and calls on the doctor for help. Harry Langdon, the elephant's handler, was obviously the Stan Laurel substitute, but even with the comic team together, this movie would be far too silly to be enjoyable. Unless you really want to see "the elephant movie", you can skip this one.
Stepin Fetchit, an actor who famously turned "the system" on its ear by playing horrifyingly characters in movies but becoming a millionaire in real life, puts his act on incredibly thick in this movie. It's quite painful to watch. Hattie McDaniel also plays a "pseudo slave" in this 1870s period piece, but as she bustles around in the kitchen, at least she doesn't have to humiliate herself like he does. And while their son, Philip Hurlic, has a long conversation with Oliver Hardy about racism-during which Ollie basically praises the separate but equal philosophy-it's heartbreaking when he asks, "Will I ever grow up to be white?" because he can't go to a fancy party that the rest of the house is attending. Philip has the last laugh, though: he recites the entire Declaration of Independence in front of the entire town.
But what's the plot of Zenobia? Ollie plays a country doctor, married to the ridiculous Billie Burke, and their daughter Jean Parker wants to marry the wealthy Alice Brady's son, James Ellison. For no other reason than to bring an elephant into the story, a traveling circus has an ailing elephant and calls on the doctor for help. Harry Langdon, the elephant's handler, was obviously the Stan Laurel substitute, but even with the comic team together, this movie would be far too silly to be enjoyable. Unless you really want to see "the elephant movie", you can skip this one.