Zenobia, the fairground elephant
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Zenobia, the fairground elephant |
| Original title | Zenobia |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1939 |
| length | 70 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Gordon Douglas |
| script | Corey Ford |
| production | A. Edward Sutherland |
| music | Marvin Hatley |
| camera | Karl Struss , Norbert Brodine |
| cut | Bert Jordan |
| occupation | |
| |
Zenobia, the fairground elephant (Original title: Zenobia ) is an American comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas from 1939. The main roles were played by Oliver Hardy and Harry Langdon . The script of the film is based on the story Zenobia's Infidelity (Eng .: “Zenobia's Infidelity”) by HC Bunner .
action
The rich widow Mrs. Carter lives with her son Jeff in a small town on the Mississippi . When her son announces that he wants to marry Mary Tibbett, the poor country doctor's daughter, she objects. Dr. Tibbett, who believes in the equality of all people, has little sympathy for the snobbish and hypochondriac widow.
The doctor is asked for help by the circus operator Professor McCrackle. The female elephant Zenobia is ill. Dr. Tibbett can heal the animal, which now, out of gratitude, wants to follow him every step of the way. Mrs. Carter sees a way to expose the doctor and causes McCrackle to sue the doctor. The plan fails, however, when Jeff accuses his mother of her selfishness at the trial. Mrs. Carter finally agrees to her son's wedding to Mary. Zenobia returns to the circus and gives birth to a baby elephant.
background
The film premiered in the United States on April 21, 1939. In Germany it appeared on June 11, 1967 in a TV premiere on the ZDF station .
It was initially intended as a film for the comedian duo Laurel and Hardy . However, Stan Laurel got into an argument with studio boss Hal Roach and left the studio for two years. Now Roach wanted to establish Hardy and Langdon as a comedian duo. But Hardy and Laurel soon returned to the screen as a duo.
Since the merger as a duo, with a few exceptions in cameo appearances, this was the first of two films that Oliver Hardy made without his partner Stan Laurel. Ten years later, Hardy starred alongside John Wayne in the adventure western At the Last Second (1949) as the trapper Willie Payne.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films described the film as “fun entertainment for the whole family with thoughtful nuances”. For Variety , the film was a tight comedy, in which Hardy got by with a minimum of slapstick antics and stunts.
Web links
- Zenobia, the fair Elephant in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zenobia, the fairground elephant. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 27, 2019 .
- ↑ See Zenobia . In: Variety , 1939.