Series: Laurel and Hardy Director: Lewis Foster Producer: Hal Roach Dialogue: H.M. Walker Photography: George Stevens Editor: Richard C. Currier Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Anne Cornwall Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Released: 29 June 1929 Length: 2 reels Production No.: L-25 Filming dates: May 7-15, 1929 Rating: 6/10

Men O' War

Available on DVD:

Two young ladies together in the park are suddenly inconvenienced when one of them loses a pair of gloves. Stan and Ollie, dressed in sailors uniforms, discover an item of women's underwear lying on the floor next to where the girls were standing. Suspecting the underwear must belong to one of the women, Ollie decides to flirt with the girls by teasing them over the garment he has found. A distracted cyclist ditches himself into the lake after making fun of Ollie holding the clothing. Fortunately, a passing police officer approaches the girls and reunites them with their gloves. Realising that the underwear does not belong to the girls, Stan throws it into a bush before the four head off to get some sodas. They arrive at the Fountain, a soda shop run by JAMES FINLAYSON. A quick shuffle through his pockets reveals Stan to have only fifteen cents on him, which is not enough money to buy sodas for all four people. So Ollie comes up with a simple-but-selfish solution: when asked, Stan must refuse! The boys go inside and Ollie suggests that he and the two girls each have a soda. He asks Stan what he wants and Stan has already forgotten the plan and asks for a soda. Having not quite grasped the situation, Ollie once again reminds Stan about their limited money and tells him to refuse his drink (even though Stan is paying for everything!) The boys go back inside the shop where the soda jerk is growing impatient that his customers are unable to submit their order without arguments. Finally Stan refuses a drink but the girls talk him into it, so Stan orders a banana split! A pushing match breaks out between Ollie and Stan. The sodas are ordered (finally) and Ollie offers to split his with Stan and tells him to drink his half first. Stan hands back an empty glass and explains that his half was at the bottom. Ollie is mad and orders the check and when he sees the bill is 30 cents he leaves Stan to pay the bill. Stan realises he doesn't have enough money and so decides to gamble what he has in a slot machine. He wins the jackpot (really wish it was that easy!) It's a lucky break for Stan.

The second half of the film begins with the boys renting a boat from Finlayson with Stan's winnings. Ollie seats himself between the two ladies and Stan is ordered to row. His first swing of the oar takes Fin's legs away on the dock. His skills don't improve either as he continues to sail around in circles until Ollie takes charge of the situation. After a minute or so of rowing in circles the boys see they are not getting anywhere fast and Ollie is no better at rowing than Stan is. Ollie tells Stan to move his position and in doing so gets an accidental oar to his head. Ollie threatens to knock Stan's head off (a somewhat exaggerated over-reaction don't you think?) Meanwhile a confused Fin stands on the dock and does some equally exaggerated double-takes over the boys' antics. Stan continues to be clumsy with his oars and he and Ollie enter a slapping contest with one another, which develops into a hat fight, which develops into an oar fight. An equally clumsy boater (CHARLIE HALL) sails backwards into the boys' canoe, knocking Stan and Ollie over. He even has the audacity to accuse them of bumping into his boat?! The three men then get into a heated exchange which ultimately leaves Charlie in the lake. The war has begun. Charlie gets out of the water and into the boys' boat and continues to fight with Ollie. Ollie swings his cushion so hard that it flies across the lake and smacks another boater in the face, causing him and his wife to fall into the water as well. This chain of events causes another boat to capsize, emptying another couple into the water. Seemingly unaware of the carnage they are causing elsewhere, Charlie, Ollie and Stan continue their fight in the boys' boat as the ladies watch on. Other former boaters - now swimmers - make their way to the boys' boat and all get in. Now the ladies are starting to get involved as four more join in from their capsized boats. Finlayson grabs the passing cop to make him aware of the escalating situation but they also end up in the water and make their way to the boat. The cop manages to get on but the boat finally sinks when Finlayson pulls it down. The fight is still going on to this day....

Favourite bit The long scene on the lake with everybody fighting is good enough to qualify as it slowly gets out of hand, but my favourite part is the moment when Stan decides that cushion-slapping should be taken to the next level. He casually walks up to Charlie Hall in the other boat and just pushes him in the face backwards into the water. Let the games begin!

Trivia • Copyrighted July 29, 1929. • The scenes in the park were shot at Hollenbeck Park near downtown Los Angeles, California, between May 11-18, 1929. • The scene involving the sodas and not having enough money to pay for them when Stan and Ollie try to entertain two young ladies on a day out is a re-working of the same scene they used the year before in the silent Should Married Men Go Home? • Recent aerial photos of the park reveal the bridge seen at the beginning of the film is no longer there. • When Ollie picks up the underwear on the path, the sound of somebody playing a ukulele can be heard in the background. In point of fact, the ukulele can be heard previous to that - in all of the long shots. On the close-ups it disappears. It does, however, get louder for some reason when Ollie picks up the underwear. • The bridge seen crossing the boating lake at the beginning of the film looks quite steep, doesn't it? We don't actually see Stan and Ollie walk across it - they appear from the left of the screen walking towards the two ladies but at no point are they seen on the bridge. • As Pete Gordon cycles into the lake without looking listen to the very end of the scene before it cuts away to the girls and you can hear somebody giggle. This appears to be close to the camera and microphone and sounds like it wasn't meant to happen, but rather a genuine laugh from one of the film crew. That's my opinion at least! • Anne Cornwall describes her lost item as being "white, very odd and with a button on the side". • The sign in the window of the soda shop reads "cigars & cigarettes". There are also 5 stools at the counter. • When the group arrive at the soda shop, James Finlayson removes his hat to greet them. • Stan's first line of dialogue comes after 6 minutes when he answers Ollie's enquiry as to how he has only got 15 cents. Stan replies, "I lost the rest". • When the boys are outside the soda shop Ollie says to Stan he must refuse the offer of a drink, there is a guy sitting behind them at a table. I think this could be Baldwin Cooke. He shows up later as one of the boaters. • The order of drinks are: Cherry (Greer), Chocolate (Cornwall), Sassafrass (Hardy). • Charlie Hall is in boat number 45; Baldwin Cooke and Betty Caldwell are in boat number 57. • I have always felt as though the events in the film take place on a Sunday afternoon, though this is not specified in the script. Does anybody else ever think this? • As the boats on the lake start to get into trouble there are a number of people on the banks observing the action in the background. • The final tally of passengers on the boat at the end is 14 (Finlayson doesn't make it on, but had he done so he would have made 15). • As the group proceed to board the boat they are loaded up with boxes (cigars & chocolates maybe) and flowers for the girls? It is likely these are a result of Stan's slot machine winnings. • At 18:41 look at the two girls standing on the right-side of the canoe. The woman with the dark hat reaches out her right hand and places it on the right breast of the woman next to her, either to steady herself or to stop the other woman falling forwards. It seems as soon as she touches her the woman quickly realises it was her breast and pulls her hand away immediately. Screenshot here. My opinion • Slightly above average nonsense with an enormously overlong middle section. James Finlayson entering the lake was quite funny, when he slips on the canoe.

	Stan Laurel Stan
	Oliver Hardy Ollie
	James Finlayson Soda jerk
	Anne Cornwall Girl who loses gloves
	Gloria Greer Girl
	Harry Bernard Policeman
	Charlie Hall Boater in Boat 45
	Baldwin Cooke Boater in Boat 57
	Betty Caldwell Boater in Boat 57
	Pete Gordon Bicyclist
	Clara Guiol Woman seated outside soda shop
	Jack O'Brien Boater
	Betty Danko Boater
	Rolfe Sedan [*image is from a still]

CREDITS (click image to enlarge)

POSTERS (click any image to enlarge)

FILM CLASSICS & BLACKHAWK TITLE CARDS (click any image to enlarge)

STILLS (click any image to enlarge)

The following three images are courtesy of Rob Lewis (The Laurel & Hardy Magazine) and have been used with permission. Can I ask that these images in particular not be redistributed in any way without his consent. Thank you.

SHOT ON LOCATION: HOLLENBECK PARK (click any image to enlarge)

DVD END CREDITS (click image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: Laurel And Hardy: The Magic Behind The Movies by Randy Skretvedt (book) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6v1ezrlF-ck/UC_Fwj9egyI/AAAAAAAALQY/LmcFH76wv2s/s1600/aaaalaurel4.jpg (still) Richard Finegan (stills) Brad Filippone (observations) Rob Lewis (3 captioned stills) Jesse Brisson (identification of Clara Guiol, Jack O'Brien, Betty Danko, Rolfe Sedan, Betty Caldwell) This page was last updated on: 29 June 2026