Series: Laurel and Hardy Director: Lewis R. Foster Producer: Hal Roach Dialogue: H.M. Walker Photography: Len Powers Editor: Richard C. Currier Sound: Elmer Raguse Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Released: 01 June 1929 Length: 2 reels Production No.: L-24 Filming dates: April 15-24, 1929 Rating: 5/10

Berth Marks

Available on BLU-RAY & DVD:

Stan is waiting at the railroad station for Ollie when the station master announces (in an undecypherable tone) that it is time to board the train which has just rolled in. Ollie arrives but despite his best efforts he cannot locate Stan. Frantically searching the station grounds Ollie has all but given up when the two bump into each other. As the train departs Stan drops his satchel containing the sheet music which accompanies the fiddle he has with him, leading the boys to scramble around trying to pick it up before finally boarding the in-motion train. Once onboard they encounter the conductor who asks to see their tickets. Conductor: "Pottsville? What are you fellas going to do in Pottsville?" Ollie: "We're a big time vaudeville act" Conductor (sarcastically): "Well I'll bet you're good!"

The conductor leads the boys off to find their berth but a struggle between Stan, Ollie and the fiddle accidentally tears down a curtain, exposing a young lady in her bed. Her scream scares the boys off as they continue to search for their bunk.  Stan then inadvertently walks into the wrong room where yet another young lady in bed screams. This time her man (CHARLIE HALL) reacts by coming out and ripping the jacket of the first man he sees (HARRY BERNARD), assuming he was the culprit. This one incident escalates into a mass-tearing of clothing throughout the entire train which only ends in the penultimate scene when nearly every passenger (and conductor) has been assaulted! Finally, the conductor leads Stan and Ollie to their berth, where Ollie tries to assist Stan in climbing up on top through a series of manoeuvres such as cupping his hands and getting Stan to spring up, and going down on all fours whilst Stan stands on his back for leverage. Once Stan is up (after cheekily taking off his coat whilst standing on Ollie's back) he tries to hoist up Hardy, but his weight is too much and they both end up back on the floor in a heap despite the brief offer of help from a passing porter with a small ladder. They do finally get up into their berth and begin the painfully slow process of undressing so that they can retire to bed for the night. Meanwhile, the porter returns to the carriage and pinches their shoes before returning to his cabin and throwing them out of the window as he sees the state they are in! Up in the berth, Ollie is crowding the area as he tries to pull of his pants and shoving Stan into the side of the wall. Stan is himself getting into difficulty as he ends up with clothing on his head and being pretty badly bullied by Ollie's short temper it has to be observed. This goes on for several minutes before they eventually settle. Just as they do the call goes out from the conductor that Pottsville is approaching and no sooner do the boys get comfortable they have to get dressed again to get off the train. The conductor goes to instruct the passengers in the carriage of the next stop and is met with a multitude of torn clothing and fighting among them, barely emerging on the other side as he gets through the crowd. Out on the platform of Pottsville and still undressed, Ollie enquires to the whereabouts of the missing fiddle. Stan says he must have left it on the train. Unamused Ollie rolls up his sleeves as a sign he intends to punish Stan, who has fled down the track on foot.  A well-aimed rock is hurled by Ollie and knocks Stan's hat off. Stan motions a retaliation but Ollie takes chase as Stan flees into the distance.

Favourite bit It's very brief, blink and you'll miss it but as the boys are clearly struggling to get undressed in the crowded berth Stan grabs Ollie's trousers and throws them at him rather hard. Ollie reacts quickly by grabbing the trousers and slapping Stan across the face with them. After all that poor Stan has had to endure throughout this ordeal I don't blame him for being just a little snappy!

Trivia • Copyrighted December 9, 1929. • Also released as a silent film. • Reissued in 1936 with new soundtrack music. • This was the second Laurel and Hardy sound short released. • The long second-reel where Stan and Ollie undress and prepare themselves for bed in the upper berth of the train was re-worked into a later film, The Big Noise. • Much of the dialogue was improvised on the spot. • Some sources claim Paulette Goddard appears in the film as a train passenger. It seems, however that nobody has been able to successfully identify her. • As the train leaves the station and Stan is running to catch up listen carefully and you can hear somebody yell "Bye Ollie". The scene was shot in the public station of Santa Fe, California with a large gathering of people who were amused by their antics. Unfortunately the microphones picked up the sounds of those (some of the children present can also be heard on the soundtrack) who had gathered to watch the filming. • The berth in which the boys undress is in carriage number 754. • The b&w print of the film features a long-shot of Pat Harmon at the beginning stating the journey of the train. When he appears to say 'New York City' it is followed by 'All aboard' (Ollie then asks if the train goes to Pottsville"). In the colourized print of the film it cuts to a close-up shot of Harmon as he says 'All aboard'. My opinion • All things considered it's probably the least funniest of all the boys' sound shorts. Slow and desperate, it fails to make an impression.

	Stan Laurel Stan
	Oliver Hardy Ollie
	Charlie Hall Train passenger
	Harry Bernard Train passenger
	Baldwin Cooke Train passenger
	Silas D. Wilcox Train conductor
	Pat Harmon Station Master
	Sammy Brooks Train passenger
	Eleanor Fredericks Train passenger
	Jack O'Brien Man who trips over Stan's satchel
	Hayes Robertson Train porter
	Grace Woods Train passenger
	Pete Gordon Train passenger
	UNIDENTIFIED Santa Fe conductor
	UNIDENTIFIED Passenger with crumpled straw hat
	UNIDENTIFIED Charlie Hall's wife
	UNIDENTIFIED Sleeping passenger in upper berth
	UNIDENTIFIED Fighting passenger #1
	UNIDENTIFIED Fighting passenger #1

CREDITS (click image to enlarge)

POSTER (click any image to enlarge)

STILLS (click any image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: Laurel And Hardy: The Magic Behind The Movies by Randy Skretvedt (book) Richard W. Bann (identification of Eleanor Fredericks) Randy Skretvedt (identification of Jack O'Brien) Jesse Brisson (identification of Grace Woods, Pete Gordon) John Field (stills) This page was last updated on: 03 June 2023