Watch Swiss Miss For Free

Memorable, crazy movie

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I watched "The Bohemian Girl" some months ago after having recorded it (together with this offering) from a TV channel which specialises in showing old black and white films and which was showing a season of Laurel and Hardy films (shorts and feature length). I was left so dismayed and downhearted at the sheer awfulness of "The Bohemian Girl" that I could not facing watching this (also the object of many adverse reviews) immediately afterwards, fearing what it would do to my standing as a fervent admirer of Laurel and Hardy for the best part of fifty years! I finally summoned up the courage to do this, however, and, most regrettably, found this to be almost as dire as "TBG"! First of all (just as with "The Girl"), there are the absolutely ghastly, atrocious and instantly forgettable third-rate songs performed by fourth-rate singers with which the film is FAR too interspersed. As soon as each song begins, you just want it to end and be over with as soon as possible so that the people who form the only possible reason for you wanting to watch this junk can appear. Equally as regrettably, however, even the appearances by the Boys are well below par and almost all of their scenes were lacking in invention, pace, new gags and even basic humour, I found. From the very first scene with them in and their drilling holes in the floor of the "cheese shop" right through to the very final scenes of "the Gypsy songs and dances" (dire, dire, dire), I just failed to find them funny and most of the gags (object falling at irregular intervals on Ollie's head, the pokes in the eye, the double-takes etc etc. were all just stale and lacking in humour. The low point of all (among many) was when they wee carrying the piano over a chasm and the "monkey" appears - just totally cringe-worthy. The ONLY scene I enjoyed was when Stan was trying to get brandy off the St Bernard -and not because of Stan, but because of the great training the DOG had obviously undergone! An experience to be forgotten as quickly as possible and for which the only antidote is a double viewing of "Sons of the Desert"!

I think this picture gets bashed undeservedly. By 1938 Hal Roach was branching out into other movie genres, and he liked adding music to comedy and comedy to adventure. Laurel and Hardy had been successful in "The Devil's Brother" and "Babes in Toyland", and this film was not a stretch from those. He added good sets, a better than usual supporting cast, and popular music to this picture. Stan, for his part, created gags that were unusual for the team, such as the St. Bernard scene, the piano-bridge scene, and the organ scene. Both men were in the 40's; Stan had been ill and Oliver was really adding weight, and they were less than believable doing banana peel slide routines any more. They all tried mightily to produce a pleasant hybrid movie, but because it wasn't traditional L&H picture they got resentment instead. The light was visible at the end of the tunnel for Stan and Ollie by this time, and they attempted a direction change they hoped would retain their place as major stars.

Stan and Ollie turn up in Switzerland, of all places. Stan thinks that they will be able to sell mouse traps to the Swiss because there are more mice there than anywhere else in the world. The owner of a cheese factory offers to buy their stock, but pays with counterfeit money. Thinking they are rich, Stan and Ollie celebrate with a slap-up meal at a local hotel. Then comes the crunch - they are unable to pay the bill.The hotel owner sets them to work as dishwashers. In no time at all, most of the crockery is broken.Also at the hotel is an American composer, trying to write a new musical. His wife shows up and, in an effort to make her husband notice her, pretends to flirt with Ollie...One of the weaker Laurel and Hardy features, this still manages to be a lot of fun. Stan and Ollie have some great scenes together, such as their drilling holes in the cheese factory's wooden floor, playing a tune by popping soap bubbles coming out of an organ, and Ollie serenading the Della Lind character.Switzerland as depicted here is peopled by blonde girls in pigtails, and yodelling men in leather shorts with feathers stuck in their hats, but who cares? 'Bonnie Scotland' was hardly an accurate depiction of that country either.Funniest moment - a close run between Stan's attempts to get a barrel of brandy from a St.Bernard's neck, or his and Ollie moving a piano across a rope bridge, where they encounter a gorilla ( don't ask ).Did I hear someone say dated? Well, Stan and Ollie never needed to swear or fart to get laughs, did they, unlike today's 'comics'.Altogether, a pleasant viewing experience.

Inane "plot" involving the inept duo as mousetrap salesmen in Switzerland; the studio apparently decided the film needed some romantic interest, but if you ignore that (as you should) there is some classic gags. The one with the gorilla and the piano, and Stan and the St Bernard are personal favourites!