Jump to content

Night Owls (1930 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 88.106.173.124 (talk) at 19:25, 19 November 2016 (Grammar correction.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Night Owls
File:Nightowlstitlecard.jpg
Directed byJames Parrott
Written byH.M. Walker
Produced byHal Roach
StarringStan Laurel
Oliver Hardy
Edgar Kennedy
James Finlayson
CinematographyGeorge Stevens
Edited byRichard C. Currier
Music byMarvin Hatley
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer DIC Entertainment (1990)
Release date
  • January 4, 1930 (1930-01-04)
Running time
20' 44" (English)
36' 06" (Spanish)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Night Owls is a 1930 American Pre-Code Laurel and Hardy short film. It was filmed in October and November 1929, and released January 4, 1930. The film was also made in two foreign-language versions: Ladrones in Spanish and Ladroni in Italian; and also as Ŝtelistoj in Esperanto, the constructed international language. The foreign versions retained not only the headliners, but Edgar Kennedy and James Finlayson as well.

Plot

Police officer Edgar Kennedy is warned by his Police chief to make arrests to stop a burglary epidemic on his patch or face the sack. Kennedy comes across vagrants Laurel and Hardy that night and persuades them to rob the chief's house to get in his boss's good books. The boys, believing it to be too dangerous, at first refuse. After Kennedy threatens them with ninety days in "the rockpile," and assures them he will get them released after they're caught, they agree to the ruse. Stan and Ollie encounter various problems but after various complications, the chief catches Kennedy with various valuables in his house, while the boys manage somehow to escape.

International versions

The film was also released in an alternate Spanish version, Ladrones, expanded to nearly four reels in length instead of the English two reels. The film was also released in an Italian version Ladroni, and in an Esperanto version Ŝtelistoj, which are both now lost. The English and Spanish versions are available on DVD.

Cast

Production

This was the first film to use their celebrated theme tune, "The 'Ku-Ku' Song", written by Marvin Hatley, though in the Film Classics reissue print, the original opening title music was replaced by a portion of the instrumental version of Marvin Hatley's "Honolulu Baby" from the Sons of the Desert soundtrack.

References