Not only was this a dream come true for Hal Roach, but it ended up being what Stan Laurel would call one of his favorite Laurel and Hardy features. Stan would also later state that one of the reasons he loved this film so much is that it was a period piece. These type of films (mixing comedy with costumes and sets resembling the olden days) reminded Stan of his work in the English Pantomimes as a child. However at first Stan did have his worries that audiences might not accept them in these period films.
As the movie begins, we see the famous bandit Fra Diavolo (Dennis King) telling his followers about how he, disguised as Marquis de San Marco met with Lord Rocburg (James Finlayson) and Lady Pamela (Thelma Todd). During this ride he has convinced Lady Pamela to tell him where her jewels are hidden. While this is happening Stanlio and Ollio (Guess who?) are robbed by bandits. This is when Stanlio comes up with the brilliant idea that they should become bandits themselves (“Well, if we became rich and we robbed the poor and gave them to the bandits and... we could start at the top, and we'd get to the bottom without working hard anymore. We can't go wrong. It's the law of conversation.”). Naturally they prove to be completely inept at being bandits. They decide to impersonate Fra Diavolo by having Ollio sing the song the famous bandit always sings. Unfortunately, the next man they try to rob is Fra Diavolo. Ollio forgets the words and Fra Diavolo finishes it for them. The boys know they are in trouble. The bandit however makes a deal with them. They are to pose as his servants as he once again disguises as Marquis de San Marco to rob Lady Pamela. Of course, the boys don’t seem to be much help.
Some of the most delightful scenes in the movie revolve around Stanlio playing two games, “Kneesy-Earsy-Nosey” and "Finger Wiggle". The first game consists of Stanlio slapping his knees then brining his hands up and putting one hand on his nose and the other on his knee, then repeating this but switching hands. Ollio would try to repeat this but would constantly fail. The innkeeper (Henry Armetta) even gets involved in the fun as he stays up all night trying to do this. “Finger Wiggle” on the other hand (pun intended) involves Stanlio mashing his hands together and wiggling one finger on each hand. These games would end up being referenced in Babes in Toyland (1934). In that film Ollie says anything Stan can do he can do. Stan disagrees and plays both games to Ollie’s annoyance.
After criticism of the two previous Laurel and Hardy features called the films too episodic, Hal Roach wanted to make sure that this movie did justice its source material in that regard and so he had hired an experienced screenwriter, Jeanie Macpherson. Macpherson had begun her screenwriting career back in 1908 on the D.W. Griffith short, The Fatal Hour. She is best known by film buffs today for her work with Cecil B. DeMille during the silent era. For DeMille she would write such films as The Cheat (1915), Male and Female (1919), The Ten Commandments (1923) and The King of Kings (1927). As she was not a writer of the type of comedy Laurel and Hardy did, she did not write any comedy scenes. Instead, she wrote a straight screenplay, that Laurel and Hardy's usual team of writers would then build gags around.
The Film Daily, 1933
The Devil’s Brother would be directed by Charlie Rogers and Hal Roach. Rogers directed most of the comedic scenes while Roach directed most of the serious ones. It was very rare for Roach to direct a film at this time, but because of his love of the source material this was natural. Besides Laurel and Hardy this film also stared stage great Dennis King in his third film appearance (and last for elven years). Dennis King felt Laurel and Hardy were a joy to work with, but he also found it a bit difficult to get used to how much they improvised. Dennis King would later comment on Hal Roach, "I could see the way he talked to Stan Laurel in the screening room or to other actors on the set, this man had one of the quickest minds if anyone I'd ever seen under pressure. He was always right even when he wasn't, he reacted so far and with such assurance that no one would ever challenge him. It was one-two-three and on to the next thing with no hesitation. There was no time for it anyway; he was running this whole studio in addition to this particular set, and his schedule wouldn't allow for debate or mistakes. He was actually quite a charming guy, but you could see everyone recognized his authority. He really tried to stay out of everyone's way in the background, but he had this dominant personality and there was no question he was totally in charge of any area he wished to run and deserved to be in charge." When asked whether there was a lot of friction between Stan Laurel and Hal Roach, King responded, "No, insofar as I could see. Comedy is not an art I profess to know anything about. All I can tell you is that Laurel and Roach were always conferring, and Laurel wanted his opinion on a lot of things."
Music from the operetta was both sung as big musical numbers and used as background music during scenes of visual slapstick.
This movie ranks among Laurel and Hardy’s best. It has many funny moments. The casing couldn’t be better. The film looks great (despite some backgrounds that look very fake). Though this movie had a mixture of slapstick comedy and more serious scenes (both musical and romantic), the story and comedy never get in the way of each other, but instead complement the other. Also because of the source material this has some of the best musical numbers to ever appear in a Laurel and Hardy film. This movie was not only a box office success, but it also fared well with critics. In fact, this would become the boy’s biggest box office hit. Due to this the duo would appear in more comic operettas in the future.
Critic Mordant Hall wrote about this film in The New York Times, “Without being unkind to the apprehensive Stan Laurel or his companion, the ponderous Oliver Hardy; one is apt to conclude after witnessing this production that much less of their antics and more of Mr. King's fine baritone voice would have made this shadow version of an opera far more entertaining."
The following are three exhibitors’ reviews for this film written for the Motion Picture Herald (dated October 21, 1933).
“Devil’s Brother, The: Laurel and Hardy – Dennis King shares the limelight with his pleasing singing in this picture but that does not take anything away from the work of these two comedians. They are as good as ever and have some real good laugh producing gags in this one. Business better than average. Running time, 92 minutes. Played October 2-3. – W. M. A. Crute, Victoria Theater, Vancouver, B. C. Neighborhood patronage.”
“Devil’s Brother, The: Laurel and Hardy, Dennis King - This production brought more laughs from patrons than any picture this year. There were minutes at a time when nothing could be heard but the laughter of the audience. I have read criticisms in this column that there was too much singing. My patrons did not seem to think so. In my personal opinion the singing of King was equaling pleasing as the comedy antics of Laurel and Hardy. I was however, somewhat disappointed in the drawing power of this picture. Running time 92 minutes. Played October 3-4. – W.J. Powell, Lonet Theater, Wellington, Ohio. Small Town and Rural Patronage.”
“Devil’s Brother, The: Laurel and Hardy – I liked this picture very much, especially the singing of Dennis King. The real comedy was in Henry Armetta as the waiter trying to imitate Stan Laurel. All in all it was good and pleased almost 100 per cent. Played October 4-5. Emmerson Theater, Hartford Ark. Small town patronage.”
It may seem odd to many Laurel and Hardy fans that these reviews praise the musical numbers more than Laurel and Hardy themselves. Today many movie lovers fast forward through these music numbers to get to the Laurel and Hardy comedy. They find such songs as unneeded interruptions, and these musical numbers make films like The Devil Brother less popular than the duo's short films with some movie fans. This is all a matter of changing tastes. There are simply less people today who want to watch an operetta film, than those who want to watch a slapstick comedy. This does not mean there is anything wrong with these musical numbers. The songs are lovely and Dennis King’s voice is beautiful and I will admit to loving the musical numbers in this movie. The original cut however contained much more music and plot that didn't have Laurel and Hardy in it. This led the movie to being 27 minutes longer. Editor Bert Jordan later commented on this saying, "The original cut was good, but it was very long - very long. We had to cut a lot out of that one." This movie at 90 minutes is still longer than most of the Laurel and Hardy feature films.
Resources Used
https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/72983/the-devils-brother/#articles-reviews?articleId=78423
DVD Commentary by Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann.
Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skretvedt
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