Friends and family, turkey and all the fixings, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, football, and Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in March of the Wooden Soldiers. No Thanksgiving is complete without “Stannie Dum” and “Ollie Dee.”
Celebrating 90 years, the original title of the fantasy comical musical March of the Wooden Soldiers was Babes in Toyland, which opened in theaters on November 30, 1934. Based on Victor Herbert’s 1903 operetta of that name and directed by the legendary Hal Roach (Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang, Charlie Chase, Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts/Patsy Kelly), Stannie Dum (Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Hardy) inhabit a shoe residence alongside Mother Peep (Florence Roberts), Bo Peep (Charlotte Henry), and a diverse array of denizens in Toyland. All is good until we meet the evil Silas Barnaby (Henry Brandon), who harbors intentions to wed Bo Peep and seize control of their shoe abode. Opposing Barnaby, Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum mislead his attempts to marry Bo Peep. Enraged, Barnaby’s Bogeymen are set on Toyland.
Fun factoid: The original plot of the operetta Babes in Toyland was about two children who flee from their wicked Uncle Barnaby and journey to Toyland. And, guess what? Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were not supposed to be part of this.
The background: RKO Pictures originally purchased the rights in 1930 with the plans for actress Bebe Daniels (later Irene Dunne) to star in the musical along with the comedy team of Bert Wheeler and Wheeler Woolsey. When the plans were dropped, the idea to film the musical as an animated feature to be shot in Technicolor by Walt Disney surfaced. That never happened, of course, and Hal Roach acquired the film rights to the project in November 1933. Then it morphed into a vehicle for the studios’ biggest stars, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
March of the Wooden Soldiers was completed in November 1934. The village of Toyland was built on sound stages at Hal Roach Studios with the buildings painted in vivid storybook colors, leading Stan Laurel to regret that the film wasn’t shot in Technicolor. It was, however, later colorized.
When it was originally released in theaters, it was not profitable initially. But once it was re-released years later, the title of Babes in Toyland was changed to March of the Wooden Soldiers primarily because distributors could not secure the rights to the original title from the Victor Herbert estate, so they used March of the Wooden Soldiers from the movie’s score.
“March of the Wooden Soldiers was my gateway drug to Laurel and Hardy. I can’t think of a better way to introduce someone to their work. This is their best film,” wrote one TV critic.
Today, nine decades later, no Thanksgiving is complete without March of the Wooden Soldiers. Enjoy this Laurel and Hardy classic. And a Happy Thanksgiving to all!
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