Cinema Revisited: The Bullfighters (1945)

Directed by Mal St. Clair. Cast: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Richard Lane, Ralph Sanford, Diosa Costello, Carol Andrews, Edward Gargan, Irving Gump, Hank Worden, Rory Calhoun, Margo Woode. Released May 7, 1945. Running time: 61 minutes.

When Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy left their longtime home studio, Hal Roach Productions, in 1940, the industry was changing. The slapstick comedy throwback to silent movies that had sustained the 1930s was being overaken by the fast-talking rat-a-tat comedy of Bob Hope and Abbott and Costello. This is not Laurel and Hardy's style at all, but when they went to 20th Century Fox to make films, beginning in 1941, they had to adapt somewhat to the new comedy. Many fans believe that, as a result, their films at Fox from 1941-1945 are misfires, because they don't follow the same pattern that had sustained them since the silent era. This is based on the claims of books written over 50 years ago, and is generally inaccurate. The films from this period are certainly different in their comic approach, but they are not as bad as their reputations might have one believe. The skill of Laurel and Hardy always can overcome weaker material.

In 1945, the war was over, and cinema was changing again. The rat-a-tat style was no longer sustaining Abbott and Costello so they began experimenting (working as co-stars rather than as a team, etc), finally landing in paydirt when Universal studios decided to pair them with their dormant monster franchise with "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948), which is probably their best movie. Laurel and Hardy were still working in Fox's B unit, which was shutting down. Thus, little attention was given by the brass to the duo's 1945 film "The Bullfighters." As a result, the boys had more creative freedom, and so "The Bullfighters" is probably their best film of the 1940s.

In this one, Stan and Ollie are private detectives who go to Mexico in order to capture an elusive female criminal. The don't realize that Mexico is where Richard K. Muldoon fled years earlier. Stan and Ollie had testified to put Muldoon behind bars eight years earlier, but the guilty man later confessed and Muldoon was released. Because he spent 5 years in prison and lost his business and family as a result he vows revenge against Stan and Ollie. Stan turns out to be the exact lookalike of a Spanish matador who is set to appear in Mexico. When the bullfighter's plane is delayed, his agent blackmails Stan into taking his place for appearances, etc, threatening to reveal their whereabouts to Muldoon if they don't cooperate. Of course the matador arrives just as Stan is attempting to actually fight the bull in the bullring. Muldoon figures everything out as well.

There are good and bad points to "The Bullfighters." Although it is a B film, the previous Laurel and Hardy features had made good money for the studio, so they were willing to expand the budget and film on location in Mexico, where the duo was extremely popular. They couldn't get clearance, so filming was on the studio backlot, with clips from actual bullfights, and the movie "Blood and Sand" were cut in for an attempt at authenticity. This causes the conclusion to look slipshod and clumsy. However, the creative freedom Laurel and Hardy enjoyed made "The Bullfighters" look authentic in another way. Stan Laurel himself directed a couple of classic slapstick sequences, one involving a lobby fountain, the other an egg breaking routine like the one they had done in an earlier movie, "Hollywood Party" (1934). Not only are these bits the funniest thing in the movie, they are the funniest thing the duo had done in years.

"The Bullfighters" was very well received and Fox was so pleased, they were willing to keep their B unit open just to produce Laurel and Hardy movies. However, by this time, Laurel and Hardy were up in their 50s, had been making films together for nearly 20 years, and were getting a bit tired. Also, they were concerned that the creative freedom they enjoyed for "The Bullfighters" wouldn't continue in the same manner, as they didn't enjoy as much input in many of their other Fox films.

As it stands, on its own merit, "The Bullfighters" is a very funny movie until the concluding scenes where stock footage disrupts the otherwise breezy flow of the film's structure. It does end on one of Stan's "creepy" gag endings. Muldoon spends the film stating he plans to skin the boys alive if he ever catches up with them. So, the final shot has Laurel and Hardy's heads mounted on skeletons, with Ollie turning to Stan and stating, "well here's another nice mess you've gotten me into."

Spending 61 minutes enjoying this simple, amusing comedy is certainly worthwhile.