Swiss Miss
(1938)
72-73 mins | Musical comedy | 20 May 1938
Cast:
Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Della Lind [ More ]Director:
John G. BlystoneWriters:
James Parrott, Felix Adler, Charles MelsonCinematographers:
Art Lloyd, Norbert BrodineEditor:
Bert JordanProduction Designer:
Charles D. HallProduction Companies:
Hal Roach Studios, Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.The working title of this film was Swiss Cheese. According to a HR news item and company records located at the USC Cinema-Television Library, Charles Igor Gorin, Inez Gorman, Helen Gleason, Ray Middleton and Illeana (who married Stan Laurel shortly after production began) were tested for "vocalist parts," but they do not appear in the completed picture. According to modern sources, actress Della Lind was given the choice of Middleton or Walter Woolf King as her co-star and she chose King. Lind, who was borrowed from M-G-M, made her American film debut in this picture. A FD news item noted that producer Hal Roach was negotiating for Lyda Roberti to join the cast, and that Patsy Kelly had been signed. Although neither of them appear in the completed picture, the participation of Greta Meyer, who was included in the cast by a HR news item, has not been confirmed. Actor Charles Gemora's surname is spelled Gamore in the onscreen credits. According to HR news items and company records, Roach filled in for director John Blystone while he was ill, and associate producer S. S. Van Keuren directed the additional scenes shot in Apr 1938. Modern sources assert that while Roach did contribute to the script, very little, if any, of the footage he directed was included in the completed picture. Company records also reveal the portions of the film were shot on location at Lake Arrowhead and Stone Canyon, CA. Dancer Mike Aransky is listed in the company records, but it is possible that this is a misspelling of dancer Michael ...
The working title of this film was Swiss Cheese. According to a HR news item and company records located at the USC Cinema-Television Library, Charles Igor Gorin, Inez Gorman, Helen Gleason, Ray Middleton and Illeana (who married Stan Laurel shortly after production began) were tested for "vocalist parts," but they do not appear in the completed picture. According to modern sources, actress Della Lind was given the choice of Middleton or Walter Woolf King as her co-star and she chose King. Lind, who was borrowed from M-G-M, made her American film debut in this picture. A FD news item noted that producer Hal Roach was negotiating for Lyda Roberti to join the cast, and that Patsy Kelly had been signed. Although neither of them appear in the completed picture, the participation of Greta Meyer, who was included in the cast by a HR news item, has not been confirmed. Actor Charles Gemora's surname is spelled Gamore in the onscreen credits. According to HR news items and company records, Roach filled in for director John Blystone while he was ill, and associate producer S. S. Van Keuren directed the additional scenes shot in Apr 1938. Modern sources assert that while Roach did contribute to the script, very little, if any, of the footage he directed was included in the completed picture. Company records also reveal the portions of the film were shot on location at Lake Arrowhead and Stone Canyon, CA. Dancer Mike Aransky is listed in the company records, but it is possible that this is a misspelling of dancer Michael Arshasky's name. The film's pressbook notes that Franz Hug participated in the opening ceremony of the 1936 Olympic Games, during which he demonstrated the art of flag throwing. According to a 11 Aug 1939 HR news item, Isabella Knotter filed a lawsuit against Loew's, M-G-M and Roach in which she alleged that Swiss Miss and Way Out West (see below) were plagiarized from her book So Zwei Pechvogel. The outcome of the case has not been ascertained.
According to modern sources, Roach originally intended to make the film in color, but abandoned the idea because of the expense involved. Modern sources list LeRoy Shield, Nathaniel Shilkret and Marvin Hatley as additional composers of the incidental music, note that Jack Shaw worked on the special effects, and add the following actors to the cast: Sam Lufkin and Tex Driscoll (Bearded Swiss peasants); Bob O'Conor and Michael Mark (Astonished Swiss villagers); Val Raset (Dancer); Diane Lester Dorr, Cheryl Hopper, Jan Hopper, Raymond Rayhill Powell and Baldwin Cooke. For additional information about Laurel and Hardy's career together, please See Entry for Pardon Us.
Edward, the manager of opera composer Victor Albert, is preparing the Alpen Hotel for Victor's upcoming visit. As Edward rehearses the staff, Victor stops his car down the road from the hotel. After warning his driver Joseph that no one, especially his wife, prima donna Anna Hoefel, must know he is there, Victor continues his journey in a horse cart and is given a melodious welcome at the hotel. American mousetrap salesmen Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are also in town. They have come to Switzerland under the delusion that they will be able to sell more mousetraps where there is more cheese and therefore more mice, but they are having little luck. Blinded by thoughts of their encroaching poverty, the boys are easily swindled by Emil, a cheese factory owner, into selling him their entire stock for 5,000 Bovanian francs. It is not until after a large dinner at the Alpen Hotel that the boys find out the money is worthless, and thus begins their employment as the hotel's dishwashers. A few days later, Anna arrives, and Victor tells her that he is writing an opera about a Tyrolean peasant girl that will establish him as a great composer, as his talent has been ignored in favor of her singing. She wants to sing the lead in his new opera, but he believes that she could never play a simple girl whom a peasant could love. Anna sits pouting in the lobby when she meets Stan and Ollie, who tell her their story of being forced to work in the hotel, and she uses the same technique to stay on ...
Edward, the manager of opera composer Victor Albert, is preparing the Alpen Hotel for Victor's upcoming visit. As Edward rehearses the staff, Victor stops his car down the road from the hotel. After warning his driver Joseph that no one, especially his wife, prima donna Anna Hoefel, must know he is there, Victor continues his journey in a horse cart and is given a melodious welcome at the hotel. American mousetrap salesmen Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are also in town. They have come to Switzerland under the delusion that they will be able to sell more mousetraps where there is more cheese and therefore more mice, but they are having little luck. Blinded by thoughts of their encroaching poverty, the boys are easily swindled by Emil, a cheese factory owner, into selling him their entire stock for 5,000 Bovanian francs. It is not until after a large dinner at the Alpen Hotel that the boys find out the money is worthless, and thus begins their employment as the hotel's dishwashers. A few days later, Anna arrives, and Victor tells her that he is writing an opera about a Tyrolean peasant girl that will establish him as a great composer, as his talent has been ignored in favor of her singing. She wants to sing the lead in his new opera, but he believes that she could never play a simple girl whom a peasant could love. Anna sits pouting in the lobby when she meets Stan and Ollie, who tell her their story of being forced to work in the hotel, and she uses the same technique to stay on as a chambermaid. Later, Stan and Ollie are plucking chickens outside when Stan sees a St. Bernard dog with a barrel of brandy. Ollie explains to him that the brandy is only for emergencies, but Stan uses the chicken feathers to trick the dog into thinking that he is buried in snow, and a triumphant Stan is soon drunk. Meanwhile, Victor is distracted by Anna's presence and commands Edward to find him a quiet work place. Edward arranges for Victor to work in a remote treehouse, accessible only by a bridge suspended over a deep ravine. When Stan and Ollie arrive at Victor's room to move his piano, Anna makes a point of showing Victor that they adore her. The boys manage to push the piano up the mountain to the bridge, but while trying to cross it, they are chased by a gorilla. The bridge breaks, and while Stan and Ollie save themselves, the piano and gorilla tumble down. Back at the hotel, Anna flirts with Chef Franzelhuber and then Ollie to make Victor jealous. That night, the boys serenade Anna, and Ollie asks her to attend the Alpen Fest with him the next day. After telling them that she has a plan for the festival, she retires, and Franzelhuber, awakened by the racket, warns them that Anna is his and that there will be dire consequences if they do not leave immediately. The next morning, Stan, Ollie and Anna arrive at the Alpen Fest disguised as gypsies, with Anna intent on wooing Victor with her singing. Victor recognizes her and asks Edward to bring her up to his room. Stan and Ollie wait outside Victor's room while she goes inside, but the chef appears and they lead him on a merry chase. When they return to Victor's room and force their way in, they discover that the happily reunited couple are husband and wife. Disheartened, Stan and Ollie leave the hotel, and as they are walking away, the bandaged gorilla chases them, throwing his crutch at them.
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