Gordon Douglas

In a literal reworking of LOVE ’EM AND WEEP, Mr. Hardy plays an important businessman. Having made his fortune in fertilizer, Hardy is well qualified to run for mayor, but is blackmailed by a venomous old flame from his past. Directed by James W. Horne. With Mae Busch as the gold-digger, Thelma Todd as Mrs. Hardy (she was originally slated to enact the vamp according to the shooting script), and James Finlayson as the opportunistic butler, a role he exchanged with Hardy for this remake.

Returning from the ice cream parlor, devoted husbands rescue a suicidal woman of dubious morals from drowning (Mae Busch), then cannot escape her. With its black comedy inspired by Chaplin’s CITY LIGHTS, the story also draws upon familiar routines from the team’s other comedies. The parody of connubial bliss is a highlight, as is the climactic disappearance of Mr. Laurel, of which Mr. Hardy explains memorably, “He’s gone to the beach. ” It was remade by Roach a decade later as a “streamliner” titled BROOKLYN ORCHID. Directed by James W. Horne. With Linda Loredo and Gertrude Astor.