WHAT: Babes in Toyland (1934) 77 min.
WHEN: Tuesday, December 10, 2013; 7:30 PM
WHERE: Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge
Originally released as Babes in Toyland, this Laurel & Hardy family classic is better known to legions of fans by its reissue title, March of the Wooden Soldiers. Loosely based on Victor Herbert’s 1903 operetta, the story brings to life the nursery-rhyme characters of Toyland, including Widow Peep (Florence Roberts) and her daughter, Little Bo-Peep (Charlotte Henry). Silas Barnaby (Henry Kleinbach/Brandon), the meanest man in town, threatens to boot them out of their shoe if Bo-Peep does not marry him. It’s up to Stannie Dum (Stan Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy) to foil Barnaby’s evil machinations– with the help of Mickey Mouse!– and thwart his plans to conquer Toyland with his ape-like “Bogeymen.”
It’s hard to imagine any operetta having a larger influence on children than this one, but that is primarily due to the film’s play on television over the past 50 years. March of the Wooden Soldiers has become a holiday classic which continues to gain new fans with each generation. Now we’re reviving it on the big screen.
Charlotte Henry, a year after her appearance as Alice in Alice in Wonderland (1933).
The boys in one of their most-beloved films. (photo courtesy of Matthew Hoffman)
We will also be screening the Laurel & Hardy silent short Big Business (1929). Jay Warren of the Silent Film Society of Chicago will be performing a live organ accompaniment!
