Saturday, February 9, 2013

Saps at Sea

After suffering nervous exhaustion from working in a horn making factory, Ollie is urged by his doctor to take it easy and Stan has a brilliant idea: recuperate for a spell on a boat trip. With Ollie holding a fear of the open seas, the two decide to rent a boat and stay dockside with their pet goat they use for nourishment and, unbeknownst to them, a notorious convict stowed away in bows of the boat! When the goat chews through the lines and the boat is cast at sea, Stan and Ollie must devise a way to rid themselves of Nasty Nick before he does the same. In the days of the two and a half hour, gross out, yet cheaply sentimentalized comedies, I more than ever long for the one-reel comic entertainments of the 20s and 30s, especially those done by Hal Roach and Laurel and Hardy. Along with many of their other films, "Saps at Sea" is unassuming and features outrageous gags and great comic timing between the duo.