MovieChat Forums > Block-Heads (1938) Discussion > Wasn't there a different ending in the o...

Wasn't there a different ending in the original?

posted 19 years ago by xoxmagoosxox
5 replies | jump to latest

I'd heard that when BLOCKHEADS was originally released, the 'punch line' ending was not the shooting scene, but something immediately following it...another party where Billy Gilbert is again showing off his hunting trophies (this always reminded me of Colonel McBragg on BULLWINKLE) and on far wall you see Babe's and Stan's heads in separate trophy mounts and Babe intoning to Stanley: 'Well, here's ANOTHER nice mess you've gotten me into.' The scene was supposedly edited out when the film came to TV in the '50s, possibly because of fears of 'juvenile delinquency.' How true is this and if so why was this never subsequently released on even a DVD?

Well, I guess it's NO WONDER the Captain left him guarding in the trenches.

[–] communicator-1 19 years ago

According to the book "Laurel and Hardy" by John McCabe, the ending you describe was never shot, even though it was Stan's wish to do so. The ending is as you see it now, and was shot with doubles for Stan and Ollie. Stan hated the ending, and the fact that his original idea was not used. Hope this helps.

Laurel and Hardy. The greatest comedy team of all time.

[–] MisterFahrenheit 18 years ago

Shame he reportedly hated the ending as shot - I personally thought this was one of the funniest L+H films. Cracks me up every time.

[–] cinefool 17 years ago

MisterFahrenheit,

The reason the end gag ticked off Stan Laurel so much was because the film's producer, Hal Roach, ordered the ending changed and the substitute ending shot while Laurel was out of state. Randy Skretvedt's fine book "The Magic Behind the Movies" claims that Roach never cared for the "freak" ending gags that top off films like "Going Bye Bye", "Thicker Than Water" and "The Bohemian Girl". He had tolerated them in the past, but by 1938 the Roach-Laurel relationship was very strained. My guess is Roach excercised his perogative as producer just to remind Laurel who the boss was.

I agree with you that the scene of numerous philandering husbands scurrying for cover is an amusing wrap-up. In fact, it was lifted from a 1929 L&H silent short called "We Faw Down", which also served as a blueprint for their later feature "Sons of the Desert".

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] lzf0 14 years ago

Hal Roach was correct. Laurel's "freak endings" marred too many otherwise funny Laurel and Hardy comedies. Laurel was even able to talk studios into his macabre finishes for "The Flying Dueces", "A-Haunting We Will Go", and "The Bullfighters". Laurel became very dark after the death of his son in the early 1930s.