As Blockheads opens, World War I is raging, and Stan and Ollie are in the trenches. As the troops prepare to go over the top, Stan is ordered to guard the post. As a flashy montage brings us to 1938, Stan is still at his post, unaware that the war is over. In a great shot, he tosses a can of beans onto a mountain of cans that has been accumulating for 20 years.
Meanwhile, marital bliss has finally come to Oliver Hardy. Dressed in an apron, he cooks breakfast for Mrs. Hardy (Minna Gombell). He's a total wimp, completely dominated by his wife (she even gives him an allowance!). Yet when Mrs. Hardy tries to get him to realize that today is their anniversary, he isn't even close. "Was that the day I fell off the bicycle and skinned my knee?" When he finds out what day it is, he talks about whispering "sweet nothings" in his wife's ear. As he tells her that he's going to be gone for an hour, Mrs. Hardy says, "And make that hour short!"
When Ollie leaves, presumably to buy his wife a present, he hears about a soldier who stayed in the trenches for 20 years and didn't know the war was over. "I can't imagine anybody being that dumb." As he looks at Stan's picture in the paper, he quickly changes his mind. "OH YES I CAN!"
Ollie goes to the soldier's home to see Stan. Stan decides that sitting in a wheelchair with a pillow on it is more comfortable than a park bench. The chair, however, was designed for an amputee, and in order to sit in it, Stan tucks one of his legs under him. Ollie of course thinks that Stan has only one leg. There is one goof in this part of the film. As Ollie goes to get some water for Stan, Stan turns on the water, soaking him. Yet as Ollie walks over to him, his suit is totally dry! Soon a soldier comes by demanding the chair, so Ollie has to carry Stan. It's only when they both fall out of Ollie's car that he realizes that Stan does have both legs.
Of course, this only a prelude to a series of disasters, including Stan dumping sand on Ollie's car, then destroying the car as he tries the automatic garage door opener, and helping Ollie to blow up Mrs. Hardy's kitchen. In the features, Stan is often given magical powers. He can make a fist, fill it with tobacco, light it, and smoke (real smoke comes out of his mouth). Walking up the stairs, he pulls down the shadow of a blind. Later, after running up and down thirteen flights, he takes a glass of water out of his pocket. Ollie is full of disdain. "Why don't you put some ice in it?" Naturally, Stan removes two cubes from his other pocket.
Billy Gilbert returns, with the same thick German accent and short fuse he displayed in The Music Box. Only this time he's a big game hunter. After the explosion in the kitchen, Mrs. Gilbert (Patricia Ellis), locked out of her apartment, goes across the hall and is shocked by what she sees. The only thing standing in the kitchen is a large bowl of punch, which Ollie brings in to serve. Of course, he trips and the entire contents of the bowl land on Mrs. Gilbert. The only thing she can find to wear is a pair of Ollie's pajamas. Things get quite hilarious as Stan and Ollie have to hide Mrs. Gilbert, first from Mrs. Hardy and later from the extremely jealous Mr. Gilbert.
One of Lauel and Hardy's most entertaining and fun features.
Meanwhile, marital bliss has finally come to Oliver Hardy. Dressed in an apron, he cooks breakfast for Mrs. Hardy (Minna Gombell). He's a total wimp, completely dominated by his wife (she even gives him an allowance!). Yet when Mrs. Hardy tries to get him to realize that today is their anniversary, he isn't even close. "Was that the day I fell off the bicycle and skinned my knee?" When he finds out what day it is, he talks about whispering "sweet nothings" in his wife's ear. As he tells her that he's going to be gone for an hour, Mrs. Hardy says, "And make that hour short!"
When Ollie leaves, presumably to buy his wife a present, he hears about a soldier who stayed in the trenches for 20 years and didn't know the war was over. "I can't imagine anybody being that dumb." As he looks at Stan's picture in the paper, he quickly changes his mind. "OH YES I CAN!"
Ollie goes to the soldier's home to see Stan. Stan decides that sitting in a wheelchair with a pillow on it is more comfortable than a park bench. The chair, however, was designed for an amputee, and in order to sit in it, Stan tucks one of his legs under him. Ollie of course thinks that Stan has only one leg. There is one goof in this part of the film. As Ollie goes to get some water for Stan, Stan turns on the water, soaking him. Yet as Ollie walks over to him, his suit is totally dry! Soon a soldier comes by demanding the chair, so Ollie has to carry Stan. It's only when they both fall out of Ollie's car that he realizes that Stan does have both legs.
Of course, this only a prelude to a series of disasters, including Stan dumping sand on Ollie's car, then destroying the car as he tries the automatic garage door opener, and helping Ollie to blow up Mrs. Hardy's kitchen. In the features, Stan is often given magical powers. He can make a fist, fill it with tobacco, light it, and smoke (real smoke comes out of his mouth). Walking up the stairs, he pulls down the shadow of a blind. Later, after running up and down thirteen flights, he takes a glass of water out of his pocket. Ollie is full of disdain. "Why don't you put some ice in it?" Naturally, Stan removes two cubes from his other pocket.
Billy Gilbert returns, with the same thick German accent and short fuse he displayed in The Music Box. Only this time he's a big game hunter. After the explosion in the kitchen, Mrs. Gilbert (Patricia Ellis), locked out of her apartment, goes across the hall and is shocked by what she sees. The only thing standing in the kitchen is a large bowl of punch, which Ollie brings in to serve. Of course, he trips and the entire contents of the bowl land on Mrs. Gilbert. The only thing she can find to wear is a pair of Ollie's pajamas. Things get quite hilarious as Stan and Ollie have to hide Mrs. Gilbert, first from Mrs. Hardy and later from the extremely jealous Mr. Gilbert.
One of Lauel and Hardy's most entertaining and fun features.