Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

bkoganbing With the Code now firmly in place I'm kind of surprised that The Bohemian Girl made it through the censors. Such subjects as adultery and child kidnapping are part and parcel of this film. And since Laurel&Hardy were now draws in the children's market via their previous venture into operetta Babes In Toyland, that makes this film all the more curious.Unlike Babes In Toyland Stan and Ollie's roles were definitely shoehorned into the plot of this operetta. The Bohemian Girl which debuted in 1843 had no parts that were the equivalent of who Laurel and Hardy portrayed. Usually Stan was the naive one, but Ollie's naiveté in this film makes him sound backward. Even Stan is bright enough to see how brazenly Ollie's wife Mae Busch is carrying on with Antonio Moreno, the notorious Devilshoof. To take vengeance on a Bohemian count for ordering the gypsies off his property, Busch and Moreno kidnap the count's little daughter Darla Hood of The Little Rascals. Then they flee leaving Stan and Ollie to raise the child who grows up to be Julie Bishop.Speaking of which it is patently obvious that Ollie much prefers the company of Stan than his wife. It's as close as I've ever seen the much discussed notion that Laurel&Hardy were gay on the screen.Unlike other features Laurel keeps getting the better of Hardy and his best moments are getting totally plastered trying to bottle some bubbling freshly fermented wine. Just when Ollie needs him to rescue Bishop.Because their parts are not integral to the real plot of The Bohemian Girl, the film as a whole is not structured right. But fans of Stan and Ollie should be pleased with their comic genius here.

richard-1787 Hollywood could never make this movie today in this way. The Laurel and Hardy scenes, and they are funny, are simply inserted between scene of a very sincere, if corny, production of Balfe's then still popular Bohemian Girl. It never occurs to the director to make fun of this folk opera, which must have taken real restraint, as it is at its best quite corny and could easily have been made fun of. But Roach doesn't. When Eileen sings the big number, "I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls," the focus is on her and nothing ridicules what was then still a popular number in pops concerts.That's what fascinated me about this picture. Yes, as with the Marx Brothers'A Night at the Opera those with no interest in opera or its performance history will see the operatic scenes as just annoying filler. But for those of us who do have an interest in such things, it's very interesting to see that there was a time when Hollywood could present opera, even not very good opera, in a sincere and straightforward fashion, relying on the audience to enjoy those segments for what they were.Yes, this is another example of Laurel and Hardy, and an enjoyable one. But it is also a sort of document of how a certain type of opera was once performed and appreciated, and that is not negligible.

Boba_Fett1138 This still is a perfectly enjoyable full length Laurel & Hardy movie that entertains 90% of its time but it yet at the same time is a slightly disappointing one as well, considering how much better with a few small changes it could had been.The story is incredibly weak and simple and is based on a Balfe opera, so the movie also features lots of signing. Luckily not too much, so it never gets distracting or anything like that. The movie lets the story tell the story, rather than its actors, which means that Laurel & Hardy basically get very little interesting to do. The movie is really lacking in some great comical sequences with the boys and the trademark slapstick humor. It's still present in the movie but very limited down, to about 2 or 3 really great comedy sequences. There is way too little happening in the movie its story to make this an interesting or totally fun movie to watch. The movie also relies heavily on basically every cliché that exist about gypsies, which makes the movie feel a bit simple and cheap at times.But the movie is far from a bore and actually a still perfectly enjoyable one. The boys make sure that the pace in the movie remains good and they time their antics and dialog well. It provides the movie with some good comical moments and a good fun feeling for the overall movie.The Laurel & Hardy regulars also make sure that the movie is fun. Mae Busch yet again plays Mrs. Hardy in a way only she can. James Finlayson also shows up toward the ending in small role. His presence however makes a lasting impression since it's such a fun one. Thelma Todd also shows up again, in her last movie role before her suspicious death. Her role is very limited down in this movie, so it unfortunately is not the most worthy imaginable last role for her. Ironicaly it was due to her controversial death that her role was later altered and cut down from the movie, to avoid associating of the film with her death. Not the best way to pay tribute to a great comedienne actress from the '20's and '30's in my opinion but they had their (commercial) reasons for it.It's just that the boys set their own standards so high with some of their previous movies that makes this movie a bit of a disappointing one. It's hard to rate one Laurel & Hardy picture without not having another and often much better and enjoyable one in mind. Having some critique on this movie doesn't mean that this is a bad one but just that it's not as good as their best works.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

The Mikado I have never understood the lambasting `Bohemian Girl' has received. It is not the best L&H (I leave that for others to debate, but the lean is towards `Way Out West' or `Sons of the Desert'), but it is far, far from their worst.The operetta background seemed to work as well for Stan and Ollie as the opera did for the Marxes (`A Night at the Opera'), Mae West (`Goin' to Town'), and the Stooges (`Microphonies'), giving them something different and deliberately starchy to play against.It is a shame that Thelma Todd died just about the time BG was released. Stan was said to have felt it inappropriate to show her in such a big part with her lurid death – which many claim was a mob-related murder – still heading the headlines. The Hollywood hush-hush surrounding it may have also contributed to its excising…and the sadness was only worsened by its occurrence during the Christmas season and the arrival by mail of presents to various friends (including Stan) after her body had been found. Roach himself (with the bigwigs in his corner) was said to have helped head off the DA's second inquest after Thelma's attorney had protested the suicide verdict…another reason, perhaps, behind her severely edited and retooled role. Who begs for a dark cloud?But how WELCOME to see Mae Busch back! She always worked especially well with the team and gives that extra boost to Ollie in particular that one always got from a Maggie Dumont, Jan Duggan, or Symona Boniface. Mae could play an absolute bitch, and you still loved her. The added reunion with Jimmy Finlayson was great (`Oh, my GOOD eye!' – an insider's joke that kills me every time), and we have the bonus of Our Gang's Darla as the adopted Arline. Sweet, without being cloying.One might decry songs such as `The Heart Bow'd Down by Weight of Woe,' but it's an operetta, folks. There's going to be singing.And with routines like `the eyes are the windows to your soul'; the fingers bit in the bar; the odd wrap-up gag; the wine bottling; Stan's bass/soprano switch; his search for Ollie's money; Darla's bedtime prayer; the butter churn…even something as simple as Ollie claiming to be leaving for a zither lesson and then miming it with his fingers (whereupon Stan suddenly gets it – `Oh!')…it's all great! What more could one want? They couldn't re-film `Sons of the Desert' every year! Give this baby a chance!None of the latter day Fox-MGM movies can touch it; not even the best of `Jitterbugs.' `The Flying Deuces,' unfortunately so long in public domain that it appears one is watching it through a pillowcase, is pretty good, but this one seems warmer and cinematically superior. I prefer BG to some of its contemporaries, too. I mean, take `Bonnie Scotland,' with several good scenes sandwiched between the lachrymose bits with the whiney lead. Then look at the highly Roach-edited `Swiss Miss,' which butchers a L&H song and makes us sit through Della Lind and Walter Woolf King (who is decent here, but a far cry from the love-to-hate-him Lasparri (sic))…give me a dubbed Thelma and a nice helping of Mae any day.Why complain and deride it? It's a pleasant evening, with lots of merriment. And it's Stan and Ollie in their prime, even if not in the best of their films. We should be so lucky as to have another BG filming in Hollywood today. Go jump on `The Big Noise' or `Air Raid Wardens,' if you just want to gripe.But if you want some fun, pop BG into your VCR and prepare to laugh.