Ep. 173: Pardon Us (1931) or ‘Another Fine F***ing Mess’
From Yesteryear Ballyhoo Revue by Yesteryear Ballyhoo Revue
May 15, 2026 · 2h 1m
About this episode
Zach and Robert Stroude review the 1931 comedy 'Pardon Us' and discuss its impact on Laurel & Hardy's careers and the challenges of adapting short films into features.
Zach welcomes back Robert Stroude (Ballyhoo Correspondent/ Blogger, ‘My Year With Mickey) to review the parole request of Laurel & Hardy as they break in and break down their very first feature film, the 1931 comedy PARDON US.   Join the duo as they examine the odd route the Boys & Hal roach took to expand the group from shorts to feature films, unpack the way the film both has feature strength & where the film feels needlessly stretched out, wrestle with the films far too long (like way too f***ing long) sequence involving blackface, and finally settle upon the way the film influenced both the careers of the Boys and what the film has to say about taking any short IP and expanding it into a feature film.   The film discussed today, ‘Pardon Us (1931), can be viewed on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlNOOQtRmmA Be sure to follow Rob’s adventure covering all the Mickey Mouse theatrical shorts with his brand new Substack, ‘My Year With Mickey’ : https://myyearwithmickey.substack.com/p/my-year-with-mickey His latest post marking his return can be read here: https://myyearwithmickey.substack.com/p/more-like-2-years
People in this episode
Host: Zach
Guest: Robert Stroude
Topics covered
- Laurel & Hardy
- film review
- comedy
- blackface
- feature films
- film history
Keywords
- Laurel & Hardy
- Pardon Us
- comedy film
- blackface
- film adaptation
- feature films
- film history
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: YouTube, Substack
Books & works: Pardon Us, My Year With Mickey
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