Babes in Toyland | |
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Directed by | Gus Meins Charles Rogers |
Screenplay by | Frank Butler Nick Grinde |
Based on | Babes in Toyland (operetta), book by: Glen MacDonough Anna Alice Chapin |
Produced by | Hal Roach |
Starring | Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy Charlotte Henry |
Cinematography | Francis Corby Art Lloyd |
Edited by | Bert Jordan William H. Terhune |
Music by | Victor Herbert Glen MacDonough Harry Jackson |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Loew's, Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 78 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Babes in Toyland is a Laurel and Hardy musical Christmas film released on November 30, 1934. The film is also known by the alternative titles Laurel and Hardy in Toyland, Revenge Is Sweet (the 1948 European reissue title), and March of the Wooden Soldiers (in the United States), a 73-minute abridged version.
Based on Victor Herbert's popular 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland,[2] the film was produced by Hal Roach, directed by Gus Meins and Charles Rogers,[3] and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. There are two computer-colorized versions between The Samuel Goldwyn Company in 1991 and Legend Films in 2006.[4]
Although the 1934 film makes use of many of the characters in the original play, as well as several of the songs, the plot is almost completely unlike that of the original stage production. In contrast to the stage version, the film's story takes place entirely in Toyland, which is inhabited by Mother Goose (Virginia Karns) and other well-known fairy tale characters.