Bootleggers Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are arrested and sent to prison after Stan sells a bottle of beer to a police officer. Stan is afflicted with a loose tooth that makes a buzzing “raspberry” sound every time he speaks, much to the chagrin of their tough cellmate, Tiger, and the prison warden, who suspect that Stan is making fun of them. Stan and Ollie go to the prison school but are sent for a stint in solitary after Ollie shoots an ink ball at Tiger and hits the teacher instead. Later, after they rejoin the others in the yard, Tiger and his tough pals plan an escape, and although they are caught, Stan and Ollie make it to freedom. The warden sends bloodhounds to track them, but the boys charm the dogs into becoming their pets. Sometime later, the boys have disguised themselves with blackface and are happy members of a group of cotton pickers. Stan has even devised a way of using chewing gum to stop his tooth from buzzing. One day, the warden and his daughter are driving by the field where Stan and Ollie are working when their car breaks down. The warden requests the boys’s help, which they give even though they recognize him. The warden does not recognize them, however, until Stan removes his chewing gum and his tooth buzzes as he bids them farewell. Back at the prison, Stan’s buzz annoys yet another guard, who sends him to the prison dentist. Terrified, Stan brings Ollie in with him, and the dentist mistakes Ollie for his patient and takes out one of his teeth before Ollie can explain. The dentist then sets to work on Stan, but extracts the wrong tooth, so, still buzzing, Stan goes back with Ollie to their cell, where Tiger is planning yet another escape. Later, in the mess hall, the prisoners pass out guns and bullets, and when Stan and Ollie accidentally fire their guns, a riot begins. Tiger and the others capture the warden and the guards, but Stan and Ollie’s inept handling of their guns again causes chaos, this time keeping the other prisoners at bay until police troops arrive to save the day. The warden gives pardons to the boys in gratitude for their bravery, but when he offers to help them go straight, Stan asks him if he wants to buy a couple cases of beer, after which the warden chases them out of his office. This was the first feature-length film in which Laurel and Hardy starred. More on Wikipedia
Watch Pardon Us (1931)
