Product Details

• Actors: Richard Alexander, Frank Austin, Billy Bletcher, Henry Brandon, Baldwin Cooke
• Directors: Charley Rogers, Gus Meins
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Good Times Home Video
• VHS Release Date: July 31, 1995
• Run Time: 77 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303625800
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,015 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #68 in

  Video > Comedy > By Year > 1930-1939

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The most lavish feature built around Laurel and Hardy, 1934's March of the Wooden Soldiers is also the most bizarre. Opening unpromisingly with one of several mawkish numbers derived from Victor Herbert's musical Babes in Toyland, the antics of toyshop laborers Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee are worked into a scenario midway between Lewis Carroll and the Brothers Grimm. Nursery-rhyme characters come and go in a surreal fantasy, with the evil Mr. Barnaby threatening to evict Widow Peep from her shoe unless he receives her daughter Bo in marriage. The movie culminates in a full-scale invasion of Toyland by the yeti-ish Bogeymen and their defeat by the 100 six-foot wooden soldiers which Stan and Ollie have built by mistake. Henry Brandon gives a characterful performance, while 1930s child star Charlotte Henry is an appealing heroine. Directors Gus Meins and Charles R. Rogers milk the slapstick to an increasingly unnerving degree. Reputedly Hardy's favorite among the double act's features, March of the Wooden Soldiers emerges now as their most audacious screen appearance. --Richard Whitehouse

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beware of the two versions, April 5, 2004

By	Brian D. Seibel (Walnut Creek, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: March of the Wooden Soldiers (DVD)

There are two versions offered for sale at Amazon. The Koch Vision Entertainment version, despite the description in the technical details, is NOT COLORIZED. The Goodtimes Home Video version version IS colorized. Which you prefer is entirely up to you, but don't order the Koch Vision version if you want the movie in color. The Koch Vision version has an extended silent film extra of the first time Laurel and Hardy appeared together (NOT as a team, however). The extra is interesting, but (by today's standards anyhow) a little slow. The Goodtimes Entertainment (Colorized) version, although a few cents cheaper than the other version, is, in my opinion, a much "cleaner" print. Even with the color level turned down so it appears as the original B&W, the Goodtimes version is sharper and more distinct. March of the Wooden Soldiers, holds up pretty well.

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laurel & Hardy Timeless Christmas Classic (Colorized DVD)!, October 26, 2001

By	forrie (Nashua, NH United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: March of the Wooden Soldiers (DVD)

Adapted from Victor Herbert's Opera "Babes in Toyland" this 1934 Laurel and Hardy Operetta presents us with a timeless Holiday Classic for the entire family to watch during the holidays. The DVD presentation has been meticulously Remastered and Colorized (for the next generation's enjoyment and for the Black & White traditionalists just turn off the color).

Laurel & Hardy have never been better. The characters (Based on Mother Goose and popular Nursey Rhymes),the story line of Toyland(Santa's Toy making Headquarters preparing for the upcoming holiday's) & the Villian with his henchmen (Powerful Landlord and his Bogeyman Army) can't lose. The basis is an Operetta (loosely conducted) musical showcasing the infamous song, "Babes in Toyland".

Laurel & Hardy play Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee respectively Santa's toymaker workers who are in constant trouble. Stannie accepts a Xmas toy order but mixes it up and he and Ollie are fired. (Mistakens the order of 600 soldiers at 1 foot tall for 100 soldiers at 6 foot tall, can you imagine?). Along with the Villian Landlord, Silas Barnaby trying to evict the "Old Woman in the Shoe" for non payment sets the story for this Family Christmas Classic, "MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLIERS"!!!!!

You & the family will love and laugh continuously!! A great value. A must for the Holiday library!!!!

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Holiday Classic, January 5, 2000

By	Scott Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This Laurel and Hardy treasure remains the definitive holiday movie. "March of the Wooden Soldiers" (the original "Babes in Toyland") is a timeless musical-comedy with Stan and Ollie in top form - abetted by stylish sets and visual effects. Most "colorized" films are an artistic desecration; however, this particular video is rendered in low-key pastels that resemble early Technicolor. The results are better than expected. Laurel and Hardy fans should be doubly pleased because this uncut version contains a delightful "storybook" sequence which hasn't been shown since the film's initial release in 1934. There have been several remakes of "Babes in Toyland," but none can match the original's effortless charm.