Production Order vs Release Order Question

[John]

Was there ever occasions, specifically after sound was introduced, when
the production order of Laurel & Hardy shorts (and features) was
different from the release order, or was the order the same?

[Hal Erickson]

The production and release schedule was generally the same, with the
following notewothy
exceptions:

The "Hal Roach All-Stars" two-reelers DO DETECTIVES THINK, FLYING ELEPHANTS
and SUGAR DADDIES were released after the first of the official "team" films
were put on the market. FLYING ELEPHANTS was held back by Pathe until early
1928, by which time the first four of five MGM L&H releases were in
circulation.

The late silents DOUBLE WHOOPEE, BACON GRABBERS and ANGORA LOVE were all
filmed before the switchover to sound, but all were withheld from release
until their first sound films received distribution. ANGORA LOVE in fact
wasn't seen until December of 1929, though it was filmed long before.

PARDON US was completed under the title THE RAP in 1930, but withheld until
mid-1931 for retakes and editing. I believe that this was the first L&H film
to use the Leroy Shield background music, but ANOTHER FINE MESS (which
introduced several of the family Shield themes) was released first.

I believe that THICKER THAN WATER (1935) was filmed after BONNIE SCOTLAND
(1935), but released before.

The original 42-minute version of A CHUMP AT OXFORD was filmed before the
team's loanout to Boris Morros for FLYING DEUCES, but CHUMP was released
afterward. There is still some confusion over when the full 63-minute
version was released.


--Hal E

Post by John
Was there ever occasions, specifically after sound was introduced, when
the production order of Laurel & Hardy shorts (and features) was
different from the release order, or was the order the same?

[John]

Thank you, Hal. I always wondered if they withheld release of some films
for whatever reason, or just produced them one at a time and decided on
the next release date before starting the next film. In watching the
shorts and features of the 1930's, there seems to be a slight variation
in how extensive a production is and it made me wonder if they ever did
any juggling of releases to place the features in the theaters at a
specific time of the year to take advantage of bigger box office
possibilities.

I also wonder if Stan and the writers were literally writing the next
film as one was being shot, or if it was a little more relaxed than
that.

[Jim Reid]

I've seen some advertising materials that announce a certain amount of
shorts per season. I'd be surprised if they didn't already have their
next short at least in pre-production while they were shooting.