A film with a theme. The subject? Trouser legs. The outcome? A deconstruction of masculinity. Quite unusual, one might think, but not really for Laurel & Hardy. In this case, the film does not focus on a woman who wants to wear trousers but rather a man who does not want to give up wearing a skirt. Stan plays a young man who arrives in New York from another world (Scotland) sporting the obligatory kilt and immediately displaying his disdain for local customs to the immigration officer. Oliver plays the American uncle. When the Scotsman glimpses a woman’s petticoat, he goes crazy and springs into hot pursuit. His bizarre attire attracts an incredulous but enthusiastic group of local onlookers. For him, a tailor taking his measurements is the height of humiliation. He anticipates Marilyn Munroe when walking over a sidewalk grate (causing women to faint, as he is not wearing any underwear). It is a theoretical film (whether deliberately or not is irrelevant) which nonetheless refuses to forego the joy of stupidity. Most scholars are of the opinion that this is the film which launched them as a comic duo.

Andrea Meneghelli