A treat for TMV readers — particularly those who speak Spanish. This is an example of how before dubbing and subtitles Hal Roach filmed SEPARATE VERSIONS of some Laurel and Hardy shorts (expanded in the foreign language version to be close to an hour) in OTHER LANGUAGES. Here’s one in Spanish. Native speakers taught L&H and cue cards were off camera. Roach added native speakers to some key roles to replace the original English speakers. My Spanish speaking friends can judge here for themselves: L&H really speaking Spanish:
This rare short and many others in English can be found on the definitive collection for comedy fans of all ages. These shorts have been lovingly and incredibly restored in audio and visuals — either via digital magic or finding copies of original pristine prints. Some shorts are offered with varying versions (Spanish, French, with original tracks or later music inserted by Hal Roach). I haven’t reviewed it yet on TMV but it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.