Review of One Good Turn

A 1931 L&H comedy short, available at YouTube in both it's original B&W form as well as a colorized form. I found that a section of the latter had no sound. The plot concerns the attempt by the boys to prevent the foreclosure on the Old Lady's property. The Old Lady(Mary Carr) had befriended them, as they were destitute:"victims of The Depression". In the end, we discover that the Old Lady was not in danger of losing her property, and that Stan didn't steal her mortgage money, as Ollie accused..........The progression of the plot depends on the confluence of several very unlikely events: A)Jimmy Finlayson ,an amateur actor, comes to the Old Lady's door and demands payment of her mortgage, or foreclosure, as a rehearsal for a play. B)As part of the play, the Old Woman screams when she finds her mortgage money is missing. Stan and Ollie happen to hear this. C) Without consulting the Old Lady, they decide to auction off their car, to raise the $100. she needs. D) At the auction, a drunk pulls out his wallet and says he will pay $100. for the car. But Ollie hears an apparent bid of $125., and declares that person the buyer. But, it's Stan, telling a hard of hearing person the time! Thus, they still have no money, and they soon destroy their car, fighting. E)The drunk puts his wallet in Stan's jacket pocket, rather than his own. F) When Ollie discovers the wallet in Stan's pocket, he immediately jumps to the conclusion that this is the Old Lady's mortgage money, without examining the wallet for a possible ID clue.........While Stan is eventually exonerated from stealing the Old Lady's money, the question remains: whose wallet does Stan have and how did it get into his pocket. This question is never asked, although the circumstantial evidence clearly favors the conclusion that he picket somebody's pocket. ........When the boys find out that the Old Lady is not missing any money, Stan goes berserk, hitting and kicking Ollie. Then, Stan takes the extreme measure of trying to kill Ollie by causing the large shed he is trapped in to collapse on him. He does this by wacking the entrance with an ax, believe it or not. Ollie's head is now sticking out of the displaced roof( Some reviewers mistakenly claim he wrecked the house). Then, he chops some small logs in such a position that one piece flies in the air and lands on Ollie's head. He repeats this with the same result. He tries once more , with a thicker log. But, this one lands on his own head, to end the film.......I have not described many of the slapstick gags that pepper the film. I leave these for you to see.