Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Admirable film.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

ZENOBIA (United Artists, 1939), directed by Gordon Douglas for the Hal Roach Studios, stars Oliver Hardy from the Laurel and Hardy comedy team fame, in his first solo performance since his union with Stan Laurel dating back to 1926. The story is not set in some far away place called Zenobia, nor are there any characters in this photoplay going by the name of Zenobia. In fact, Zenobia happens to be an elephant. No not the chubby Oliver Hardy, but a 6,132 pound elephant belonging to his Stan Laurel-type co-star, played by former silent screen comedian, Harry Langdon. Although labeled a comedy, it's more of a wholesome post Civil War story set in 1870 Carterville, Mississippi, where slapstick and chases normally found in Laurel and Hardy comedies are non-existent here. In fact, for the first time since his union with Laurel, Oliver Hardy assumes a character name rather than his very own, indicating how Ollie shows his flare of being a capable actor without losing any of his dignity.Plot: Doctor Emory Tibbitt (Oliver Hardy) is a kind-hearted Southern doctor with a dizzy wife, Bessie (Billie Burke) and beautiful daughter Mary (Jean Parker), engaged to marry Jeff Carter (James Ellison). Carter invites his mother, Emily (Alice Brady) to their engagement party. Being a social climber and self-centered woman, Mrs. Carter brings Virginia Randall (June Lang) to the affair, hoping that the presence of Jeff's childhood sweetheart would break up the engagement. In the meantime at the Spangler Carnival, Professor McCrackle (Harry Langdon), a medicine man selling bottles, has an elephant named Zenobia, who happens to be ill. Doctor Tibbett is called to examine. Although not an animal doctor, he assists the elephant in her time of need. Now that the elephant is cured, Zenobia shows her very much appreciation for the good doctor by following him wherever he goes, even to a point of disrupting the engagement party and his personal life. This situation soon leads McCrackle to take Tibbett to court for abduction of his prize possession.Also in the cast are: Stepin Fetchit (Zero); Hattie McDaniel (Dahlia, the Maid); J. Farrell MacDonald (Judge John); Hobart Cavanaugh (Mr,. Dover); and Clem Bevans (The Sheriff). Philip Hurlic stands out in the cast as Zeke, the Negro boy, who earns his quarter from the doctor by reciting the Declaration of Independence from July 4, 1776, verbatim. This scene is reminiscent to Charles Laughton's excellently reciting Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" from RUGGLES OF RED GAP (1935). The Hall Johnson Choir perform some traditional early American songs, along with Oliver Hardy vocalizing "I Dreamnt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" (from Michael Balfe's "The Bohemian Girl") and Jean Parker and The Hall Johnson Choir doing "In the Evening By the Moonlight." While it's been said that ZENOBIA had been considered a project for Laurel and Hardy, but became a Hardy and Langdon project instead. It's a wonder how this would have turned out with the story as it is, having Laurel and Hardy split teaming playing characters who meet as opposed to them already friends from the moment the film begins. Maybe not so good, but even just this once, would have been a welcome change of pace for this comedy team. Even if Laurel wasn't able to appear in ZENOBIA due to contract disputes, Harry Langdon fits in quite satisfactory as do the period settings, costumes and plantation background. The scene involving the examination of Zenobia, Langdon and Hardy is done in similar style to a Laurel and Hardy routine. Following its theatrical release, Laurel and Hardy reunited and resumed their on-screen chemistry well into the 1940s.Available on video cassette (followed by Laurel and Hardy's comedy short LAUGHING GRAVY from 1931) and later on DVD, ZENOBIA, the elephant who never forgets, has turned up from time to time for observation on Turner Classic Movies. (TCM premiere: January 5, 2006) A real curio at best. (**)

I have seen Zenobia several times and yes, while it is not standard L&H, it does show that comedy teams can work separately. I found Mr. Hardy to be an excellent actor in this character part and if I remember it also gave Mr. Hardy the opportunity to show off his excellent singing voice. In my book, Zenobia, stands apart for the routine L&H movies and it should be treated in that manner.People who think that comedy teams should only appear as comedy teams are all wrong. Take Abbott and Costgello. I have seen movies in which they did not work as a team and were great. Another A&C movie in which they were teamed, but not together, instead playing separate roles was equally good, where Lou played a Revolutionary War ghost and Abbott played a 20th century mortal. Take Martin and Lewis, everyone said they were finished when they broke up. Not so. They each went on to great careers. Stiller and Meara were great together as a radio and stage team and while still married, they now have separate careers. So folks, just because Stan Laurel is not scratching his head while standing next to the tie fluttering Norville Oliver Hardy, I still think Zenobia showed off Hardy's ability not to have to depend on Laurel.

Plodding along clumsily through themes of race and class, 'Zenobia' is the movie equivalent of a television after school special that tries desperately to force feed its audience a plate of moral fiber for digestion. This morality feeding does not go down smoothly at all, even with a spoonful of humor provided by the antics of Oliver Hardy and company. Hardy is decent, but the humor in the film is never up to his standard and the preachings of the other plot lines is just incredibly lame.The irony of 'Zenobia' is that when it begins to preach, it comes of as comical, when it tries to be funny, it falls seriously flat. The problem I have in slamming this movie is that its heart seems to be in the right place, sort of. Besides, how can you hate an Oliver Hardy film?I spent most of my time laughing AT THE MOVIE. Hardy, a doctor by trade, explains race to his black child servant simply as being the difference between white pills and black pills. He mentions that the Declaration of Independence is made up of black, white, red and yellow pills. When Hardy asks the child if he understands, the child answers back, "No, Suh". What does Hardy mean? Is he saying that all pills are created equal? Hardy finally appeases the child's questions by bargaining a quarter to the child if he can memorize the Declaration of Independence. Well, that settles it. Now Hardy can go to the all white party where no colored people are allowed to attend.When Hardy gets to the party he is subjected to a bit of class-ism. Hardy squints a shade of disapproval, but is able to carry on happily enough until Zenobia the elephant crashes the party. Suddenly Hardy finds himself in a confusing lawsuit over the affections of an elephant or from an attempt to embarrass his daughter into not marrying into another family, or something, I'm not really sure.One thing is certain, this was the first film where the comedy duo consisted of Oliver Hardy being the skinny one.Pretty dire stuff. Stay away if you like comedy.

Oliver Hardy exhibits his talent as a character actor in this well-cast Roach feature. People often make the mistake of expecting a Laurel & Hardy film, which isn't really fair. This is a pleasant diversion, filled with rich characters, including Langdon in perfect form as the owner of a sick elephant.