{"id":5257,"date":"2008-02-09T19:47:48","date_gmt":"2008-02-10T02:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5257"},"modified":"2020-11-26T18:27:17","modified_gmt":"2020-11-27T01:27:17","slug":"zenobia-1939","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5257","title":{"rendered":"Zenobia (1939)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;d rather do something for somebody that needs a doctor &#8212; even if they can&#8217;t pay their bills!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Poster-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Poster-1-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-55190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Poster-1-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Poster-1-87x128.jpg 87w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Poster-1-183x270.jpg 183w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Poster-1.jpg 310w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA kind country doctor (Oliver Hardy) successfully treats the depressed pet elephant (Zenobia) of a traveling medicine man (Harry Langdon), only to find that the grateful Zenobia won&#8217;t leave him alone afterwards. Meanwhile, his daughter (Jean Parker) hopes to marry a young man (James Ellison) whose snobby mother (Alice Brady) wants nothing to do with the &#8220;lowly&#8221; doctor and his family.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Cross-Class Romance<\/li>\n<li>Deep South<\/li>\n<li>Doctors and Nurses<\/li>\n<li>Harry Langdon Films<\/li>\n<li>Jean Parker Films<\/li>\n<li>Laurel and Hardy Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nOriginally developed as a feature for comedic duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, <em>Zenobia<\/em> ultimately teamed Hardy with silent screen legend Harry Langdon:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy-Langdon.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy-Langdon-1024x600.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"375\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy-Langdon-1024x600.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy-Langdon-300x176.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy-Langdon-128x75.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy-Langdon-768x450.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy-Langdon-1536x900.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy-Langdon-461x270.png 461w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy-Langdon.png 1561w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; when Laurel had a falling out with Hal Roach studios. The result is a well-meaning but decidedly tepid comedy, one which admirably shows Hardy&#8217;s talents as a &#8220;leading man&#8221; yet fails to deliver many genuine laughs. The title character &#8212; a testy female elephant named Zenobia &#8212; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Elephant.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Elephant-1024x606.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"379\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Elephant-1024x606.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Elephant-300x178.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Elephant-128x76.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Elephant-768x455.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Elephant-1536x909.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Elephant-456x270.png 456w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Elephant.png 1539w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; is the film&#8217;s primary claim to uniqueness, yet Zenobia&#8217;s relentless attachment to Hardy unfortunately takes a back seat to the rather dull primary drama about cross-class romance and Southern snobbery. With that said, film fanatics will likely appreciate seeing Alice Brady in one of her final roles before she succumbed to cancer later that year; she looks frail but still manages to invest her character with gumption and energy. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Oliver Hardy in a rare role without Stan Laurel by his side<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy2-1024x625.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"391\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy2-1024x625.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy2-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy2-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy2-768x469.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy2-443x270.png 443w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Zenobia-Hardy2.png 1513w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Alice Brady in one of her final screen roles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though fans of either Laurel and Hardy or Langdon will likely be curious to check it out.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0032158\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/zenobia\/review\/110263\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d rather do something for somebody that needs a doctor &#8212; even if they can&#8217;t pay their bills!&#8221; Synopsis: A kind country doctor (Oliver Hardy) successfully treats the depressed pet elephant (Zenobia) of a traveling medicine man (Harry Langdon), only to find that the grateful Zenobia won&#8217;t leave him alone afterwards. Meanwhile, his daughter (Jean Parker) hopes to marry a young man (James Ellison) whose snobby mother (Alice Brady) wants nothing to do with the &#8220;lowly&#8221; doctor and his family&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5257\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5257"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55196,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5257\/revisions\/55196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}