| The Hoose-Gow | |
| Director: | James Parrott |
| Producer: | Hal Roach |
| Starring: | Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy |
| Music: | William Axt Spencer Williams |
| Cinematography: | Paul Kerschner Len Powers George Stevens |
| Editing: | Richard C. Currier |
| Studio: | Hal Roach Studios |
| Distributor: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Runtime: | 20:07 |
| Language: | English |
| Country: | United States |
The Hoose-Gow is a 1929 short film starring Laurel and Hardy, directed by James Parrott and produced by Hal Roach.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy find themselves embroiled in a comedic misadventure upon their arrival as new inmates at a prison, purportedly implicated in a hold-up raid, an assertion they vehemently deny to a prison officer, claiming mere bystander status.
During their initial encounter with the prison guard, the duo's attempt to communicate with friends beyond the prison wall results in the unexpected appearance of a rope ladder. Seizing the opportunity for escape, their cohorts hastily retreat, leaving Stan and Ollie stranded outside when the guard inadvertently shuts the door on them. Their subsequent return is marked by the indignity of shotgun fire, leaving the seats of their trousers in tatters.
Assigned to outdoor labor, Stan and Ollie find themselves thrust into the peculiar dynamics of prison life, where fellow inmates humorously designate the guard's dinner table as their own. Tasked with felling a tree, their clumsy efforts culminate in a calamitous event as the timber collapses onto the guard's tent, coinciding inconveniently with the arrival of the prison governor.
Subsequently reassigned to ditch-digging duty alongside their fellow convicts, the hapless duo's plight worsens when Stan's errant pick-axe inadvertently punctures the radiator of the governor's car, instigating a series of farcical events. In a misguided attempt to rectify the situation, they endeavor to remedy the damage by filling the radiator with dry rice, following the advice of a fellow inmate. However, their makeshift repair yields unexpected consequences as the rice transforms into a chaotic eruption resembling rice pudding, sparking a whimsical rice-throwing melee involving the visiting governor and his entourage.