Todd spent the prime of her career under contract to the Hal Roach Studios. For the most part, Todd was something of a comedy "bridesmaid," supporting one screen legend after another, but seldom wearing the veil of top billing. A typical example is Laurel and Hardy's Another Fine Mess (1930), in which the comedy duo are a pair of vagrants who find themselves in possession of a vacant mansion, and forced to assume the guises of servants upon the arrival of two potential tenants: Mr. and Mrs. Plumtree (Charles K. Gerrard and Todd). For most of the film, Todd is simply the high-class dame whom the bumbling Laurel and Hardy must try to please without blowing their cover. One sequence, however, allows Todd to shine. There is a break from the carefully-choreographed slapstick and Todd finds herself seated on a sofa next to the maid (Laurel, in drag). As Mrs. Plumtree questions the maid about the house and its owner, a comic chemistry reveals itself -- playful, natural and utterly charming.

Laurel: ...and then there's the nursery.
Todd: The nursery? Why, I didn't understand that the colonel was married.
Laurel: Oh, no, of course. He has that in case of accidents.

When Todd laughs, she is clearly enjoying herself -- tickled by the risqué humor combined with Laurel's demented female impersonation. It causes the film to breathe a bit, and Another Fine Mess is thus endowed with a dimension beyond formulaic slapstick.

Producer: Hal Roach (uncredited)
Director: James Parrott
Screenplay: Arthur J. Jefferson; H.M. Walker (dialogue); play "Home from the Honeymoon" (uncredited)
Cinematography: Jack Stevens
Music: Marvin Hatley, Leroy Shield (both uncredited)
Film Editing: Richard Currier
Cast: Stan Laurel (Stan), Oliver Hardy (Ollie), Thelma Todd (Lady Plumtree), James Finlayson (Colonel Wilburforce Buckshot), Charles K. Gerrard (Lord Leopold Ambrose Plumtree), Harry Bernard (Policeman (uncredited), Bobby Burns (Bicyclist (uncredited), Betty Mae Crane (Talking Titles (uncredited), Beverly Crane (Talking Titles (uncredited), Eddie Dunn (Meadows (uncredited).
BW-28m.

by Bret Wood