Directed by: Clyde Bruckman
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Dorothy Coburn

STORY
When Piedmont Mumblethunder receives word that his young Scottish nephew Philip is coming to America, he expects to welcome a respectable young gentleman into the family. What steps off the ship instead is Stan Laurel in a kilt, exuberant, mischievous, completely uninhibited, and immediately fascinated by every attractive woman who crosses his path.
For the dignified Piedmont, played with magnificent exasperation by Oliver Hardy, Philip's behavior is a public catastrophe. Piedmont becomes determined to accomplish what he considers an urgent act of civilization: put some pants on Philip. Unfortunately, Philip has absolutely no intention of surrendering his kilt, his freedom, or his enthusiastic pursuit of the ladies.
What follows is a wonderfully simple battle between Hardy's desperate need for dignity and Laurel's cheerful refusal to cooperate. Long before their familiar screen personalities were completely established, the ingredients were already here — Stan's innocent troublemaking, Ollie's mounting humiliation, and the beautiful comic rhythm that would make Laurel and Hardy one of the most beloved teams in movie history.

AIN BACKSTAGE SECRETS & AINTOIDS

NOT QUITE THE LAUREL & HARDY WE KNOW, AND LOVE, YET
Putting Pants on Philip was Laurel and Hardy's first pairing together. The film arrived during the crucial period when Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were becoming a genuine comedy team. Their famous characters were still evolving, which makes the film especially fascinating for Laurel & Hardy fans. You can practically watch movie history taking shape.

STAN WITHOUT THE BOWLER
Forget the familiar Stan Laurel costume for a moment. Here Stan spends much of the film in a Scottish kilt, creating both the movie's central joke and a wonderfully unusual visual chapter in his screen career.

OLLIE'S DIGNITY IS ALREADY IN DANGER
Oliver Hardy's character may not yet be exactly the Ollie audiences would come to know, but one essential ingredient is gloriously present: humiliation. His increasingly desperate attempts to maintain respectability while Stan creates chaos point directly toward the comic relationship that would define their greatest films.

A TITLE WITH A JOB DESCRIPTION
There is no mystery about the plot. The title tells us exactly what Hardy wants to accomplish, put pants on Philip. Naturally, with Stan Laurel involved, something that sounds incredibly simple becomes anything but.

THE MAGIC WAS FORMING
Laurel and Hardy had appeared together before this film, but Putting Pants on Philip belongs to the remarkable transitional period when filmmakers and Laurel and Hardy themselves were discovering just how funny these two men could be together.

AINTOID — COMEDY BUILT ON CONTRAST
One of the secrets of Laurel & Hardy was never merely the gags. It was the contrast. Hardy desperately wants order, dignity and control. Laurel somehow destroys all three while appearing almost completely innocent. Putting Pants on Philip gives us an early and delightful glimpse of the formula that would soon become comedy immortality.