In the sequel, written by Laurel, the boys open an electrical supply store, only to discover that Hall is the proprietor of the grocery next door. Hall is convinced that the innocent Ollie is making a play for his wife (Mae Busch), and the new battle begins. It escalates quickly as Hall proceeds to wreck the boy's business and they retaliate in calm, deliberate, "tit-for-tat" style. The kicker is that every time Stan and Ollie leave their place of business to launch an attack on Hall's, an anonymous man enters their shop and steals something. This, too, escalates until the man drives up in a large truck and empties the store.
The sequel, richer in laughs than the original, is revived more often than its predecessor. The gags, making ample use of the props available in both stores, include a display of watches being run through a blender, the top of Ollie's hat severed by a deli slicer, a bucket of lard dumped over Hall's head and a candy bin spiked with alum.
Tit for Tat is a perfect example of "reciprocal destruction," the phrase used to describe how, in the world of Laurel and Hardy, one little act of vengeance leads to another until a full donnybrook ensues. The Battle of the Century (1927), the two-reeler in which the comic pair first hit its stride, is another case of "tit for tat" spiraling out of control as a pratfall on a banana peel leads to the most elaborate pie fight in movie history.
Producer: Hal Roach
Director: Charles H. Rogers
Screenplay: Stan Laurel, Frank Tashlin (uncredited)
Cinematography: Art Lloyd
Original Music: Leroy Shield
Editing: Bert Jordan
Principal Cast: Stan Laurel (Stanley), Oliver Hardy (Oliver), Mae Busch (Grocer's Wife), Charlie Hall (Grocer), Baldwin Cooke (Customer), Bobby Dunn (Customer).
BW-19m.
by Roger Fristoe
