Plot: At the Hotel Bilkmore, you never know what kind of service you’ll be given, as the bellhops are unpredictable and to be honest, a little dense. Oliver Hardy and Bobby Ray are the hotel’s bellhops and as various calls come in, neither is able to provide the right kind of service, no matter how simple the task. This includes spilling ink all over one client, bathing the wrong customer, and even some rooftop and window perils. As the guests start to boil over, will the bellhops get anything right or will the Bilkmore be run right into the ground?

Entertainment Value: Oliver Hardy had an extensive career before he teamed with Stan Laurel and made cinematic history, with some of his movies involving attempts to make other partnerships work on screen. In Hop to It, Hardy is teamed with Bobby Ray and while there are some laughs here, the tandem just doesn’t work that well and Hardy tends to get the biggest laughs on his own. The short overall isn’t that memorable, but it does have some impressive technical feats, including some skilled edits that make a couple scenes really stand out. The bulk of Hop to It is silly slapstick and again, there are some fun moments, just not laugh out loud level stuff. The use of blackface is bound to put off some viewers as well. I think for a short that runs 20ish minutes, Hop to It has some solid entertainment, but those looking for sparks of Hardy’s comedic genius might be left underwhelmed.

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