Colman's Comedy

From Laurel and Hardy's short film Blotto (1930), an early example of product placement as Stan's wife (played by the fantastically vampish Anita Garvin) reaches for various ingredients with which to include in the liquor bottle she's just filled with cold tea. Among those ingredients is a tin of Colman's mustard. Y'know, as in the Colman's mustard that comes from round these parts.



Of course, that's not the only link between Stan and Ollie and Norwich - they were here in 1954, playing at the old Hippodrome Theatre. In fact, there's a blue plaque - stuck on the wall of the St Giles multi-storey car park - that commemorates the event. Go pay homage the next time you're up that way.

More about Laurel and Hardy's Norwich visit can be found here - which also includes choice quotes from my old university professor, Charles Barr. See, everything's connected....