That's My Wife (1929 film)

1929 short film by Lloyd French

That's My Wife is a 1929 short comedy silent film produced by the Hal Roach Studios and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was shot in December 1928 and released March 23, 1929, by Metro Goldwyn Mayer with a synchronized music and sound effects track in theaters equipped for sound.

Mrs. Hardy is visibly discontented, carrying a suitcase as she confronts her husband and Stan, who sits passively on the sofa. Faced with Mrs. Hardy's ultimatum to choose between her and Stan, Ollie hesitates briefly before his wife departs in a fit of anger, disregarding his financial concerns. The narrative continues when Stan is disguised as Ollie's wife to deceive Uncle Bernal, who arrives unexpectedly. Despite their efforts to conceal the chaos, Stan's clumsy impersonation of Ollie's wife leads to complications, particularly during a dinner outing at The Pink Pup. At the supper club, Stan's behavior further exacerbates the situation, drawing unwanted attention from a drunken patron and a dishonest waiter who steals a diamond pendant. Subsequent misadventures on the dance floor culminate in Uncle Bernal's decision to disinherit Ollie, leaving him distraught and disillusioned. As Ollie contemplates his misfortune outside the club, he receives a final blow when the same drunk patron from earlier spills soup on his head.

December 1928 was a frenetic month for the Laurel and Hardy unit at Roach: they had a commitment for several films, and the studio was slated to close at the end of the month for the installation of the new sound equipment. The filming of the "minor masterpiece" Wrong Again had just wrapped on the first, and the unit would go on to wrap its landmark Big Business just after Christmas. Leo McCarey got the "Story by" credit, although L&H Encyclopedia author Glenn Mitchell also traces some lineage back to the 1926 Roach short Along Came Auntie, with Glenn Tryon and Oliver Hardy and a writing co credit for Stan Laurel. Film critic Leslie Halliwell calls the short a "lesser known star comedy which well sustains its basic joke and includes some splendidly timed farce in a restaurant." Glenn Mitchell added "The intricacies of balancing on high heels are matched by the task of maintaining an ersatz bosom (supplied by small barbells), but Stan convinces in the role."