Zenobia (film)
Zenobia (also known as Elephants Never Forget (UK) and It's Spring Again) is a 1939 comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Oliver Hardy, Harry Langdon, Billie Burke, Alice Brady, James Ellison, Jean Parker, June Lang, Stepin Fetchit and Hattie McDaniel. The source of the film was the 1891 short story "Zenobia's Infidelity" by H.C. Bunner, which was originally purchased by producer Hal Roach as a vehicle for Roland Young. Background. "Zenobia" is one of the few films after the teaming of Laurel and Hardy that features Hardy without Stan Laurel, the result of a  contract dispute between Laurel and producer Hal Roach, who maintained separate contracts for each performer, rather than a team contract, which would have offered them more control over their careers. "Zenobia" was Roach's attempt to create a new comedic pair without Laurel, and a series of films with Hardy and Langdon was planned. The dispute was short-lived, however, and Laurel and Hardy were reunited shortly thereafter. Plot. Set in 1870, Hardy plays Dr. Henry Tibbett, a Mississippi country doctor who is called on by a travelling circus trainer to cure his sick elephant. After the doctor heals the  grateful beast, the elephant becomes so attached to him that it starts to follow him everywhere. This leads to the trainer suing Dr. Tibbett for alienation of affection. Reception. The film was a box-office disaster. United Artists even had trouble booking the film into theatres. "The New York Times" wrote on May 15, 1939, that the film: Then—playing on the potential for a new comedy team of Hardy and Langdon—the reviewer said: In popular culture. The film is mentioned quite frequently (referred to as "the elephant movie") during the "Stan and Ollie" biopic. In the film, Laurel  begrudged Hardy for doing the film; however, this was not the case in real life, as it was Laurel himself who encouraged Hardy to continue at Hal Roach Studios without him. After his contract was up, Hardy refused to form a new team with Langdon, left Roach, and followed Laurel to 20th Century Fox. Restoration. The 35mm nitrate stock was digitally restored, and released on dvd in 2018. Unrestored and restored comparisons of the same scenes appear side-by-side in the menu's 'Special Features'. Millions of imperfections were removed.