MovieChat Forums > Babes in Toyland (1934) Discussion > Barnanby Would Have Been A Better Choice...

Barnanby Would Have Been A Better Choice for Bo-Peep


Going by the standards of the time, Bo-Peep should have chosen Barnaby. He could have offered Bo-Peep more financial stability, a step up the social ladder, and greater respect among the townspeople, compared to Tom-Tom, a no account with no visible means of support, who seemed to do nothing but prance around Toyland all day. To sum up, Bo Peep in the long run would have been much more grounded and happier with Barnaby, and would have eventually become a rich young widow.

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Are you serious? I shudder to think of their wedding night. And if they had children? Would they be little Barnabys?
Bo-Peep might have been rich, but she would have been miserable. Unless, Stannie and Ollie could have arranged an "accident" for Barnaby.

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Maybe in 18th/19th Century Europe that might have been the case, but since this is supposed to be a fictional, fairy-tale type world where anything goes, I don't find Peep's rejection to be so odd.

There are films, though, in which rejections of wealthy suitors do occur, when back then they would be pretty unlikely based on how women were brought up (ex. Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pride and Prejudice, Forever Amber, etc). Back then, women married for position, not love.

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Most marriages among wealthy families in the 18th and 19th centuries were arranged by parents with the young people having no say in the matter. If they dared object, they risked being disowned.
Usually, in such arranged marriages, the husband had a mistress or two on the side. The wife, however, couldn't risk taking a lover--Lady Chatterly, notwithstanding--because if she was caught, she lost everything and was ruined by scandal. So, she just suffered in silence.
The old double standard!

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[deleted]

Remember what I said, Bo-Peep-Barnaby would have become a rich young widow, enabling her to finally marry Tom-Tom, and they would have lived happilly ever after. And Tom-Tom would spend the rest of his life living off Bo-Peep-Barnaby-Piper!

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[deleted]

Now that you mentioned it, in the original Mother Goose rhyme he was known as "Tom-Tom, the Piper's Son", so his dad must have been rich (we all know we have to "pay the piper" sometime). So, he must have been the town heir, with lots of leisure time, sort of a Toyland male Paris Hilton, with the same taste in clothing--ridiculous!. [I wonder why Tom-Tom's family simply didn't buy out Barnaby?]

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Tom Tom was a criminal. The nursery rhyme goes: Tom Tom the Piper's son, stole a pig and away he did run.

I can easily see why he would be convicted of pig-knapping even if he was framed.

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"Tom Tom was a criminal. The nursery rhyme goes: Tom Tom the Piper's son, stole a pig and away he did run.

I can easily see why he would be convicted of pig-knapping even if he was framed."


Interesting. Perhaps this incident is what was supposed to be genesis of the rhyme.

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Forget the financial reasons, Barnaby is the better choice...period. Tom Tom is sooooo annoying! Sure, Barnaby is the villain, but at least he's entertaining. I never quite understood why we were supposed to like Tom Tom. He's hard to watch. thank goodness for Laurel and Hardy, if it weren't for them, which of the good guys could we possibly support, since the rest are all so annoying? haha.

"I don't see vulnerability as a flaw. I see it as a manifestation of humanity." ~ Marty Feldman

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[deleted]

"Remember what I said, Bo-Peep-Barnaby would have become a rich young widow, enabling her to finally marry Tom-Tom, and they would have lived happilly ever after. And Tom-Tom would spend the rest of his life living off Bo-Peep-Barnaby-Piper!"

Not if Barnaby insisted on a pre-nup! :)

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"Bo" was just a nickname anyway. Her birthname was Shaniqua. She acquired her nickname "Bo" because it was short for "Bogey," and Miss Peep was notorious for having a bad case of "Bogey Fever." As soon as she hit puberty she'd jump on a raft and head for Bogeyland, where she'd indulge in threesomes, DP, train action--you name it. Her best friend, Little Miss Muffet (another notorious Toyland slut, known as "the Muff"), said to her, "You'd better be careful, kid. I like rough trade as much as the next gal, but you go to Bogeyland once too often and you'll get eaten." Bo would smile slyly and say, "Too late." Bo-Peep is believed to have originated or inspired the well-known Toyland saying, "Once you've had Bogey, you don't go back." I think if she had known Barnaby had such good connections with the Bogeymen (he even had a couple of Bogeygirl mistresses, and sired a bunch of light-skinned Bogeykids), LB-P might have been more tempted to marry him.

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"Bo" was just a nickname anyway. Her birthname was Shaniqua. She acquired her nickname "Bo" because it was short for "Bogey," and Miss Peep was notorious for having a bad case of "Bogey Fever." As soon as she hit puberty she'd jump on a raft and head for Bogeyland, where she'd indulge in threesomes, DP, train action--you name it. Her best friend, Little Miss Muffet (another notorious Toyland slut, known as "the Muff"), said to her, "You'd better be careful, kid. I like rough trade as much as the next gal, but you go to Bogeyland once too often and you'll get eaten." Bo would smile slyly and say, "Too late." Bo-Peep is believed to have originated or inspired the well-known Toyland saying, "Once you've had Bogey, you don't go back." I think if she had known Barnaby had such good connections with the Bogeymen (he even had a couple of Bogeygirl mistresses, and sired a bunch of light-skinned Bogeykids), LB-P might have been more tempted to marry him.

The funny thing is that when I picture all this I picture it in black and white.
You know, you could publish a book of these and achieve a small but very enthusiastic audience!

cinefreak

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Agree with RobertMitchumRules2005. Also, that is possibly the best username ever. He totally rules.

"He's already attracted to her. Time and monotony will do the rest."

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Would they be little Barnabys?

They'd be little Barnaboys and Barnagirls.

cinefreak

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Thank you, Dr. Laura.

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[deleted]

and greater respect among the townspeople, compared to Tom-Tom,
When Tom-Tom announced his engagement to Bo-Peep they were cheers and dancing in the street. When Barnaby announced he was marrying Bo-Peep, the crowd grumbled and looked sad.
would have eventually become a rich young widow.
Barnaby probably wouldn't let her have a penny and would have left his fortune to the Home for the Criminally Insane. No! Better to be happy and poor with the young tenor then miserable with a decrepit miser.

Barnaby is a perfect villain, but a romantic partner -







"Fortunately, I keep my feathers numbered for just such an emergency."

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It's a tough call, actually. I think Barnaby would have been kind to her, and not caused too many more problems if he had gotten his way. On the other hand, she loves Tom-Tom, not Barnaby. Tom-Tom is (perhaps) the more attractive one, and already a friend of hers. There's no indication that he can't support her financially, for all we know he's rich in his own right.

Though if he was, wouldn't he pay the mortgage for them himself? Hmm...

Someone needs to write a fanfic about Barnaby, and why he's so bitter! XD

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I watched this movie recently, and it struck me that Tom-Tom probably would have been more interested in Little Jack Horner than Little Bo-Peep. If you catch my drift.

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What? Are you nuts? He was WAY too old for her and it would've been like marrying your father or uncle age-wise. Now Bo's MOTHER could've married Barnaby instead of being a widow (implied). That being said, I don't think there was one single person in the entire town even liked Barnaby when it comes right down to it.

You're comparing the story line with what shoulda coulda woulda happened in the "real world".

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All the more reason why Bo Peep should have married Barnaby. He would have improved her social standing, while Bo Peep would have enhanced his popularity with the townspeople. As with Astaire/Rogers, he would give her class, and she would give him sex appeal.

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4 years later, I say "Amen" to you!

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Thank you. And don't even get me started on why Jud would have been better than Curley in Oklahoma.

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Don't worry, I won't for now. Maybe this summer, when we're running out of ice.

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LOL.

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