Laurel And Hardy - Good, clean, classic comedy!

[Susan Foreman]

Laurel & Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies | The Huffington Post

[Justin101]

Strangely we've been watching Laurel and Hardy this evening, specifically the hilarious Brats we don't have the DVDs in our flat because the box is a bit a big so it's at my mums house, luckily you can find pretty much all the films on YouTube.

[Inspector Abberline]

One Good Turn (1931)

It's kind of interesting that the comedy duo never shied away from portraying the down and outs,especially considering this was the period of America’s great depression,which just showed that they were pretty much the underdogs and the people's champion.Whereas James Finlayson always seemed to portray the money grabbing landlord or the unscrupulous businessman.In One Good turn Finlayson is pretty much sending himself up by playing an actor who is portraying a landlord who is threatening to evict a little old lady in a play that he is rehearsing. Stan and Ollie have to face the fact they are penniless and decide to beg for food,where upon they come across the house of Mary Carr who is billed unceremoniously as just the Old lady. One Good Turn is quite interesting,its a bit like Ken Loach directing one of there films,the boys are unemployed and desperate for food to the extent they will work for food,something that there audience at the time may have been familiar with during the depression,The other factor here,is that the two of them are constantly at each others throat ,it seems that being poor makes them even more irritable and argumentative.With misunderstandings a plenty and arguments and threats of betrayal as even more accusation's of dishonesty are banded about Oliver: "What". Don't try to alibi. You know you stole this money from that old lady. Why guilt is written all over you. It all ends on a rather apocalyptic note as Stan goes axe crazy and takes his revenge on Ollie.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

One Good Turn (1931)

I don't actually remember this one from your write up, Inspector. Seems i'll have to watch it again, i suppose it will all come flooding back after the first few minutes.

[Inspector Abberline]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I don't actually remember this one from your write up, Inspector. Seems i'll have to watch it again, i suppose it will all come flooding back after the first few minutes.

Its on the Way out West disc,Remember though I view everything through a Multidimensional vortex and a 10 inch black/white Rediffusion tv.

[Susan Foreman]

The 'hat routine' from "Do Detectives Think" (1927)

[Inspector Abberline]

The Fixer Uppers (1935)

This seasonal offering see's the boys selling Christmas cards door to door,unfortunately for them there cards have the worst rhymes ever, "A merry Christmas, husband/ Happy New Year's nigh!/ I wish you Easter greetings/ Hooray for the Fourth of July!" .Eventually they come across the rather lovely Mae Busch,who is doing some rather unconvincing crying,due to the fact she feels her husband Charles Middleton as Pierre Gustave,no longer loves her.When the boys find out what is upsetting Mae,Stan has the rather confabulated plan of making her husband jealous by him witnessing her kiss another man,this is one of those classic Stan plan's that never sound the same twice when Ollie asks him to repeat it and the more he explains it the more confusing the plan gets.It all gets a bit X-rated when Mae Busch demonstrates to the duo how to give a passionate kiss,with the resulting kiss making Stan faint,in retaliation he plants a kiss on Mae with the result she faints this time.Where upon Stan tells Ollie "Well she started it!". The plot is not exactly sophisticated and it all goes a bit farcical with all the stuff about the husband catching his wife in a tryst.It also has a bizarre twist of fate,where the pair get drunk after taunting the husband on the phone,only for them to be taken back to Mae's house and dumped in her bed by the police when there blind drunk,and coming to in Mae bedroom,much to the husbands surprise and Ollie.There seems to be a lot of criticism with the older two reel shorts,with people feeling that by this time they had exhausted the format (which is crazy considering the Three Stooges made nearly 190 short films in the career) but I feel that The Fixer Uppers is much maligned but still has some merit and a worthwhile watch.

[Susan Foreman]

Film of Stan and Ollie at the Variety Club Luncheon in 1952

The interviewer at 2:37 is Eamonn Andrews

[Susan Foreman]

December 3rd, 1927 - The film 'Putting Pants On Philip' is released

Although they had worked together before, this was the first 'official' teaming of Stan and Ollie

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Below Zero (1930)