Laurel And Hardy - Good, clean, classic comedy!

[Inspector Abberline]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

You are on a roll with classic Laurel and Hardy, Inspector.

For some reason Im really in the mood,Ive been dipping in and out of Seinfeld box set for weeks now and it just got me in the mood for more classic comedy,strange how you get these moods to watch certain things.To be honest I had to force myself to watch horror movies last month as I just was not in the mood at all.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

For some reason Im really in the mood,Ive been dipping in and out of Seinfeld box set for weeks now and it just got me in the mood for more classic comedy,strange how you get these moods to watch certain things.To be honest I had to force myself to watch horror movies last month as I just was not in the mood at all.

Yes, i know what you mean.

[Susan Foreman]

Did you know...that Lou Costello, of Abbott and Costello fame, appeared with Laurel and Hardy in their silent classic Battle Of The Century?

[Susan Foreman]

Rare footage of Stan visiting his father (Arthur Jefferson) and stepmother (Venetia) outside their Ealing property at 49 Colebrook Avenue, taken during Laurel and Hardy's 1932 UK tour.

[Inspector Abberline]

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)

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The duo are dreamily sitting on the dock of a bay,when a newspaper flies into the face of a sleeping Ollie,he awakes all startled and see's an article about an Ebeneezer Laurel who has died,and requests that his relatives attend the reading of the will. Ollie soon perks up and starts questioning Stan about his heritage,Which leads to one of the funniest lines in the film.
Oliver: Now we're getting somewhere. Is he living?
Stanley: No. He fell through a trap door and broke his neck.
Oliver: Was he building a house?
Stanley: No, they were hanging him.
So after a rather confusing conversation,the duo are off to the Laurel residence to claim Stan's inheritance.What they find is the police,who are investigating the late Ebeneezer death and are holding the rest of the family for suspicion of murder. After yet another confusing conversation between the police and Stan,
Detective: "Where were you November the fifteenth?"
Stan: "November? (thinks about it) Septober, Octember, Nowonder..."
Afterwards the duo spend most of the time,running around and screaming as bats,cats and bed sheets seem to scare them witless. The film is in the style of Old Dark House ,with lightening and thunder as Stan and Ollie manage to stumble and crash around the mansion.Its also a fairly spooky little film,very much in the same vein as OLIVER THE EIGHTH,even the ending they reused again for Oliver The Eighth ( I wonder what is the earliest film that used the dream ending?). All together Murder Case is a bit slow in parts and certainly not one of there funniest films,it relies to heavily on slapstick and not enough on dialogue.But Stan has some great lines,as he continually gets into some rather confusing conversations every so often.Ollie on the other hand sees the situation to make some money out of his sidekick only to find a murderous butler and his cross dressing sidekick.It is a fun film,let down by two many repeated slapstick scenes,and an ending which at the time was probably original but now seems hackneyed.

[Susan Foreman]

Another wonderful piece of film. Stan and Ollie attend the 21st birthday party of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in March 1947

[Susan Foreman]

It's like Beatlemania!

[Susan Foreman]

Bit of a sad one here - a letter written by Stan just a few days after Ollie had died



More of Stan's letters can be found here

[Susan Foreman]

November 18th, 1932 - Stan and Ollie win the Oscar for 'Best Live Action Short Film, Comedy' for 'The Music Box'

[Inspector Abberline]

Way Out West. (1937)

Probably one of the most well known films,mainly down to the song "Trail Of The Lonesome Pine",and anybody who listened to the radio back in the mid 1970's,especially Ed Stewpot on Saturday morning Junior Choice,will remember this getting plenty of air play when released as a single in 1975 and getting to number 2 in the singles chart. This and there dance number to the song "At The Ball, That's All" sung by The Avalon Boys,are just two of the most memorable scenes from there careers,I expect even today most people would recognise those scenes even if they had not seen the film.iconic as they are.Way Out West see the duo try to deliver the deeds to a goldmine left to Mary Roberts and played by Rosina Lawrence,only for the pair to fall foul of the ever devious James Finlayson as Mickey Finn and his wife Lola Marcel (Sharon Lynn)..Unlike some movies which have musical interludes,they never feels intrusive or stops the flow of comedy,and at 65 mins running time,it never out stays its welcome.With any of there films,I can forgive any thing as long as the film is peppered with some cracking one liners and Way Out West is no exception,When Lola is impersonating Mary Roberts she asks the duo "Is it true that he's dead?" ,and with no sign of irony or tact Stan replies "well we hope he is, they buried him!" ,which as a joke is brilliant and has been borrowed or plagiarised many times since.Its also filled with many silly moments of slapstick,and some rather riotous fun,especially when Lola searches Stan for the deeds,which Stan seems to be enjoying a little to much. Way Out West. is probably there best feature length film,mainly due to the fact it was produced by Hal Roach so its still in that golden era of there films.