Laurel And Hardy - Good, clean, classic comedy!
 

Fellow forum member Gag recently mentioned in another thread a fondness for peerless comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

I'd also like to add my appreciation and support for the innocent invaluable laughs provided over the years by the cracking comics in question and apart from Gag and myself, any other Laurel and Hardy fans here?

I know there's a great many of the rib-tickling twosome's crazy capers available on DVD but i also think it's high time Stan and Ollie graced our terrestrial TV screens again. Just like they did back in the '80s and early '90s.

Gone but never forgotten.:clap:

Count me in as fan. Way Out West is one of the funniest films ever made.

It certainly is, especially the scenes involving Stan and Ollie creeping around in bad guy James Finlayson's saloon at night.

There's never a dull moment in WOW but i must admit the film's second half supplies the funniest frolics imo.
Ollie's head through the floor and under the bucket, Stan and Ollie hiding in Finlayson's piano, our two leads and their horse tumbling down a flight of stairs and those side-splitting attempts to sneak into Finlayson's property. Absolute comedy gold there.;)

Laurel & Hardy - The Collection 21-disc Box Set DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy: DVD

You can buy the complete collection 21 disc for £37 thats a bargain average price is around £50

Ps nice to see you start a thread because of me mentioning them :woot:

Way Out West would have to be my favourite L&H film, closely followed by Sons Of the Desert.

Way out west
 

brilliant film

Way Out West scene-

Lola Marcel (impersonating Mary Roberts): "Tell me, is it true? Is my dear, dear Daddy really dead?"

Stan: "Well, we hope he is- they buried him!"

Lola: "What did he die of?"

Stan: "I think he died of a Tuesday... or was it a Wednesday?"

Ollie: "Let me handle this delicate matter! Little lady, you've heard the worst. Now prepare yourself for the best...smile. Remember, every cloud has a silver lining."

Stan: "Sure, any bird can build a nest, but it isn't everyone that can lay an egg, is it?"

Finlayson: "That's right..." (then he realizes what nonsense that was, so he reacts)

Nice busts there and i think the Hardy variant looks the most lifelike.

I also enjoy Pack Up Your Troubles, Saps At Sea and Blockheads.

Quite possibly my fave Stan and Ollie short is The Laurel And Hardy Murder Case set inside a typically creepy old dark house.
Highly recommended!;)

Definately my favourites of vintage comedy, my all time favouite one is BUSY BODIES, L & H at their very best.

A Chump At Oxford is superbly side-splitting too. Especially the hedge maze scene.

Also, keep an eye out for a young Peter Cushing in this comedy classic.:)

Well said SD73. It's a shame to think that there are young kids today who have never heard of Laurel & Hardy.

My two boys (aged 6 and 8) regularly request a bit of L&H -their faves are Laughing Gravy and the Music Box - and I'm sure most kids would still get a kick out of them (amazing when you think that most of their output is 80-90 years old!)

Honourable mentions also to Blotto and Tit For Tat, which I first saw on my dad's old Super 8 projector many moons ago.

Their comedy timing was absolutely impeccable and Hal Roach always surrounded Stan & Ollie with some of the best supporting comedy actors around, with James Finlayson probably being the best of the bunch - his double-takes are priceless, not to mentioning coming up with the word "D'oh" decades before The Simpsons or even Peter Glaze.

Kev W

Funnily enough, i've been thinking about introducing my two nephews (aged 3 and 6) to L & H output myself.
Maybe the brilliant Blockheads would be a good start as this comedy classic reignited my interest in Stan and Ollie when i first saw the film on BBC 2 back in the late '80s.

TMB is another of my L & H faves and i believe the duo won some sort of award for this side-splitting short and deservedly so.

I also recommend The Chimp if you or your sons haven't already seen it.:)

Finlayson is hilarious as the doctor who has a door literally shut in his face (twice!) in Saps At Sea.
The actor was also memorable as a sneaky sailor in Our Relations and remember Finlayson's unforgettable head-first dive down a flight of stairs in Our Wife?;)

Is that the one where they're chimney sweeps at a mad professor's house? I seem to remember that one having a bizarre ending (?)

Another favourite of the kids' - and one that I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned yet - Brats!

A bit of trivia: Finlayson never had that tash in real life, it was always stuck on for the role!

Love L&H, Bonnie Scotland is one of my fav's sadly missing from the box set but available from U.S. and Germany.

I prefer Harold Lloyd to be honest but the L&H episode/film that stands out to me is the one where everyone is getting ready for a wedding and there is a jigsaw half finished on the table. Anyone who walks in the room cannot help but try to put a piece in ... anyway, I recall no one ever getting to the wedding but chaos ensues around said jigsaw.

:pound:

Stan's dialogue is priceless when he spots a Lion heading towards him, Ollie and Ethel the chimp:

"I just saw MGM!" :lol:

Brats is brilliant too.;)

Especially when Ollie slides butt-first down the stairs!:lol:

Achingly funny even today. 70 years (and more) later and their work never dates.

If my memory serves me right there was an episode in a roller-rink. Well the roller-rink that the set was based on is real close to me. Of course it is no longer a roller rink but the building is still there. I can get pics if you would like to see the outside.

:nod:

Busy Bodies is probably my favourite.

Guys, I have just uploaded a collection of some very rare and absolutely stunning Laurel & Hardy posters from Germany and Spain etc.. on my movie poster art group here....


come and take a look

Movie poster art | Facebook


click on the photos tab and enjoy.

Many thanks for sharing Sam, there's some beauties there!

PS Dick und Dorf???

"A little bit of kindess goes a looooong way..." :D

Kev W

I really Ned to get more Laurel and Hardy into my diet, I love watching clips on YouTube but Ireally should get the DVDs

great to see much love for the demented duo. just recently rewatched Busy Bodies, The Music Box and Laughing Gravy (the 2reeler). must get The Laurel & Hardy Murder Case (easily in my top 5 L&H'ers)

No comedians can touch Stan and Ollie.

The timing of the masters is superlative, and this was due to the fact they both of them had honed their skills on the stage before moving into movies - Ollie with the American Vaudeville theatre, and Stan in the Music Halls. [One of the other people that Stan appeared regualrly on stage with weas none other than Charlie Chaplin). But the main reason why I love them is...they are hilarious. Ollie constantly broke down the 'fourth wall', and his knowing glances to the audience are wonderul touches from a medium when the actors normally go out of thier way to stay distanced from the audience

As well as comedians, they were also acomplished dancers and singers - remember 'The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine' on Top Of The Pops??

This is definitely one of the best attributes of Hardy and the way he interacts with the audience with one of his looks to the viewer is always good for a laugh.:nod:

An absolute side-splitter no doubt about it. From the "Oliver, are you really going?" moment to the Bat-in-the-bed scene.:lol:

Just thinking of the part in The Sons Of The Desert when Ollie is feeling ill and Stan calls for a Doctor. An animal Doctor that is!

Hardy: "Now why did you wanna hire a Veterinarian for?"
Laurel: "Well, i didn't think his religion would make any difference!" :lol:

For any members here interested in acquiring the L&H 'suitcase' set it may be worth checking out your nearest HMV. Last Saturday Gateshead's branch had this collection on sale for £22.50 due to the company's current 25% off marked price promo.

A very nice result imo considering this release was originally priced at £100.00 then reduced to £30.00. The above outlet had a pile of these sets all with a blue 'X' sticker denoting the £25% off deal and when i took my copy to the till the sales assistant scanned said release through at £30.00. I subsequently pointed out my purchase was part of the promo and therefore eligible for the 25% off discount to which the employee replied "This shouldn't be part of it as it's a sale item.". Still, she offset the relevant deduction and i was most pleased with such a bargain as i'd been after this set for a good while but kept on delaying buying it. I'm glad i held out now considering the saving i made!;)

Good spot, I've only seen 1 or 2 of their films and I've always wanted to have that set. Will have to check my local although I'm still peeved that I have £60 in vouchers to use but can't

I have the 21 disc collection. Fantastic !

Just off the top of my head, two scenes that are laugh out loud funny...

Our Wife... James finlayson steps on the sweeper at the top of the stairs !
Chickens Come Home... Mrs Hardy and butler James Finlayson can't believe their eyes as Stan and Ollie try to sneak Ollie's old girlfriend out the door !

"Excuse me, my ear is full of milk"

"Lots of weather we've been having lately"

Thicker Than Water

Mrs. Hardy: "Oliver did I or did I not give you the money to pay on the furniture?"
Ollie: "You certainly did"
Mrs. Hardy: "Then why wasn't it paid?"
Ollie: "Why, I gave it to him (points to Stan) to pay it for me"
Mrs. Hardy (to Stan): "Then what did you do with it?"
Stan: "I gave it back to him"
Ollie: "You gave it to me?"
Stan: "Yeah I gave it to you to pay my room and board then you gave it to her, recomember?"
Mrs. Hardy: "Do you mean to say that the money that he gave to you that you gave to him that he gave to me, was the same money that I gave to him to pay him?"
Stan: "Well if that was the money that you gave to him to give to me to pay to him, it must have been the money that I gave him to give to you to pay my rent - didn't I?"

I didn't know there was a Laurel and Hardy thread.

As Pete says on the first page, Way Out West is his favourite, its also mine too. The dance the duo do is absolutely priceless.

One of the greatest scenes in cinema history.

As for an episode that hasn't been mentioned yet. Oliver the Eighth is brilliant, funny and when i originally saw it, incredibly scary.

They used to show episodes on BBC2 weeknights at around 5.30 in the early eighties. Harold Lloyd and others as well.

Agreed it a good one, but

SPOILER

It's ruined by a real cop-out ending. "I just had a terrible dream." It should have ended with the widow entering the room, Stan breaking out of the closet (no homosexual innuendo intended), Ollie waking up, and the two of them running away, in traditional (and bumbling) Laurel and Hardy style!