What can you say about Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy that
hasn’t already been said? They’re icons of comedy. Sometimes they can be a bit tedious
to watch; after all we are used to a much faster paced style of entertainment
today; but the roots of contemporary comedy can be found in these old shorts.
The plots are simple; much like the later sitcoms would be.
The big difference is in the amount of time when there is no dialogue. Talkies
had only been around for about 5 years at the time this film was made, and
Laurel and Hardy were still drawing largely on the skills they had honed in
silent films for almost 20 years at this point.
Stan Laurel was in the same vaudeville troupe as Charlie
Chaplin when they both came over to America and stayed. Chaplin later left; but
Laurel remained in America until his death in the early 1960’s. Oliver Hardy had
been a football player at Georgia State; I could look it up but I’m being lazy.
He was also a skillful ballroom dancer; sought after at many Hollywood
functions.
Well, it’s all been written before. Sit down and try to
watch this all the way through; if only to see that you are still able to
concentrate on something for 19 minutes.
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