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| Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy |
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were one of the greatest comedy teams of the silver screen. Thin Stan and fat Ollie were a perfect visual contrast. Stan was the dumb one. Ollie was just as dumb, but never realized it. Yet, they always maintained a certain dignity despite their pratfalls. And there was always an obvious affection between them, even if circumstances pitted them temporarily against each other.
Interestingly, unlike most comedy teams of the period, they did not hone their chemistry together on the vaudeville stage. Nor did they enter the movie business together. Their backgrounds could have hardly been more different. Arthur Stanley "Stan" Laurel was born on 16 June 1890 in Ulverston, Lancashire, England, into a theatrical family. He hit the boards at a young age and came to America with the Fred Karno Company as an understudy to Charlie Chaplin. Like Chaplin, Laurel felt the lure of the motion picture business, but he did not enjoy the same initial success. Starting in 1917, Laurel starred in dozens of short films without truly clicking with the audience. His initial screen persona was that of a brash young man, in the style of Harold Lloyd. By the mid-twenties, when he signed his contract with producer Hal Roach, Laurel considered his career as a performer nearing its end. He anticipated moving into writing and directing instead.
Oliver Norvell Hardy was born on 17 January 1892 in Harlem, Georgia. He experienced hardship as a child with the death of his father a year after his birth. However, Hardy had a talent for singing which his mother encouraged with lessons. Working as a projectionist at a theater, Hardy developed a love of the movies. He moved to Florida, where many movie companies operated at the time, and was soon appearing in films. He was frequently billed as Babe Hardy. Babe was a nickname he got early in his career. In fact, lip readers will notice that Stan frequently addresses him as Babe in their silent films together. Hardy appeared in hundreds of films prior to signing with Hal Roach, mostly working as a comic heavy, most famously for Billy West, a Chaplin impersonator, and Larry Semon. If Laurel was frustrated by his film career, Hardy seemed perfectly contented with his second banana status.
Producer Hal Roach had lost his star attraction, Harold Lloyd, prior to the time Laurel and Hardy both found their way to his studio. Although Roach enjoyed continued success with film series starring Our Gang and the now underrated Baltimorean Charley Chase, none of them had the star power of Lloyd. Laurel and Hardy both found themselves thrown together in films featuring the Hal Roach All Stars. Supervising producer Leo McCarey, who would later become one of the top directors of the 1930s and 1940s, noticed a certain chemistry between Laurel and Hardy and began deliberately pairing them. They soon developed their familiar personas and the studio began billing them as a comedy team. Both of the men were pleased with the development, but they were not legally a team. They both had separate contracts with Roach that ran out at different times. This situation gave Roach the needed leverage to reign in and control them as they grew increasingly popular.
The roles of Laurel and Hardy were reversed behind the screen. Onscreen, Hardy was the leader. Offscreen, it was Laurel. No matter who was listed as producer, director or writer, Stan was the boss of their production unit. With very little interference on their short films from Roach himself, Stan and his team of gag writers would develop a script usually based on a simple story. In the silents, H.M. Walker would usually receive solo writing credit since he wrote the title cards. He often received solo writing on the early sound films as well. His role was usually to work on the dialogue of the scenarios developed by Stan and his team. What was Hardy doing during this time? He preferred to spend his time on the golf course. That isn't to say that he didn't have any input into their films, but he trusted Stan's guidance. And Stan trusted Hardy's instincts as a performer. He thought Hardy was hilarious. One of the reasons for the team's successful duration was their mutual respect for each other's roles. When they began working together, they were essentially only acquaintances, but they grew into fast friends and partners over the years.
Although producer Hal Roach didn't interfere much with the production of their shorts, he and Stan often battled over the higher stakes feature films. Arguments over the production of their 1934 feature film Babes In Toyland, aka, March of the Wooden Soldiers, and simmering resentment about the team's inability to bargain collectively because of their separate contracts, eventually led to a break with Roach. Finally a true partnership, Laurel and Hardy did a series of features for MGM and 20th Century Fox. Sadly, what creative control Stan had enjoyed at Roach was lost entirely at the major studios. Their final film was an unfortunate international production called Utopia, aka Atoll K, which was released in 1951.
Oliver Hardy died 7 August 1957 at the age of sixty-five after a series of strokes. Laurel announced his retirement after Hardy's death, declaring, "There is no Laurel without Hardy." He lived in an apartment in Santa Monica and kept his name and number in the phone book, and talked frequently with fans and celebrity admirers. Dick Van Dyke and Jerry Lewis, in particular, sought out his advice. Jerry would send Stan his scripts, and Stan would send him back notes. Stan received an honorary Academy Award in 1960. Stan died on 23 February 1965. I wish he would have lived a little longer. I would have loved to have called him myself.
I grew up in a great time to be a fan of classic comedy. The Laurel and Hardy sound shorts regularly played on the local television stations. Later I began collecting them on Super 8mm and then later still on 16mm. Before the days of DVD and streaming, that was the only way to see their silent films. I always anxiously awaited the Blackhawk Films catalog. Each issue usually featured a Laurel & Hardy short on sale for half price. Over the years, their films have grown to become a form of cinematic comfort food for me. I start smiling as soon as I hear the music from their scores by Marvin Hatley or Leroy Shields. The films take me back to a more innocent time, both in the world and my own life. However, the way I enjoy them has changed. When I young, I would myself concentrating predominately on Stan Laurel. However, as I have grown older, I find myself enjoying Hardy more.
Without further ado, here's my list:
Stan and Ollie get jobs as a doorman and a footman at a classy hotel. Naturally, chaos ensues.
This is one of their late silent shorts, and I think that is perhaps their finest period. This isn't a particularly big or showy film, but I always found it quite enjoyable. The film is most notable for an early screen appearance by the future sex symbol Jean Harlow, who loses her dress due to Stan's ineptness. In another brush with greatness, this film was photographed by George Stevens, who would later become one of Hollywood's top directors with films like Shane and Giant. The Laurel and Hardy unit had talent in depth.
Yes, I still have a 16mm print.
Cop Edgar Kennedy finds himself in hot water because of all the burglaries during his shift. Promising to get them off the hook later, he blackmails vagrants Stan and Ollie to break into the chief of police's house in order to catch them in the act.
This is an enjoyable short that serves as a excellent showcase for Edgar Kennedy, a great comic supporting actor, famous for his "slow burn." His most famous appearance in a feature film was probably the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup, where he plays a lemonade vendor who unsuccessfully matches wits with peanut vendors Harpo and Chico.
The director of this film, Baltimorean James Parrott, was the younger brother of the comedian Charley Chase. Parrott began his career as a comedian before switching to directing. Sadly, he would develop drug and alcohol addictions. He would die in 1939 at the age of forty-one.
No, I do not have a film print for this one.
Interestingly, unlike most comedy teams of the period, they did not hone their chemistry together on the vaudeville stage. Nor did they enter the movie business together. Their backgrounds could have hardly been more different. Arthur Stanley "Stan" Laurel was born on 16 June 1890 in Ulverston, Lancashire, England, into a theatrical family. He hit the boards at a young age and came to America with the Fred Karno Company as an understudy to Charlie Chaplin. Like Chaplin, Laurel felt the lure of the motion picture business, but he did not enjoy the same initial success. Starting in 1917, Laurel starred in dozens of short films without truly clicking with the audience. His initial screen persona was that of a brash young man, in the style of Harold Lloyd. By the mid-twenties, when he signed his contract with producer Hal Roach, Laurel considered his career as a performer nearing its end. He anticipated moving into writing and directing instead.
Oliver Norvell Hardy was born on 17 January 1892 in Harlem, Georgia. He experienced hardship as a child with the death of his father a year after his birth. However, Hardy had a talent for singing which his mother encouraged with lessons. Working as a projectionist at a theater, Hardy developed a love of the movies. He moved to Florida, where many movie companies operated at the time, and was soon appearing in films. He was frequently billed as Babe Hardy. Babe was a nickname he got early in his career. In fact, lip readers will notice that Stan frequently addresses him as Babe in their silent films together. Hardy appeared in hundreds of films prior to signing with Hal Roach, mostly working as a comic heavy, most famously for Billy West, a Chaplin impersonator, and Larry Semon. If Laurel was frustrated by his film career, Hardy seemed perfectly contented with his second banana status.
Producer Hal Roach had lost his star attraction, Harold Lloyd, prior to the time Laurel and Hardy both found their way to his studio. Although Roach enjoyed continued success with film series starring Our Gang and the now underrated Baltimorean Charley Chase, none of them had the star power of Lloyd. Laurel and Hardy both found themselves thrown together in films featuring the Hal Roach All Stars. Supervising producer Leo McCarey, who would later become one of the top directors of the 1930s and 1940s, noticed a certain chemistry between Laurel and Hardy and began deliberately pairing them. They soon developed their familiar personas and the studio began billing them as a comedy team. Both of the men were pleased with the development, but they were not legally a team. They both had separate contracts with Roach that ran out at different times. This situation gave Roach the needed leverage to reign in and control them as they grew increasingly popular.
The roles of Laurel and Hardy were reversed behind the screen. Onscreen, Hardy was the leader. Offscreen, it was Laurel. No matter who was listed as producer, director or writer, Stan was the boss of their production unit. With very little interference on their short films from Roach himself, Stan and his team of gag writers would develop a script usually based on a simple story. In the silents, H.M. Walker would usually receive solo writing credit since he wrote the title cards. He often received solo writing on the early sound films as well. His role was usually to work on the dialogue of the scenarios developed by Stan and his team. What was Hardy doing during this time? He preferred to spend his time on the golf course. That isn't to say that he didn't have any input into their films, but he trusted Stan's guidance. And Stan trusted Hardy's instincts as a performer. He thought Hardy was hilarious. One of the reasons for the team's successful duration was their mutual respect for each other's roles. When they began working together, they were essentially only acquaintances, but they grew into fast friends and partners over the years.
Although producer Hal Roach didn't interfere much with the production of their shorts, he and Stan often battled over the higher stakes feature films. Arguments over the production of their 1934 feature film Babes In Toyland, aka, March of the Wooden Soldiers, and simmering resentment about the team's inability to bargain collectively because of their separate contracts, eventually led to a break with Roach. Finally a true partnership, Laurel and Hardy did a series of features for MGM and 20th Century Fox. Sadly, what creative control Stan had enjoyed at Roach was lost entirely at the major studios. Their final film was an unfortunate international production called Utopia, aka Atoll K, which was released in 1951.
Oliver Hardy died 7 August 1957 at the age of sixty-five after a series of strokes. Laurel announced his retirement after Hardy's death, declaring, "There is no Laurel without Hardy." He lived in an apartment in Santa Monica and kept his name and number in the phone book, and talked frequently with fans and celebrity admirers. Dick Van Dyke and Jerry Lewis, in particular, sought out his advice. Jerry would send Stan his scripts, and Stan would send him back notes. Stan received an honorary Academy Award in 1960. Stan died on 23 February 1965. I wish he would have lived a little longer. I would have loved to have called him myself.
I grew up in a great time to be a fan of classic comedy. The Laurel and Hardy sound shorts regularly played on the local television stations. Later I began collecting them on Super 8mm and then later still on 16mm. Before the days of DVD and streaming, that was the only way to see their silent films. I always anxiously awaited the Blackhawk Films catalog. Each issue usually featured a Laurel & Hardy short on sale for half price. Over the years, their films have grown to become a form of cinematic comfort food for me. I start smiling as soon as I hear the music from their scores by Marvin Hatley or Leroy Shields. The films take me back to a more innocent time, both in the world and my own life. However, the way I enjoy them has changed. When I young, I would myself concentrating predominately on Stan Laurel. However, as I have grown older, I find myself enjoying Hardy more.
Without further ado, here's my list:
10. DOUBLE WHOOPEE, 1929
Directed by Lewis R. Foster
Titles by H.M. Walker
Stan and Ollie get jobs as a doorman and a footman at a classy hotel. Naturally, chaos ensues.
This is one of their late silent shorts, and I think that is perhaps their finest period. This isn't a particularly big or showy film, but I always found it quite enjoyable. The film is most notable for an early screen appearance by the future sex symbol Jean Harlow, who loses her dress due to Stan's ineptness. In another brush with greatness, this film was photographed by George Stevens, who would later become one of Hollywood's top directors with films like Shane and Giant. The Laurel and Hardy unit had talent in depth.
9. NIGHT OWLS, 1930
Directed by James Parrott
Story Editor H.M. Walker
Cop Edgar Kennedy finds himself in hot water because of all the burglaries during his shift. Promising to get them off the hook later, he blackmails vagrants Stan and Ollie to break into the chief of police's house in order to catch them in the act.
This is an enjoyable short that serves as a excellent showcase for Edgar Kennedy, a great comic supporting actor, famous for his "slow burn." His most famous appearance in a feature film was probably the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup, where he plays a lemonade vendor who unsuccessfully matches wits with peanut vendors Harpo and Chico.
The director of this film, Baltimorean James Parrott, was the younger brother of the comedian Charley Chase. Parrott began his career as a comedian before switching to directing. Sadly, he would develop drug and alcohol addictions. He would die in 1939 at the age of forty-one.
No, I do not have a film print for this one.
8. ANOTHER FINE MESS, 1930
Directed by James Parrott
Written by H.M. Walker
Based on a play by Arthur J. Jefferson (uncredited)
This short, based on a play written by Stan's father, has vagrants Stan and Ollie slipping into a manor house when the owner leaves for a hunting trip. When Lord and Lady Plumtree arrive to rent the home, Ollie pretends to be the owner while Stan pretends to be the maid.
A good supporting cast, including James Finlayson and an uncredited Thelma Todd, enliven the proceedings. Todd would later become one of the most famous comediennes of the 1930s, and most famously romanced by all four of the The Marx Brothers in Horsefeathers, before her still suspicious death in 1935.
7. BUSY BODIES, 1933
Directed by Lloyd French
No Credited Writers
Stan and Ollie work at a carpentry shop where their work tools become instruments of destruction in this basic slapstick short. This is a typical "workplace" short that was the bread and butter of a comedian in short films. You put the comic in a workplace familiar to the audience than use the tools of the trade as comic props.
As you watch the films of Laurel and Hardy, you discover that they rarely rely on surprise or the unexpected for humor. They like to telegraph their gags in advance so that the audience can anticipate their reaction. You will find that tendency well on display here.
No, I do not have a film print.
6. BRATS, 1930
Directed by James Parrott
No Credited Writers
With their wives away, Stan and Ollie have to watch their children, also played by diminutive versions of themselves. This short, which only features Laurel and Hardy in their double roles, is one of their higher concept films. Plus, with the oversized props and furniture for the younger Stan and Ollie to interact with, it must have been one of their more expensive shorts. The results were certainly worth the effort.
Yes, I still have a 16mm print.
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| German Poster |
5. TIT FOR TAT, 1935
Directed by Charley Rogers
No Credited Writers
Stan and Ollie are opening an electronics store. They introduce themselves to the owners of the grocery store next door, Charlie Hall and Mae Busch. After a misunderstanding, Charlie and the boys methodically destroy each others businesses.
The tit for tat battle between Stan and Ollie and Charley Hall is one of the later examples of a familiar trope of their films -- including a couple of ones that follow on this list. These conflicts are characterized by an escalating rounds of slapstick violence. The conflict usually starts with personal attacks before spreading to their respective homes, businesses, vehicles and sometimes innocent bystanders. However, it rarely devolves into free for all. One side does commits an atrocity, unhindered by the opponent. The opponent contemplates it calmly before reacting. And so on. It is this restraint that separates Laurel and Hardy from their contemporaries who find themselves in similar comic circumstances. Their comedy is built around anticipation, not shock or surprise.
BTW, this film is a sequel to their 1934 film Them Thar Hills, in which Hall and Busch appeared as the same characters. Both of them made frequent appearances in Laurel & Hardy films. The immortal Mae Busch frequently played an irritated Mrs. Hardy or a seductress. Charlie Hall, who was also a veteran of the Fred Karno troupe, was a frequent opponent. Shorter than the boys, they didn't mind engaging him physically, as opposed to some of their more intimidating heavies like Walter Long.
Yes, I have this film on 16mm.
4. TWO TARS, 1928
Directed by James Parrott
Written by H.M. Walker (Titles) & Leo McCarey (Story)
Two sailors meet two girls and take them on a date. Before long, they get caught up in a huge traffic jam, and, as a result of building frustration, an orgy of mutual automotive destruction begins. If the films of Laurel and Hardy prove one thing, it is that the props department at Roach never lacked for imaginative ways to bend, twist and destroy Fords. The first reel of this short, as the boys try to impress the girls is a little slow, but the second reel in one of the best in their oeuvre.
No 16mm print, but I still have my Super 8mm one.
3. HELPMATES, 1932
Directed by James Parrott
Written by H.M. Walker
His house a mess after a wild party, Ollie relies on his friend Stan to help him clean up before his wife gets home early from a trip. Big mistake.
This is another very simple short predominately featuring on the boys themselves. Simple household items become weapons in the hands of the duo as their attempts to clean the house become counterproductive. Straight-up slapstick through and through.
No, I do not have a film print.
2. THE MUSIC BOX, 1932
Directed by James Parrott
Written by H.M. Walker
Deliverymen Stan and Ollie attempt to get a crated piano up an incredibly long flight of stairs to the home of Professor Von Schwarzenhoffen.
This is perhaps the team's most famous film. It won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject in 1932. This film tops most lists of their short films and its easy to see why. The situation plays to their comic strengths, and the boys manage to milk every possible gag from it. It is indeed an excellent film. It also benefits from the presence of Billy Gilbert, a reliable comic heavy perhaps most famous for playing Herring in Chaplin's The Great Dictator.
Chances are, if you attend a festival screening a Laurel & Hardy short, it will be this film. This is a great introduction to the team. Definitely the best of their sound shorts. However, not their best short overall....
No, I do not have a film print.
1. BIG BUSINESS, 1929
Directed by James W. Horne & Leo McCarey (Supervising)
Titles by H.M. Walker
Stan and Ollie are Christmas tree salesmen in sunny California. After raising the ire of homeowner James Finlayson, a classic tit-for-tat battle ensues.
As my list clearly illustrates, Laurel and Hardy loved these tit-for-tat battles and returned to the trope frequently. Big Business is the best of them. Much of the credit goes to their co-star James Finlayson. James was a Scottish comic best known for his fading double-take. Modern audiences might recognize that Homer Simpson's "Duh!" is a direct homage to Finlayson. The early teamings of Laurel & Hardy almost always featured Finlayson in the mix to the degree that McCarey and Roach considered making them a threesome. Sadly, for Finlayson, the trio became a duo, but he remained a valuable member of the troupe.
I didn't include any links to any of their films on YouTube since they keep getting pulled down, but here's their final public appear in 1954 on This Is Your Life.
Honorable Mention:
ANY OLD PORT!, 1932, Short of funds, Hardy convinces Laurel to step into the ring as a prizefighter against an old nemesis. This is a sentimental favorite since I was a founder of the Sons of the Desert tent named for this film. COUNTY HOSPITAL, 1932, a pretty strong short ruined only by some terrible process traffic shots at the end. THE SECOND 100 YEARS, 1927, Laurel and Hardy play prison escapees in this early short. YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN', 1928. Fired from a municipal band, Laurel and Hardy try their luck as street musicians and one of their tit for tat battles with the passerbys ensues. This film was directed by their frequent onscreen nemesis Edgar Kennedy. ME AND MY PAL, 1933, best man, Stan, brings the groom, Ollie, a puzzle as wedding present, which so distracts the everyone that the wedding never happens. MEN O'WAR, 1929, Broke sailors, Stan and Ollie, try to pick up some girls in a park. HOG WILD, 1930, Stan and Ollie try to install a radio antenna on the roof. What could possibly go wrong? This is a favorite of my five-year-old granddaughter Mara.
Here are some other lists:
ANY OLD PORT!, 1932, Short of funds, Hardy convinces Laurel to step into the ring as a prizefighter against an old nemesis. This is a sentimental favorite since I was a founder of the Sons of the Desert tent named for this film. COUNTY HOSPITAL, 1932, a pretty strong short ruined only by some terrible process traffic shots at the end. THE SECOND 100 YEARS, 1927, Laurel and Hardy play prison escapees in this early short. YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN', 1928. Fired from a municipal band, Laurel and Hardy try their luck as street musicians and one of their tit for tat battles with the passerbys ensues. This film was directed by their frequent onscreen nemesis Edgar Kennedy. ME AND MY PAL, 1933, best man, Stan, brings the groom, Ollie, a puzzle as wedding present, which so distracts the everyone that the wedding never happens. MEN O'WAR, 1929, Broke sailors, Stan and Ollie, try to pick up some girls in a park. HOG WILD, 1930, Stan and Ollie try to install a radio antenna on the roof. What could possibly go wrong? This is a favorite of my five-year-old granddaughter Mara.
Here are some other lists:
Top 10 Comedies of the 2000s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1990s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1980s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1970s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1960s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1950s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1940s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1930s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 2010s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 2000s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1990s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1980s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1970s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1960s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1950s
Top 15 Horror Films of the 1930s and 1940s
My 10 Favorite James Bonds Films
My 10 Favorite Faith Based Films
My 10 Favorite Laurel & Hardy Shorts
Top 10 Comedies of the 1990s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1980s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1970s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1960s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1950s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1940s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1930s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 2010s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 2000s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1990s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1980s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1970s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1960s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1950s
Top 15 Horror Films of the 1930s and 1940s
My 10 Favorite James Bonds Films
My 10 Favorite Faith Based Films
My 10 Favorite Laurel & Hardy Shorts
The 10 Worst Films I Paid To See!
My 5 Favorite Westerns
7 Guy Films
20 Films, or Confessions of a Misspent Youth
The Marx Brothers Films Ranked
The Chaplin Mutual Shorts Ranked
Beatles Albums Ranked
My 20 Favorite Beatles Songs
My 5 Least Favorite Beatles Songs
My 5 Favorite Rolling Stones Albums
My 5 Favorite Dylan Albums
My 5 Favorite Westerns
7 Guy Films
20 Films, or Confessions of a Misspent Youth
The Marx Brothers Films Ranked
The Chaplin Mutual Shorts Ranked
Beatles Albums Ranked
My 20 Favorite Beatles Songs
My 5 Least Favorite Beatles Songs
My 5 Favorite Rolling Stones Albums
My 5 Favorite Dylan Albums
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