Silent Films: pre-team 1921-1927 Laurel and Hardy Silents 1927 Laurel and Hardy Silents 1928 Laurel and Hardy Silents 1929 Laurel and Hardy sound films (alphabetical order): A-Haunting We Will Go Air Raid Wardens Another Fine Mess Any Old Port! Atoll K (aka Utopia) Babes In Toyland Beau Hunks Be Big! Below Zero Berth Marks The Big Noise Block-Heads Blotto The Bohemian Girl Bonnie Scotland Brats The Bullfighters Busy Bodies Chickens Come Home - The Chimp A Chump At Oxford Come Clean County Hospital The Dancing Masters The Devil's Brother aka Fra Diavolo Dirty Work The Fixer Uppers The Flying Deuces Fra Diavolo aka The Devil's Brother Going Bye-Bye! Great Guns Helpmates Hog Wild The Hoose-Gow Jitterbugs Laughing Gravy The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case The Live Ghost Me And My Pal Men O'War The Midnight Patrol The Music Box Night Owls Nothing But Trouble Oliver The Eighth One Good Turn Our Relations Our Wife Pack Up Your Troubles Pardon Us Perfect Day Saps At Sea Scram! Sons of the Desert Swiss Miss Their First Mistake Them Thar Hills They Go Boom! Thicker Than Water Tit For Tat Towed In A Hole Twice Two Unaccustomed As We Are Utopia (aka Atoll K) Way Out West Specials: Cameos Cartoons For Love Or Mummy Laurel and Hardy Memories "Stan"

Chickens Come Home - Year: 1931 Directed by: James W. Horne Duration: 29m DVD Availability: Try sendit.com (region 2 only) Viewpoint: "Just the same little apple-cheeked boy!" An example of the pedantry powering this site from time to time can be witnessed with the replicated title of this three reeler – the title actually contains a dash after it. So it’s not "Chickens Come Home", but "Chickens Come Home –", see? Now, hasn’t your life been enriched knowing this? Filmed between December 1930 and January 1931, Chickens Come Home - was a remake of the silent Love 'Em And Weep. With Ollie here playing the part originally performed by James Finlayson (he and Stan were the leads in 1927, with Hardy a bit player) it sees him cast as a wannabe Mayor caught up in scandal. The difference between frenetic knockabout action and more laid-back situational comedy is notable in just four years. Right from the opening this one generates laughs with Ollie pompously trying to endear himself to us, the viewers, by showily reading about himself in a newspaper and smiling to us with mock humility. Hardy’s performances are nearly always touched with finer details that transcend the plots. Who needs to discuss scripts and lines when a tie twiddle or finger shuffle can send you in a paroxysm of mirth? As for Stan, his hair possibly the longest it ever was, his face more gormless than ever, he’s a delight, sharing in looks to camera almost as much as Ollie. In truth though, this is a very Olliecentric excursion, for once not largely based around the two as partnership. With Stan holed up watching over an old girlfriend, Ollie’s back home in a close-to-home adultery plot. Of note is the Spanish version, Politiquerias, which runs for an enormous 53 minutes, almost as long as two or three of their Roach movies. Although the process is aided by some novelty turns, through the transfer to sound then to foreign language the original material has managed to more than double in length. Though largely irrelevant to the narrative (though they do make Ollie’s party seem less like the wash out it was in the US version), the magician and the food regurgitator are technically excellent. Taking up 16 ½ minutes of runtime, they force the plot down a cul-de-sac, but are nonetheless charming. Beyond the basic amusement of the characterisations, then Chickens Come Home – isn’t an especially hilarious film, but a warmly amusing one. I’ve rated it average here, but a higher rating certainly wouldn’t be out of the question.