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"
Year: 1943
Written by: Scott Darling
Directed by: Malcolm St. Clair
Duration: 71m
DVD Availability: Try sendit.com (region 2 only)
Viewpoint:
"You know, Ollie, I was just thinkin’"
"What about?"
"Nuthin’, I was just thinkin’."
A very funny line, and Ollie’s reaction to it should seal its right to be an all-time classic moment. However, there’s still another 70+ minutes surrounding said moment and there’s nothing that approaches it in those. The night before I rewatched Jitterbugs I saw Light-Heavyweight Roy Jones Jr. take on Antonio Tarver for the third time. Jones Jr. – and, it should be obvious by now, I don’t really have all that much to say about the film itself, so indulge me in this diversion – was fairly content to take a points loss, even though Tarver was exhausted in the final round and was there to be KOed. Like Laurel and Hardy, Jones Jr. had excelled to high levels but had, also like Stan and Ollie, ended the last days of his career with downright embarrassing failures. A man who was rated pound-for-pound the best fighter for most of a decade had struggled against Tarver in their first bout, then spent his next two bouts (the second Tarver match and another opponent) stretched out on the canvas. So from this all-time career low a man who had never even been in a competitive fight before 2003 was suddenly grateful to go the distance, never mind winning.
I know what you’re thinking "what’s this indulgent clap-trap about a boxer I’ve never heard of got to do with Laurel and Hardy?" Well, it kind of reminds me of Jitterbugs… it’s happy just to get by, taking no risks. Stan and Ollie spend this film with their dignity intact, roaming around a plot that – while far too convoluted for a L & H vehicle – has no Nazis, and the invention present is merely a minor element. There are even a couple of harmless songs in there to bolster the runtime. It’s vaguely respectable yet dull, a film that holds its rep as "The least rubbish post-Roach Laurel and Hardy movie" like a badge of honour but without ever taking a risk. Stan does a drag act, but he doesn’t really care. There’s no attempt to go out, claim that laugh, extend themselves, strive for humour or do something unusual. It’s an innocuous, forgettable but quite well made film that’s more highly regarded than the three before it or the five after it simply because it lets the two beloved leads keep their self-respect at all times. It’s almost as if the film is a living entity, with the director calling out "don’t worry about being funny or engaging, just plod along and be less embarrassing than the other guys. Just go the distance."
When all said and done, this scrapes three bowler hat stars because it contains no pain for the viewer, but it also contains next to no laughs and has no soul.
Post-script: Maybe I was a little too hard on this one in that review. Watching it for the third time upon its DVD release, while never flat-out hilarious, it's by far the best of the movies from 1941 onwards, and is, in its better moments, within spitting distance of an average Hal Roach feature.
