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By
FRANK BEHRENS
Not since Prince Hal played
straight man to John Falstaff around 1595 did a
thin/fat comedy team so catch the public's funny
bone (to mix metaphors) as when Hal Roach decided
to team two comedians rather than a "normal" and a
clown. And so the team of Laurel & Hardy was born
and their style of comedy helped create many
classic shorts and feature films, along (such is
life) with several clinkers. Then came a new age
and a new world war, and more in-your-face teams
like Abbott and Costello took over, only to yield
before the even more frantic efforts of Martin and
Lewis.
The comedy of L&H is distinguished by its
leisurely pace, one that those brought up on
Warner Brothers cartoons might find far too slow
for their taste. For example, there is that
classic of mutual destruction, "Big Business," in
which aggressor alternates with victim as each
stands patiently by watching the other destroy a
car on one hand and an entire home on the other.
Having all their shorts and feature films on tape,
I was delighted to find that Artisan Home
Entertainment is distributing the Hallmark DVD
"Laurel & Hardy," wherein we find one feature, two
3-reelers and two 2-reelers.
While "Way Out West" might be the team's best
feature, "Sons of the Desert" is a very close
second. This 1934 classic, much disliked by women
because of the stereotypical wives (Mae Bush and
Dorothy Christie), concerns about the men
attending a Chicago convention (anticipating "The
Honeymooners" by a few decades) while they are
supposed to be in Honolulu. A cameo appearance by
Charlie Chase almost puts the two in the shade as
he gives us the typical obnoxious conventioneer.
"The Music Box" (1932) actually won an Academy
Award. It is concerned for two of its three reels
with the boys getting a large music box up an
endless flight of steps --this is decidedly a
theme and variations film -- and in the third they
try to get it into the house and out of the crate.
A classic study in frustration, helped by Billy
Gilbert's famous bluster.
"Another Fine Mess" (1930) has Laurel in drag for
a good deal of this "hiding from the cops"
offering and the charming Thelma Todd helps
enormously to set up a few lines considered quite
risqué back then. Veteran Jimmy Finlayson, L&H's
favorite foil, does his thing as the owner of the
home taken over by our heroes.
"Busy Bodies" (1933) is my personal favorite.
Happy to have a job at a carpentry plant during
the depression, the two proceed to demolish their
work area, nearly kill a fellow employee and their
boss, and cut their car in half! In this one,
their foil is the diminutive but aggressive
Charlie Hall. No real plot but lots of laughs.
I could have easily substituted for "County
Hospital" (1932) several other gems, but this is a
good example of misjudgment in execution of an
idea that might have looked good on paper.
Confined to a bed with a huge cast on one leg,
Hardy is visited by Laurel, who predictably causes
havoc when he uses the counterweight (that is
keeping Hardy's leg in the air) to crack a walnut.
The second half suffers from terribly obvious back
screen projection, although the final sight-gag is
pretty good.
So thank you Hallmark for this digitally restored
DVD, and please give us as many more as you
possibly can. And do not forget the silent shorts,
which are very difficult to find on DVD or on
tape.
The bonus features include a short appreciation of
the L&H films, shots of the Hal Roach studios, and
printed biographies. |
