Laurel & Hardy Silent Films

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Laurel & Hardy Silent Films
Topic Started: May 28 2006, 03:22 PM (1,141 Views)
mort bakaprevski	Sep 26 2009, 09:39 AM Post #31
Soony Roony! Posts: 1,431 Group: Members Member #73 Joined: January 1, 2006	DUCK SOUP - many people (including me) believe that THIS is the first Laurel & Hardy film. By that I mean that they actually work as a team & their personalities & mannerisms are very similar to what they ultimately evolve into. DUCK SOUP was based upon a music hall sketch called HOME FROM THE HONEYMOON, which was written by Stan’s father and it was later remade as a talkie (ANOTHER FINE MESS) which I think is superior to this effort. This is largely because of the inclusion of Thelma Todd, in the latter, who really adds a lot with her beauty & sense of fun. The plot is pretty simple (usually a hallmark of the best of L & H): two vagrants (L & H) are fleeing from forest rangers who are rounding up all tramps they can find to fight a forest fire started by two vagrants (hmmmmmm). The leader of the rangers is that old favorite bad-guy of B westerns & serials of the 30s & 40s: Robert Kortman. In a moderately funny scene, marred by too much rear-projection, the two escape on a bicycle (with Stan on the handlebars). The bicycle chain breaks & they run into a convenient nearby mansion. Upon entering the house, they learn, from some exposition, provided by the butler & maid, that the owner is off to Africa & the maid & butler are leaving for the weekend. Stan & Ollie make themselves at home only to be interrupted by Lord & Lady Plumtree in search of their honeymoon house. Ollie masquerades as the home owner & Stan takes the role of the maid (interesting that in their first official film, Stan gets in drag)!! Both do an excellent job of projecting their plight at trying to show a home of which they are totally unfamiliar. Ollie (who Ive always considered the superior actor of the two) is especially effective as the pompously unctuous owner. Unfortunately, the real owner (who bears a startling resemblance to Teddy Roosevelt) returns. There is some rough & tumble action as the owner randomly begins firing his pistol at everyone in the house including the Plumtrees. Meanwhile, Ollie has hired a moving van to move things out before the Plumtrees take possession. Stan flirts with Kortman (whos still around the house doing nothing like most law officers in Roach comedies). Unfortunately, Stan’s skirt snags on a convenient nail & the game is up. The film ends up with a scene at the fire where Stan & Ollie fight with a fire hose which ultimately lifts them high in the air as we fade to the Pathe rooster. A VERY auspicious beginning. Quite amusing, but it doesn’t have the laughs that some of their silent classics would be delivering in the near future!!
	“You’ve got to take the bitter with the sour.”


panzer the great & terrible	Sep 28 2009, 07:02 PM Post #32
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,340 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Cliff, you're right about Wait Until Dark. I'll never forget the way the audience carried on. Another one that got the audience going was Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter. I never heard more laughter in a talkie, and The Laurel and Hardy egg scene with Lupe Velez is a tie -- but here's the thing: The Navigator, when I first saw it with a big audience, convulsed 'em to a degree I never saw any talkie do. You just have to see a great silent comedy with a bunch of regular ol' people, not Brainiacs or movie nuts, to see what they can do. I mean, come on, guys! Is there a L&H better than Big Business? Sheesh.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


mort bakaprevski	Sep 28 2009, 07:38 PM Post #33
Soony Roony! Posts: 1,431 Group: Members Member #73 Joined: January 1, 2006	panzer the great & terrible Sep 28 2009, 07:02 PM I mean, come on, guys! Is there a L&H better than Big Business? Sheesh. No argument from me. However, if you grew up in SoCal, you gotta give points to TWO TARS. That traffic jam hits so close to home!!
	“You’ve got to take the bitter with the sour.”


Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Sep 29 2009, 02:49 AM Post #34
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,168 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	I also agree about Wait Until Dark. I saw it with Gravy at Goodrich Jr High School, in the gymnasium. 7th thru 9th graders paying a quater, or 50 cents, to get out of class and see a movie. I think the whole experience climaxed with the Alan Arkin lunge... and Gravy had to be peeled from the ceiling.
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


Laughing Gravy	Sep 29 2009, 05:53 AM Post #35
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,070 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	I was wondering if you remembered that. BTW, I've had the DVD for years and haven't watched it - because of that scary memory.



Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Sep 29 2009, 05:56 AM Post #36
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,168 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	I remember that and seeing The Great Race there. I haven't seen either since then, but I still recall... "Push the button, Max!" It still cracks me up.
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


CliffClaven	Sep 29 2009, 01:38 PM Post #37
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 231 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	The Great Race is a strange piece of work. Most of the biggest laughs are actually tight little throwaways (Jack Lemmon snarling "I hate you" to a small dog for no reason); then you have stuff that's amazing just because it's so darn big (the end of the race is under the real Eiffel Tower with what look like hundreds of lavishly dressed extras). Since this is supposed to be a parody of old-time melodramas and silent movies, Blake Edwards very deliberately made all the characters two-dimensional archetypes. Even the romance -- New Woman vs. Old Man -- is a turn-of-the-century wheeze. The problem is, Great Race is a long movie and Edwards can't indulge in any real character or reaction-based comedy -- two of his greater gifts -- without breaking some of the rules he set for himself. It's like a Henny Youngman monologue that just keeps going. Somewhere inside The Great Race is one, maybe two really sharp little comedies crying to be let out. Just loose the iceberg, the inexplicable Russian scene and a good chuck of the pie fight.



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 1 2009, 09:35 AM Post #38
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,340 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Yeah, I completely agree -- the Blake Edwards misfires are pretty dismal, and this may be the worst one, but I still think he was a damn good director. Miscalculation is part of being smart, but a miscalculated movie is just so heckin' visible.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


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