Laurel & Hardy: The Silent Years

For the legion of Laurel & Hardy fans out there (and we know this is no exaggeration), this 2-disc Blu-ray set, depicting the early silent years before the two comedians morphed into the much-loved comedy duo, is absolutely indispensable!

We are treated to no less than 15 shorts films, all of which have been completely re-mastered and many are very rare indeed, depicting the evolvement of what was to become comedy genius (comics still take from their work even today), going back to 1921. Not many will realise that Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy first appeared in films together that long ago (albeit not as Laurel & Hardy) and it would not be for a whole six years before they became the much-loved double act. In truth (if this is not sacrilege) not all of these shorts can be called masterpieces of silent comedy, especially when compared with other ‘kings’ of silent comedy who were around at the same time, such as Keaton, Arbuckle, Lloyd and of course, Chaplin.

Disc 1:
Kicking off with the 1921 THE LUCKY DOG (Dir: Jess Robbins) and produced by the legendary Bronco Billy Anderson, it is mainly a feature for Stan Laurel as a down ‘n’ out booted out of his digs for non-payment of rent and is befriended by a little dog (Laurel’s actual co- star) - his chemistry with the mutt is quite something to behold. Somehow he finds himself embroiled with a robber who pursues him throughout the duration ...well, almost! The robber in question is in fact Oliver Hardy. As Neil Brand points out in one of the Bonus features, Hardy's character (or what was to become his on-screen character) was not yet formed, whereas all of Laurel's characteristics are already there: the raised shoulders, the feminine coquettish turn of the head, the crying and the jump and knee spread (no doubt from his days with Fred Karno). It's amusing, but not a great deal to write home about. Bearing in mind its 1921 and there's still some nifty touches going on here and this in itself is intriguing.

Next up is 45 MINUTES FROM HOLLYWOOD, which is somewhat more adventurous. Here we are jumping five years to 1926. It would have been preferable to see these films in sequence - quite why we do not is anyone's guess. This film isn't really a feature for Laurel and Hardy, as the main part is played by Glenn Tryon, who is forced to go to Hollywood to settle a fee or face eviction from the family home (...hmmm). Hardy appears as a hotel detective sporting a rather ridiculous walrus moustache and Laurel appears in no scenes at all with Hardy. It needs to be pointed out Laurel appears in bed with what some people think was the same moustache. There’s a reason for that, as he is doing an impression of their regular stooge James Finlayson, or so it would seem. For some inexplicable reason and on this copy of the print, 1920’s vamp Theda Bara is given prominence in the credits when it reality, she only appears for a few seconds standing on a balcony - blink and you’ll miss her appearance.

DUCK SOUP from 1927 was directed by Fred Guiol (who directed a great number of these shorts) is much better known and not to be confused with the 1933 Marx Brothers vehicle. This little delight, co-written by Arthur Jefferson (Stan Laurel’s real name) has the first real pairing of what was to become the legendary Laurel and Hardy. Here we have the lads as a couple of vagrants on the run from the militia, as all vagrants are to be rounded up for fire-fighting duties. By default, our anti-heroes – who go by the names James Hives (Laurel) and Marmaduke Maltraverse (Hardy) take refuge in a large townhouse - recently vacated, albeit temporarily, by its real owner Colonel Blood (James A. Marcus) - and some nightmare he is! The old master's servants decide to sublet the place to an ingenious aristocratic couple: Lord and Lady Tarbotham (William Austin and Madeline Hurlock respectively). Somehow the lads timing, immaculate as ever, puts them in a position where Marmaduke can pretend to be the owner and James gets up in drag, pretending to be maid ‘Agnes’. As expected, things descend into utter chaos when the real Colonel Blood unexpectedly returns to fetch his bow and arrow, which he had accidentally left behind…

Disc 2:
This one gets off to flying start with the 1927 SAILORS, BEWARE! (Dir: Hal Yates) with the lads ending up aboard the steamship S.S. Mirimar. It starts with Purser Cryder (Hardy) welcoming guests on the steamer, especially those of the blonde and brunette variety. Meanwhile, cabdriver cum stowaway Chester Chase (Laurel) pursues two passengers onto the ship: Madame Ritz (legendary femme fatale Anita Garvin) and her midget husband Roger (Gustav Schaffrath aka Midget Gustav), who disguises himself as her… baby! Reason for the charade? The unlikely pair are boxing clever thieves with the intent of robbing wealthy passengers of their jewellery etc. Are they clever enough for Cryder and Chase though? Cue for a multitude of comedic scenarios! This is arguably the highlight here.

All the shorts on Disc 2 shorts were made in 1927 and there are a couple more standouts, such as DO DETECTIVES THINK? in which Judge Foozle (James Finlayson, who else?) condemns notorious criminal Tipton Slasher (Noah Young) to death for killing two ‘Chinamen’. Suffice to say, Slasher escapes and the ‘worst detectives in town’ are assigned to catch the escaped killer. Yep, they are Sherlock Pinkham (Hardy) and Ferdinand Finkleberry (Laurel). The usual slapstick mayhem ensues and here we see the two comedians for the first time working as a team. PUTTING PANTS ON PHILIP (Dir: Clyde Brockman) sees Piedmont Mumblethunder (Hardy) awaiting the arrival of his Scottish nephew Philip (Laurel) – alas, not only is the dapper Scotsman dressed in traditional kilt but he’s a devil for the women. This, of course, not only leads to embarrassing scenarios for Piedmont but when Philip walks over a ventilator grate and his kilt blows upwards, some women faint. Drastic action is needed but it turns out more problematic than assumed, for Philip refuses to wear trousers…
One supposes that it is only right and proper that we should end this compilation with a massive cake fight and this is exactly what we get with THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY (Dir: Clyde Bruckman).

The first print run of this release is limited to 2000 copies only and is presented in an exclusive O-card slipcase. Bonus features include alternative scores on selected shorts, audio commentaries, interviews with silent film experts, archival recordings, image galleries plus collector’s booklet.