Directors: Fred L. Guiol, Clyde Bruckman, Frank Butler and Jess Robbins, F. Richard Jones, Leo McCarey
Screenplays: Jess Robbins, Hal Roach, Walter Lantz, H.M. Walker, Arthur J. Jefferson, ​​Fred L. Guiol, Stan Laurel, Carl Harbaugh, Lige Conley, Frank Butler, Leo McCarey
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Viola Richard, Noah Young, Max Davidson, Glenn Tryon
Country: USA
Running Time: 15x shorts, between 17-22 mins
Year: 1921, 1926, 1927
BBFC Certificate: U
Laurel and Hardy are probably the most famous double act in the history of cinema. Their faces, mannerisms, catchphrases and derby hat costumes are known to audiences around the world. However, they didn’t come out of nowhere to take the globe by storm.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had each been long appearing separately in films and on stage as comedians with varied levels of success before producer Hal Roach paired them together in Duck Soup in 1927. Even then, the winning formula hadn’t yet been discovered and their on-screen characters weren’t quite the Stan and Ollie we now know and love.
Through a series of short films made during the rest of 1927 though, the formula was gradually refined and, by the end of the year, Laurel and Hardy were truly born.
Eureka have collated the 13 existing shorts from that year and added a couple of earlier films that feature both actors, so that you can see the transition the pair made for yourself. The films are collected together in a Blu-ray boxset called Laurel and Hardy: The Silent Years – 1927. I got hold of a copy and my thoughts follow.
I’m not going to go into too much detail on all the short films included in the set, but I’ll skim through the series, largely in chronological order. Given the nature of this transitional period, the films are rather hit-and-miss, though even the weaker shorts have some entertainment value.
The first films in the set, Lucky Dog from 1921 and 45 Minutes From Hollywood from 1926, are more of historical value than truly great examples of Laurel and Hardy in action.
Lucky Dog sees Laurel and Hardy appear in the same film for the first time. It’s not what you’d call a ‘real’ Laurel and Hardy film though. Their famous personas are not in place yet and Hardy merely plays a villain who’s in and out of the film. It’s just Laurel who takes star billing. It’s a rambling, episodic film too. It doesn’t have a well-formed narrative with slapstick elements fused within it. Instead, it’s a random string of set pieces with a very loose story smattered among it.
45 Minutes From Hollywood is neither a Laurel nor a Hardy film, let alone both together. It’s actually a Glenn Tryon vehicle or rather what was called an ‘All Star’ film, with several silent stars (including Laurel and Hardy) making appearances, a format fitting a number of the titles in this set. That’s not to say the film is no good though. In fact, I enjoyed it a great deal. It lacks star power, perhaps, with Tryon not as charismatic as Laurel, Hardy or any of the other more famous silent comedy stars. However, the film has great energy, aided by some dynamic camera work and fast-paced set pieces.
Duck Soup is where the pair finally act together as a duo and as characters almost resembling those in their more famous later work. Their dynamic isn’t quite right yet, but the film is a lot of fun, with a great escalation of chaos as the film moves on.
Roach mustn’t have realised what he’d tapped into yet though, as the films that follow continue to meddle with how the pair work together. Slipping Wives and Why Girls Love Sailors both see Hardy largely sidelined and in Love ‘em and Weep he’s barely in it at all. These films suffer because of it.
With Love and Hisses gets things back on track, pairing Laurel and Hardy together properly, even though they’re a little more at odds with each other than usual. This was the film that had me laughing the hardest. I watched it with my kids and we all found it hilarious, with the central pair playing hapless soldiers causing trouble for their superior.
The two shorts that follow this, Sailors Beware and Do Detectives Think?, are strong too, even if the former keeps Laurel and Hardy apart for a good chunk of the running time. The more I think back to Sailors Beware, the more I like it. This has a more fully formed story than many of the other shorts here and contains a healthy number of successful gags.
Do Detectives Think? closely resembles a traditional Laurel & Hardy film, even more so than Duck Soup. They have their trademark derby hats, which helps.
The short that follows this, Flying Elephants, is a real oddity though, that chucks this slowly developing formula out of the window. For one, the film is set in the Stone Age, plus Laurel and Hardy share little screen time and Laurel, in particular, plays a very different character than he would later become famous for. It’s probably the least successful film in the set, though I did enjoy some of the silly Stone Age customs the writers devised.
The next couple of shorts move back to developing Laurel and Hardy as a double act, thankfully. Sugar Daddies is a solid chase caper that’s generic but well-executed. The Second 100 Years is one of the stronger shorts, seeing the pair try to escape from prison with the disastrous results you’d expect.
Call of the Cuckoo is another oddity, in that it’s actually a Max Davidson vehicle. Laurel and Hardy are uncredited guest stars who goof off in just a couple of scenes. The story is lacking but I quite enjoyed many of the visual gags.
The final two shorts in the set, Putting Pants on Philip and The Battle of the Century, point us back in the right direction. In the former, I found the central concept that a man in a kilt would draw vast crowds of curious onlookers to be a little too ridiculous. Otherwise, it’s a funny short though, with Hardy, in particular, nailing his Ollie character.
The Battle of the Century is a great end to the collection. Here, Laurel and Hardy shine as a fully-fledged pair. There are plenty of amusing skits and the whole thing ends in an epic pie fight.
Laurel and Hardy’s gags are rarely wholly original (in fact they’d often recycle their own gags as you’ll see in the shorts here) but it’s the way they ‘tell’ them. They often play on the audience’s anticipation of the punchline, relying on them knowing what’s going to happen, keeping them on edge for when it finally delivers.
A shout must also go out to the handful of regular players who assist Laurel & Hardy in many of these shorts. James Finlayson appears in most of them and reacts perfectly to the chaos surrounding him. Viola Richard shows up regularly too and has a unique beauty and charm. Then you’ve got Noah Young, who often plays the ‘heavy’ and does so with great aplomb.
Now, this is something I perhaps should have confessed to earlier, but I’m not the world’s biggest Laurel and Hardy fan. I’d only seen a handful of their feature films prior to this and, whilst I enjoyed them, I never found them as strong as those of the silent heavyweights like Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd, or the early ‘talkie’ comedies from the Marx Brothers. However, after watching this set, I learnt to appreciate the talents of Laurel and Hardy. I think the short form better suits their talents in repurposing classic gags and their storytelling doesn’t tend to be as strong as others, which is less of an issue in a two-reeler.
Overall then, whilst the shorts here are a little hit-and-miss, they’re plenty of fun on the whole and a couple are great examples of why Laurel and Hardy are so beloved. The set itself does a great job of showing how they developed as a pair. As such, it’s a must-watch for any fans of Stan and Ollie and early film comedy in general.
Films: 
Laurel and Hardy : The Silent Years – 1927 is out on 26th August on Blu-Ray in the UK, released by Eureka as part of their Masters of Cinema series. Due to the age of the films and the fact they’ve each been remastered from different prints and negatives, the quality varies. However, a remarkable effort has been made to make these look as good as they can and for any missing portions to be reinstated whenever possible. Some of the films look fantastic, considering they’re almost 100 years old, with sharp details and well-balanced contrast.
The musical accompaniments all sound great too, with largely modern recordings but occasionally some early tracks available.
SPECIAL FEATURES
– Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Scott Saslow
– 1080p HD presentations on Blu-ray from new 2K restorations
– Scores by a variety of silent film composers including Neil Brand, Antonio Coppola, Eric le Guen and Donald Sosin
– Brand new audio commentaries on Lucky Dog, 45 Minutes From Hollywood, Duck Soup, Slipping Wives and Love ‘em and Weep by film historian and writer David Kalat
– Brand new audio commentaries on Why Girls Love Sailors, With Love and Hisses, Sailors Beware and The Second 100 Years by Patrick Vasey, editor of The Laurel & Hardy Magazine and host of The Laurel & Hardy Podcast
– Brand new audio commentaries on Do Detectives Think? and The Battle of the Century by film writer Chris Seguin and Kyp Harness (The Art of Laurel & Hardy: Graceful Calamity in the films)
– Brand new audio commentaries on Flying Elephants, Sugar Daddies, Call of the Cuckoo and Putting Pants on Philip by Glenn Mitchell (The Laurel & Hardy Encyclopedia)
– Brand new audio commentaries on The Second 100 Years and The Battle of the Century by silent film accompanist Neil Brand
– Alternate Robert Youngson score on Putting Pants on Philip, newly restored by Stephen C. Horne
– Brand new interview with Neil Brand
– Laurel & Hardy in the UK – 1932 recording by Laurel and Hardy to promote their UK tour, featuring footage of the duo visiting Tynemouth
– Turning Point: Stan Laurel – Extensive interview with Stan Laurel from 1957
– Stan Laurel talks to Tony Thomas – 1959 interview, featuring footage of Laurel & Hardy visiting Edinburgh as part of their 1932 UK tour
– Sailors Beware – Super 8 version with audio commentary by Chris Seguin and Glenn Mitchell
– The Bulldog Breed – Super 8 version of Do Detectives Think? with audio commentary by Chris Seguin and Glenn Mitchell
– The Mad Butler – Super 8 version of Do Detectives Think? with audio commentary by Chris Seguin and Glenn Mitchell
– The Battle of the Century Pie Fight – Super 8 version with audio commentary by Chris Seguin
– Stills Galleries for each short
– A collector’s booklet featuring newly written notes on each film by writer and comedian Paul Merton, and a new essay by silent cinema expert Imogen Sara Smith
David Kalat provides commentaries for Lucky Dog, 45 Minutes From Hollywood, Duck Soup, Slipping Wives and Love ‘Em and Weep. He’s honest about several of these being of historical interest rather than being among the pair’s best films. His tracks are fantastic, providing a rich and well-researched history of the famous double act. It’s important to listen to them in order, as they feed into one another.
Patrick Vasey provides commentaries over Why Girls Love Sailors, With Love and Hisses, Sailors Beware and Putting Pants on Philip. He talks more specifically about the shorts themselves, adding some background information on the cast and crew and also reads out some contemporary reviews. They’re decent tracks.
Chris Seguin and Kyp Harness talk over Do Detectives Think and The Battle of the Century. They analyse the shorts themselves in greater detail than the aforementioned commentators, rather than discussing the lives and careers of those on screen. This adds a welcome change to their tracks.
Glenn Mitchell talks about Flying Elephants, Sugar Daddies and Call of the Cuckoo. He provides well-researched tracks that describe the backgrounds of the films and some of the key players.
Neil Brand provides commentaries for The Second 100 Years and The Battle of the Century. Like Seguin and Harness, he analyses what we’re watching, making for an interesting dissection of Laurel and Hardy’s art.
Brand also provides an introduction to the set. He talks about how Laurel and Hardy developed gradually in an unusual fashion through this collection of shorts.
There’s an interview with Stan Laurel recorded in 1957 only a couple of weeks after the death of Oliver Hardy. This runs for 70-odd minutes, making for a lengthy and in-depth interview with the legendary figure. He discusses his career in detail, from his early days on stage to his late post-film career tour with Hardy in the UK. It’s a wonderful addition to the set.
There’s a shorter interview with Laurel too, from 1959. It covers some similar ground to the longer interview but works as a more concise history of the actor for those without the patience for a feature-length talk.
There’s also an interview with both Laurel and Hardy during a 1932 visit to the UK, which plays out over some film footage from the same trip. It’s a skit rather than a straight interview but is a lot of fun.
You also get four Super 8 cut-down versions of some of the shorts, originally intended for home viewing before the days of VHS. These also have their own commentaries with Chris Seguin and Glenn Mitchell, when watched together in one 20 min block. They talk about their history of collecting these shortened film versions.
Sadly, I didn’t receive a copy of the booklet but Eureka’s booklets are usually valuable additions to their releases.
Overall then, Eureka have put together a wonderful set that explores the inception of cinema’s most famous double act. Whilst the films are of variable quality, they’re still fun to work through and the wealth of supplements make for a deeply rewarding experience. Highly recommended.
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