Laurel and Hardy Collection, Vol. 1 (Great Guns / Jitterbugs / The Big Noise)

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Though Laurel and Hardy fans will attest to the relative weakness of the three films included in this Gift set, Great Guns, Jitterbugs, and The Big Noise, the films still brim with classic Stan and Ollie antics, and more intriguingly, serve as historical markers of American Wartime Cinema. These post-Hal Roach, Twentieth Century Fox releases offer, even in the liner notes, information about how the film industry was influenced by World War II. Great Guns' plot most directly refers to the war, showing what happens when the Army recruits two clowns. Gunpowder gags, planes dropping flour bombs, and physical comedy inside the barracks, involving cots, dangling light bulbs, and mess kits abound in this film that hopefully entertained soldiers. Jitterbugs, the funniest film in the set, provides comedic escape from hardship by constructing a plot based on a dislike for gas rationing. In Jitterbugs, Stan and Ollie, stars of the Zoot Suit Band, encounter a scam artist who allegedly can turn water into gasoline with an invented pill. Together, the three men swindle their ways into absurd situations, culminating in hilarious scenes of Stan disguised as a wealthy elderly lady who at one point declares, to a bunch of gangsters, that she's feeling "quite gay." Clever double-entendres, subtle wordplay, and co-star Vivian Blaine make this film wonderful. A documentary entitled "Revenge of the Sons of the Desert," about Laurel and Hardy fan clubs and conventions, shows how the wacky spirits of Stan and Ollie live on into the present day. True, these three films may not be their strongest, but they defined comedy during some of America's grimmest times. --Trinie Dalton

Description

Episode Description: Disc 1 "Big Noise": Rating: NR Audio: English: Mono & Stereo Subtitled: English and Spanish Special Features: Commentary by Randy Skredvedt, Photo Gallery, Theatrical Trailer, Laurel and Hardy Theatre: Bullfighters Theatrical Trailer, Great Guns Theatrical Trailer, & The Dancing Master Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2 "Great Guns": Rating: NR Audio: English: Mono & Stereo Subtitled: English & Spanish Special Features: Commentary by Randy Skretvedt, Photo Gallery, Opening the Freemont Theatre Movietone News, Theatrical Trailer, Laurel and Hardy Theatre: Big Noise Theatrical Trailer, Bullfighters Theatrical Trailer, & Jitterbugs Theatrical Trailer

Disc 3 "Jitterbugs": Rating: NR Audio: English: Mono & Stereo Subtitled: English & Spanish Special Features: Commentary by Randy Skretvedt, Photo Gallery, Inauguration of the Railway Movietone News, Theatrical Trailer, Laurel and Hardy Theatre: Big Noise Theatrical Trailer, Bullfighters Theatrical Trailer, & Great Guns Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

Fives stars for entire disk content!.......2007-05-25

These are not the very best Laurel and Hardy movies but they are not really bad either. They are different. If they had started as a team making these movies we would never have known about all their best work and we'd be satisfied with these films as they are.

Each of these three movies I enjoyed watching. The picture and sound quality are superior to many of the other Laurel and Hardy videos available.

The extra features are a bonus too. I especially liked the audio commentaries by expert film historians.

I highly recommend this collection to ture Laurel and Hardy fans!

A MUST SEE FOR LAUREL & HARDY FANS.......2007-03-16

Many of these post Hal Roach films I'd never seen before.That's why I just had to get this DVD set.I'm always fascinated to see anything from Stan and Ollie that I've never seen before.
Great Guns and Jitterbugs are the only two I haven't seen before in this set.I especially like Jitterbugs.Definetly one of their better 40s films.Vivia Blane is a beautiful singer.Plus Stan and Ollie themselves are seen a lot more in this film than in most of their much later features.

The Legends of Comedy are Back with New Material!.......2006-11-09

I'm a very enthusiastic fun of the great comedy team Laurel&Hardy. I search any release that come out of the legendary team of the silver screen. When I purchased the 21 dvd box set "Laurel&Hardy Collection" two years ago, I thought that almost all of the movies were included in this collection. Eventually, I realized that most of the movies from 1940s and some of the 1930s movies were not considered in this collection. Fortunately, I came across this new collection of their films which were missing in the 21 dvd collection. The three movies in "Laurel&Hardy Giftset Volume 1" are the movies made in 1940s. Though they seem a bit aged(Laurel) in some particular scenes, they still do a fantastic job. I think every Laurel&Hardy fun or simply the fun of classical comedies should get this "Laurel&Hardy giftset". "Laurel&Hardy Giftset Volume 2" has already come out and I also recommend you to get that one too. Great! I've collected almost every film of the great comedy team by purchasing these two new giftset releases.

crumbs from the laurel and hardy table.......2006-11-04

As a life-long fan of Stan and Ollie, I continue to be depressed at the relative absence of the availability of their classic works on DVD. Except for the thrown-together Hallmark volumes which , for the most part, use poor dupes of 35mm material and for Turner's L&H "collection" with FRA DIAVOLO and BONNIE SCOTLAND, two of their weakest Roach films, their is nothing readily available to show the genius of these two timeless performers. The continued release of the weak - and frequently execrable - films for Fox and MGM in the 40s will only cause the unititiated to think L&H are nothing beyond two aging, unfunny knockabouts.
Although the Fox/MGM films might have a place on the shelf of a completist, they are really just depressing. Why does not UNIVERSAL, who releases the ENTIRE body of their Roach work from 1927 -1940 release this massive and impressive set state-side?

These films are not that bad!.......2006-10-13

It seems like so many people have said that L&H's post-1940 films are awful for so long that even people who don't have any familiarity with them believe it, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sure they'll never compare to their earlier glories like 'Pack Up Your Troubles' or 'Way Out West,' nor to any of their short subjects, but they really shouldn't be compared because they're in two very different categories. People should see them as what they are, not what they're not. And wouldn't one rather see L&H in a less brilliant vehicle than see the kind of stuff that passes for comedy today?

'Great Guns' (1941) can feel like a big let-down, since this was their first Fox film after so many wonderful years at Hal Roach, and the drop-off in quality is stunning. However, it does manage to deliver enough funny lines and gags to make this picture worthwhile. It may not be as funny or as classic as their earlier glories, but it's still entertaining regardless. Great scenes include Stan and Ollie's attempts to serve themselves lunch at the dining hall, Stan stuffing their pet crow down the back of Ollie's pants when they're in formation, and the neverending plank of wood Stan carries during one of their military exercises. Though this film was made somewhat prior to the U.S. entering WWII, it does seem to be anticipating that possibility, what with the "Isn't the Army great and fun?" theme, kind of making it into a subtle propaganda picture in case the U.S. really did join the war. And it's painful to see how Fox just didn't understand Stan and Ollie's characters, making them aware of their dumbness, servile, not wanting to better themselves and rise above being servants, people who know their place and don't mind it. Stan's stupidity and Ollie's weight are made into cruel needless joke after cruel needless joke as well. Before, part of the joke was that Ollie was quite a big boy, but that he was so graceful in spite of it, and that Stan was in a special childlike world of his own, which Ollie often brought him out of with a choice word or look. They're also kind of pushed into the background in favor of the boring would-be couple, more like supporting characters. There's also a badly dated scene where Sgt. Hippo (whom I thought looked like Bob Hope) has his face blackened by exploding tobacco, and Stan and Ollie pretend to not recognise him, with lines like "Look, they've assigned us a porter." Then their commanding officer comes in and yells at Hippo, asking him, "What are you trying to do, put on a minstrel show?" They never would have used this kind of cheap racial humor at Hal Roach!

'Jitterbugs' (1943) also has secondary characters assuming more importance in the plotline, though Stan and Ollie seem more their old selves in this picture, getting to have more of the main action instead of being pushed to the sideline in favor of some boring young couple and the villains, coupled with superfluous musical numbers (rather like what happened to the Marx Brothers in their MGM films). It's also a lot funnier than 'Great Guns.' Added bonuses are the scene where Ollie has to pretend to be a Southern colonel (he does it so well and convincingly, doubtlessly because he was a Southerner himself) and the scenes where Stan pretends to be Emily Cartwright. It's always a riot to see Stan in drag, and he also gets to use his real British accent, which is an added bonus. Probably one of their best Fox films, even though it might not be quite up to their old snuff.

'The Big Noise' (1944) suffers from being uneven. A lot of the best scenes and gags are remakes of things from earlier shorts and features (such as 'Oliver the Eighth,' 'Berth Marks,' 'Habeas Corpus,' and 'Wrong Again!'), but they never really go anywhere. The plot had a lot of potential, but just wasn't executed very well. It also suffers from, once again, secondary characters assuming too much importance. And the ending just occurs out of nowhere and leaves more questions than answers; additionally, Stan and Ollie would have never dropped a bomb on anyone on purpose, even in wartime, back at Hal Roach. They just weren't that type of people. Of their WWII-themed films, I actually much prefer the also-reviled 'Air Raid Wardens.' However, I don't think this film is as awful as its reputation; it's certainly not what I'd consider their worst feature.

Extras include trailers, audio commentaries, photo galleries and press materials, newsreels about Fox Movietone News, and a short documentary on the Sons of the Desert, the worldwide L&H fan society. Overall, this isn't something I'd recommend to a new or casual fan, but it's a must-have for more seasoned fans. These films are better than their reputation (one should form one's own opinion about them instead of just parroting the popular wisdom; that's like letting other people do your thinking for you), and it's great to see that they've been given the deluxe treatment, restored, and released on DVD. Hopefully people with open minds will be able to make up their own minds about their merit and worth, even to consider a critical re-evaluation of them.

First Kings of Comedy Collection ("The Golden Age Of Comedy" and "When Comedy Was King")

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First Kings of Comedy Collection ("The Golden Age Of Comedy" and "When Comedy Was King")
Starring: Stan Laurel , Oliver Hardy , Charlie Chaplin , Ben Turpin , and Charley Chase
Director: Robert Youngson
Manufacturer: Genius Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000UAE7K4
Release Date: 2007-10-16

Description

The First Kings of Comedy Collection is a hilarious, joyous, and timeless tribute to the era of silent slapstick comedy and all the uproarious comedians who built the comedy genre. The collection consists of two great feature-length compilations, The Gol

TCM Archives - The Laurel and Hardy Collection (The Devil's Brother / Bonnie Scotland)

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Hey Hallmark, this is how you do it....
Give us more, TCM...
THE DUO AT THEIR BEST
On Yonder Rock Reclining......
Laurel, Hardy, and MGM ==Possible Spoilers in this review==

TCM Archives - The Laurel and Hardy Collection (The Devil's Brother / Bonnie Scotland)
Starring: Stan Laurel , Oliver Hardy , Dennis King , Thelma Todd , and James Finlayson
Director: Hal Roach , Charley Rogers , and James W. Horne
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000E1MXTQ
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Product Description

They were one of the movies' most successful and best-loved comic duos, probably because their irresistible slapstick antics were underscored by an indomitable optimism. Beginning with shorts made at the Hal Roach Studios, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy struck a universal chord by sharing a contentious yet benign friendship that always survived whatever indignities their mutual bumbling brought upon them.

This TCM Archives two-disc collection focuses on the team at their zenith during the sound era and spotlights two features produced by Roach for MGM. The Devil's Brother (1933) (also known as Fra Diavolo) is a laugh-filled adaptation of the Auber operetta in which "Stanlio" and "Ollio" tangle with a notorious robber baron. The delightful Bonnie Scotland (1935) is a misadventure that takes the boys to Scotland and India.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Unlike many silent screen comedians, Laurel & Hardy made a seamless transition to talkies, and this TCM Archives double-feature showcases some of their funniest work from the early 1930s. As always, TCM/Warner has packaged this must-have set for true film buffs: The prints are pristine, image quality is crisp and clean, sound quality is the best available (allowing for some hiss and minor drop-offs due to the age of the soundtracks), and bonus features have been chosen with care and authority, including several highlight excerpts from Laurel & Hardy short subjects. While continuing to enjoy their priceless partnership with producer Hal Roach, Stan & Ollie were at their sound-era peak in The Devil's Brother (1933), a hilarious adaptation of the Auber operetta Fra Diavolo (also the film's alternate European title), in which "Stanlio" and "Ollio" find themselves entangled in the exploits of the Marquis de San Marco, a notorious singing bandit named "Fra Diavolo" (played with adequate panache by Dennis King) who's set his sights on the lovely Lady Pamela (played by '30s screen queen Thelma Todd). Plots in Laurel & Hardy films are almost always perfunctory, but this is one of the better ones, lending Stan & Ollie ample opportunity to cut loose with Roach-invented gags and trademark slapstick. The highlight has to be Stan's drunken laughing fit, a miraculously sustained bit of hilarity (with Ollie eventually joining in) that's absolutely infectious and irresistible--it's impossible to watch without laughing right along with Stan.

Bonnie Scotland (1935) finds L&H in Gunga Din territory (or if you prefer, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer) as they arrive in Scotland hoping to collect "MacLaurel's" inheritance, only to end up recruited into a Scottish infantry regiment in the Indian desert. The comedy is mildly compromised by a standard-issue romance plot involving costars June Lang and William Janney, but whenever Stan and Ollie are onscreen, the laughs are consistently plentiful and timelessly entertaining. Adding expert context to the comedy, audio commentaries by film historians and lifelong L&H fans Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann are packed with knowledgeable information out each film, the careers of the cast members, working methods at Hal Roach studios, shooting locations, and fascinating anecdotal details (such as the fact that long-time L&H supporting player James Finlayson was the direct inspiration for Homer Simpson's beloved exclamation, "D'Oh!" on TV's long-running animated sitcom The Simpsons. The package is rounded out by "Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story," an excellent TCM feature-length documentary, narrated by Chevy Chase, that extensively chronicles the many varieties of short subjects produced during the 1930's and '40s--essentially an extension of Vaudeville and newsreels that gave rise to many of Hollywood's finest performers during the golden age of the studio system. All in all, this is a perfect DVD set for longtime Laurel & Hardy fans, or newcomers to their classic brand of comedy. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Hey Hallmark, this is how you do it...........2007-07-03

Turner did an excellent job with this. The prints are beautiful, and the second disc contains clips that would be difficult to find otherwise. lnstead of sticking us(L&H's loyal and knowledgeable fanbase)with a careless,sub-par product, they have put together an outstanding collection. lf you're on the fence or don't know about L&H, then don't be afraid to start here. Well worth it.

Give us more, TCM..........2007-06-25

These are perfect, gorgeous prints. Excellent indexing, too! Although amazon.co.uk offers a 21-DVD set of "remastered" L&H films (almost their complete Hal Roach oeuvre), the prints are not at all good like the ones on these DVDs. So we are all still waiting for a truly decent set of "The Complete L&H" to come out. I do highly recommend this release.

Devil's Brother is self-recommending, and if you've ever been a little embarassed by HOW dopey Stan can be, here he shows how clever and physically deft he is.

There is more controversy over Bonnie Scotland. This much-criticized film is actually filled with good things: it has an absolutely darling June Lang in the subplot; it has L&H stepping blithely into the picture to the tune of a village blacksmith inadvertently pinging away the Koo Koo theme on his anvil(!); Ollie sneezing the water out of a stream; L&H setting their bed on fire (and Ollie as well); a warm and memorable shot of L&H and William Janney jaunting off to a big adventure; a "musical mirage" (with Marvin Hatley!); Stanley readjusting the march-step of an entire regiment; a delightful and satisfying L&H dance, complete with a good comic ending; one of the most heart-tugging goodbyes ever committed to film, but which is so funny you can't cry; and a spectacular ending with pandemonium overtaking all.

Critics write that the romantic subplot is left unresolved, but the resolution is so obvious that I never questioned it as a kid, and still don't. My only criticism is that the secondary story is not happy, and I wish its scenes were shorter. But it does add to the continuity and dramatic arch of the movie. A little editing could make this a classic.

The second DVD has hard-to-find L&H excerpts from 3 non-L&H films of the 1930s, and they're all good. My only gripe here is that the very last and important few seconds of the Banditos clip from Pick A Star is cut out. I also wish that instead of a boring documentary, they had included the Stolen Jools, and the entire re-edited version of Pick A Star, which was released in the 1950s as A Day at the Studio, and which is supposed to be a pretty good tightened-up version. But this second DVD is a bonus, anyway, so it doesn't reduce my star-rating.

THE DUO AT THEIR BEST.......2007-04-02

THIS IS LAUREL AND HARDY AT THEIR BEST,THE DANCING IN BONNIE SCOTLAND IS BY FAR THE FUNNIEST THING I HAVE SEEN. IF YOU WANT TO LAUGH GET THIS DVD.

On Yonder Rock Reclining.............2007-01-19

Laurel & Hardy are at their best in these two Hal Roach comedies. Behind teh subplots, and inconsistent plot lines of lovers, devils brothers, and thieves, Laurel & Hardy are at their magical best. Their scenes in both "The Devil's Brother" and "Bonnie Scotland" are filled with the charm and wit that made these comedians the best in their business.

Warner Brothers has definitely scored high for me. The extras filled in this DVD include scenes from the various cameos they were in, as well as the only color extract known from "The Rogue Song." Truly a treat for all Laurel & Hardy fans.

My only with is that Halmark would get on the bandwagon and release the rest of the films that they own. Even Fox and MGM have now released their Laurel & Hardy movies (which were post-1940, and not the team's best films either).

Laurel, Hardy, and MGM ==Possible Spoilers in this review==.......2006-11-19

Way back in the 80's there were only two Laurel & Hardy movies to be found on video tape; "Utopia" and "Flying Deuces", both released by a multitude of cheapy video companies. And then finally MGM/UA home video released a third, "Bonnie Scotland". This would be followed by CBS/FOX's Playhouse Video released a couple of their 20th Century Fox movies, and Nostalgia Merchant did us all a favor and released 9 volumes of their sound shorts ( one volume more and they would have completed the task ) as well as several of the Hal Roach L&H feature films.

It wasn't long before MGM /UA realized that L&H sold well on video. And it was just their luck that they had the video rights to 2 of their movies. So in the 90's "Bonnie Scotland" was re-released marked down from $70 to $20, an "The Devils Brother" was also given a release at the same price. These movies made such a profit that MGM/UA continued to release any L&H movies they could get their hands on.

As it turned out, Laurel & Hardy had made two movies for MGM studios after they split with Hal Roach studios. "Air Raid Wardens" and "Nothing But Trouble", while the stronger of their post Roach movies, were still regarded to be substandard. Ultimately that did not stop MGM/UA from releasing them, or putting such phrases as "..hilarious..." and "...laughed packed 1944 film".

MGM/UA continued to try to milk the L&H cash cow dry with two more video releases; "Laurel & Hardy's Laughing 20's" and "Hollywood Party". The former was another Robert Youngson composite movie released by MGM that is best remembered for preserving most of the pie fight from "Battle of the Century". The later was a 1934 MGM all-star disaster that featured Laurel & Hardy in only a few segments. But that did not stop MGM/UA from prominently featuring Laurel & Hardy on the videos box.

It would have been nice if MGM had continued and paid for the rights to release several other L&H movies, but at the time they were only interested in releasing the movies they already owned the rights to. Now nearly 15 years later Warner Home Video is once again re-releasing the MGM owned Laurel & Hardy movies on DVD. While this set only contains their two Roach features, good sales could see the re-release of all the MGM owned material. ( I would actually like to see a DVD release of "Hollywood Review of 1929" as I am also a Buster Keaton fan. The only other release of this movie on home video was part of an expensive Laser disc set with a lot of other early musicals I was not interested in. )Hopefully this could also result in a release of other Laurel & Hardy movies through Warner & TCM.

As for the movies in this set, they are not the best that Laurel & hardy had to offer. At the time "The Devils Brother" was made Hal Roach felt that they had to beef up the feature films with what was selling tickets at the time, namely romance and music. As in movies like "Swiss Miss",
"Bohemian Girl", and even "Babes in Toyland", a sub plot revolving around a romance between two characters tends to take over the movie. As do singing numbers that do not involve Laurel or Hardy. They are by no means marginalized as Abbot & Costello were in many of their films, but the padding is still obvious. However, since Stan and Babe had less to do with the film it gave them more time to work out the gags in their individual scenes. And The Devils Brother does offer up a few comedy gems such as the "Earsy-Kneesy-Nosey" game ( which, by the way, quickly became a fad shortly after this film was released )

The plot is simple. L&H play Stanlio and Ollio, two failed bandit's in Europe around the 1700's. They are forced into service with Fra Diavalo, a notorious leader of a gang of bandits, after Stanlio and Ollio attempt to rob them. Disguising himself as a nobleman, Fra Diavalo infiltrates the home of Lord Rocburg and woos his wife in order to locate his money. A second sub plot is introduced where if Captain Lorenzo cannot capture the bandit Fra Diavalo he will never be able to marry his true love. Throughout the movie Laurel & Hardy are forced to help Fra Diavalo in his plot, but at the same time are interested in turning him in for the reward. Eventually they end up getting both Fra Diavalo and themselves caught and nearly shot by a firing squad. That is until Stanlio causes a distraction that allows them all to escape.

Bonnie Scotland, besides its name, barely takes place in that country. Stan & Olly travel to Scotland for a reading of a will where they are only left a snuff box. They end up enlisting in the Scottish army and for the bulk of the movie are in India. The sub plot here is one of Laurels relatives, Laurena MacLaurel, is brought to India by her guardian, and her boyfriend enlists in the same regiment as Stanly & Olly to be with her. In the end of the movie the subplot is abandoned without resolution as Stanly, Olly, and the boyfriend are all sent on a mission to infiltrate some insurgents. As they are about to be killed Stanly knocks over some bee hives which aids in their escape, but also sends swarms of bees to sting everyone. It is there the movie ends abruptly, leaving i=us to assume that somehow the romantic subplot was resolved, and at the same time not caring if it was or not. As in all the Roach movies, strong material from Laurel & Hardy, but ruined by dull padding with the lame subplot. And the second most misleading title in comedy history ( the first being "Abbot & Costello go to Mars ).

The disks also include some good extras, including their segment from "Hollywood Review of 1929" as well as their segments from "Hollywood Party" and their scenes from "Pick A Star". I suppose this is MGM's way of saying they are not going to be releasing those films, but here is all the L&H footage so you are not missing anything. And I agree, it will now be hard for them to sell those movies at a latter date. ( then again, Hollywood Party also has segments by Walt Disney and The Three Stooges, so perhaps they could afford to still release it.)There is also the existing fragment of Laurel & Hardy footage from the otherwise lost "Rouge Song". But one puzzler is a documentary on short subject films. One would think that this is just included as filler. But since the extras also boasts the scenes from the other films mentioned, throwing this documentary in does not seem necessary. It is almost as if it was tossed in by accident and was meant for another DVD set. And who knows, maybe in the near future a box set of random short movies released by Warner Brothers will include a documentary on Laurel & Hardy as an extra.

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2

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More rare and mostly wonderful Laurel and Hardy silents
Interesting mishmash
STUNNING!
More Laurel & Hardy silent shorts from the late 1920's
SOME CORRECTIONS REGARDING THIS DVD

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2
Starring: Stan Laurel , Katherine Grant , James Finlayson , George Rowe , and Oliver Hardy
Director: Ralph Ceder , Fred Guiol , and Leo McCarey
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00000FE37
Release Date: 1998-12-12

Amazon.com

More rare silents on DVD capturing Laurel and Hardy at their physical best. In Early to Bed, the Boys are totally out of character, as Ollie inherits a fortune and Stanley becomes his butler; in Double Whoopee, they're in perfect form, ripping the dress off teenager Jean Harlow (it's all harmless fun, of course); in Sugar Daddies, an early teaming, they wind up in a historic Long Beach Fun House to get out of a jam; and in Angora Love, their last silent, a goat follows Stanley home with disastrous results. The volume features two more early Laurel solo efforts. In Oranges and Lemons, for instance, he's still in search of a persona, borrowing a little from Chaplin in destroying an orange processing plant. --Bill Desowitz

Description

Mastered from the original 35mm material, this second volume of lost films from the great comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy includes: "Double Whoopee" (1929, 20 min., silent) featuring Jean Harlow, "Early to Bed" (1928, 20 min., silent), "Angora Love" (1929, 20 min.) and "Sugar Daddies" (1927, 19 min., silent), plus the Stan Laurel solo shorts: "Roughest Africa" (1923, 24 min., silent) and "Oranges & Lemons" (1923, 15 min., silent).

Customer Reviews:

More rare and mostly wonderful Laurel and Hardy silents.......2007-03-26

THE LOST FILMS OF LAUREL & HARDY: VOLUME TWO is part of a ten volume DVD series that presents the silent slapstick comedy work of Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and friends like Charley Chase and Jimmy Finlayson in magnificent 35mm original nitrate negatives and with playful Jazz Age scores.

The crown jewel of Volume Two is a restored nitrate camera negative of DOUBLE WHOOPEE (1929). It is hilarious, with Stan and Ollie as hotel bellboys, Erich von Stroheim's stunt double constantly falling into a greasy elevator shaft, and a teenage Jean Harlow losing her dress as she gets out of a taxi and non-chalantly walking across the lobby. It is a single set comedy and very funny.

My least favorite of this set is EARLY TO BED (1928). Hardy may or may not have inherited a fortune and pretends he is a millionaire, with poor Laurel as his put-upon butler. The action takes place all night all over an empty mansion and is definitely a product of the late Jazz Age. As such, it is worth seeing as a curio. It is shocking how poorly Babe treats Stan throughout.

ANGORA LOVE (1929) has an amiable goat befriending Stan and Babe. With the goat following them back to their rooming house room, the boys constantly need to hide him from landlord Jimmy Finlayson.

SUGAR DADDIES (1927) is another gem with Jimmy Finlayson top-billed and learning one morning that he got drunk and married the night before. The bride and her brother are both comic grotesques. Stan is Finlayson's lawyer and Ollie is his butler, and the nostalgic climax takes place all over the wonderful, long-gone Long Beach Amusement Park. This one is a real treat, especially the climax.

ROUGHEST AFRICA and ORANGES AND LEMONS (both 1923) are both uproarious shorts with just Laurel before he teamed with Hardy. AFRICA is a devastating and witty parody of Frank Buck true-life wild animal adventures. ORANGES has Stan working at an orange picking and packing company, and getting into all kinds of hilarious mischief.

These films run about 20 minutes each, were photographed by legendary later director George Stevens, are in gorgeous studio vault print editions with some restored footage, and have unusually fun new Jazz Age music and sound effects. Total running time is about 125 minutes a volume. I recommend this whole series highly to lovers of silent slapstick comedy and also to younger viewers who are not sure if they like Jazz Age comedy.

Interesting mishmash.......2005-08-02

This disc contains a little of everything, the typical makeup of these discs. Here in particular we have three L&H shorts proper, two of Stan's solo shorts, and one short where they're together but not yet a team. Two of the shorts they made as a team, 'Angora Love' and 'Double Whoopee,' are very funny, showing how quickly they became a real team after finally being officially paired, although it still feels as though something is missing, not being able to hear their voices, since that's a large part of what makes them so funny, how their voices match their onscreen personas and everything that's going on onscreen to a tee. The other team short, 'Early to Bed,' is unusual in that they're a team but have a somewhat different relationship than they usually have, where they're largely at odds with one another, one of the few times Stan actually stands up for, asserts, and defends himself, pretty much coming across as the smarter superior one. The short in which they're together but not yet a team, 'Sugar Daddies,' is very funny, one of their best pre-teaming efforts, since they're acting more and more like a team instead of just happening to be in the same film, sometimes not even in any scenes together. It's also very nice to see Jimmy Finlayson as their friend and equal instead of their foil, and though the repeated gag in this film, of Stan sitting on top of the hunched-over Jimmy as they're disguised as Ollie's wife, is also used in 'Love 'Em and Leave 'Em' and 'Chickens Come Home,' it's so funny and brilliant it doesn't seem old or tired. It's also nice to see the now-largely-forgotten Noah Young as the heavy (i.e., villain) in this film. We just don't make character actors like that anymore.

The two Stan solo shorts included, 'Oranges and Lemons' and 'Roughest Africa' (which also co-stars Jimmy), are two of my favorite of his solo shorts, though they're also both included on 'The Stan Laurel Slapstick Symposium,' and a lot of people might not like the idea of having to purchase two copies of two of the same films. It's an interesting change of pace to see what Stan did in his solo days, and how positively young he looks, how different his hair was before it was shaved for the 1927 L&H short 'The Second Hundred Years,' after which it grew back in a very comic way. Still, it's clear he hadn't yet fully developed a comic persona, had more of an edge (even a meanness, sometimes) to him than his sweet innocent overgrown man-child character we know and love did. He's funny in his solo work, just not very distinct from any number of aspiring comic hopefuls of the era.

STUNNING!.......2005-03-16

I will not go into a synopsis of the material as that is readily available but will comment on the series itself having viewed them all.

This is a stunning collection of the early work of the `boys` and is presented from restored 35mm material much of which is taken from the original surviving negatives. Several of the titles in the series, have until fairly recently, been considered lost forever.

Each disc has detailed information on the titles and every film is presented with either the original vitaphone sound on disc (again recently discovered) synchronised with the picture or with a composite vitaphone soundtrack.

Even for those who don`t normally view `silent` movies these are astounding prints of what is now the historic formation of one the most inventive and forever lasting comedy teams ever to grace the silver screen.

Each disc deserves five stars for content, quality and value.

More Laurel & Hardy silent shorts from the late 1920's.......2001-05-11

Volume 2 of this series includes four silent two-reelers for Hal Roach-MGM in the late 1920s. "Double Whoopee" was directed by Lewis Foster in 1929, with a story by Leo McCarey and a notable "appearance" by screen siren Jean Harlow (she loses the back half of her dress in a cab door). Laurel & Hardy arrive at a swank New York hotel and are mistaken for visiting royalty until they are revealed to be just doormen. Once they set to work they offend all of the guests, the local cop and a visiting prince. Hardy gets most of the good gags although the best is when Laurel is stripped to his underwear and starts ripping off everybody else's clothes. "Early to Bed," directed by Emmett Flynn in 1928, is an atypical Laurel & Hardy outing because this time the boys go after each other. Hardy inherits a fortune, gets himself a nice new mansion and hires Laurel as his butler. For once, Stan is conscientious about his job, but Ollie decides the best way to enjoy his new wealth and power is to torment his friend, especially when Stan is asleep. Finally fed up, Stan proceeds to destroy everything in the house while Ollie tries to protect his huge vases and other breakables. This is not a great Laurel & Hardy film, but the final routine certainly ranks as one of their best: Hardy takes refuge in an elaborately decorated garden fountain, pretending to be one of the little cherub heads spewing forth water.

The other two shorts are notable simply for the fact George Stevens was the cameraman, on his way to be a celebrated Hollywood director. "Angora Love." aptly enough, involves a stray goat that has attached itself to the boys who take it back to their room despite the "No Pets" rule. This 1929 comedy directed by Lewis Foster from a story by Leo McCarey has the distinction of being the last complete silent film by Laurel & Hardy. The best sequence is when Ollie gives the goat a bath. "Sugar Daddies" is the oldest of the two-reelers, directed in 1927 by Fred Guiol. James Finlayson is a newly-rich oil tycoon who wakes up one morning and is casually told by his butler (Hardy) that he was married last night. Finlayson calls his lawyer (Laurel) and then things get a tad confusing (somehow a blackmailing ring gets involved in this mess). There are two chase sequences, involving a dance hall and an amusement park. Finlayson is really the star of this comedy and the most interesting parts take place in the amusement park, where the routines involve various types of rides that have long ago disappeared. This volume also includes a pair of Stan Laurel solo shorts from 1923, "Roughest Africa" and "Oranges & Lemons" that are interesting curiosities. "The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy" series is apparently committed to bringing us all of the boys' silent work for Hal Roach-MGM, so we can expect the great, the good and the better luck next time with each disc.

SOME CORRECTIONS REGARDING THIS DVD.......2000-01-15

Just to correct some information regarding Laurel and Hardy Volume Two: The Production Company is Hal Roach Studios, not Image Entertainment. (That's why they had access to the original 35mm camera negatives and sound discs.) The DVD is NOT REGIONALLY ENCODED and will play on any DVD machine (as it states on the package).

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 9

Average customer rating:

Good to fill a hole in your collection, but not for newbies
STUNNING!
Starting to scape the bottom of the barrel here
Thundering Fleas is not on this set, but-
This DVD series is a must for "The Boys" admirers

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 9
Starring: Stan Laurel , Oliver Hardy , Otto Lederer , William Irving , and Wilson Benge
Director: Edgar Kennedy , Fred Guiol , and Clyde Bruckman
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: 6305909490
Release Date: 2000-09-26

Description

Mastered from the original 35mm material, this ninth volume of lost films from the great comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy includes all silent shorts: "You're Darn Tootin'" (1928, 20 min.), "Why Girls Love Sailors" (1927, 23 min., English & French versions), "Battle of the Century" (1927, 28 min., 2 versions), plus the Oliver Hardy solo short "Wandering Papas" (1927, 20 min.), the Our Gang short "Thundering Fleas" (1926, 22 min.) featuring Oliver Hardy, and the Charley Chase short "Mum's the Word" (1926, 21 min.).

Customer Reviews:

Good to fill a hole in your collection, but not for newbies.......2005-08-03

Perhaps more so than any of the other discs in this series (with the possible exception of the so-called tenth and final installation, 'Laurel and Hardy and Friends,' which only features them in one of their sound shorts and making a cameo appearance in an Our Gang short), this one is meant only for the serious collector or fan. The only two real L&H shorts are 'You're Darn Tootin' (a.k.a 'The Music-Blasters') and 'The Battle of the Century,' which has missing footage from the beginning of the second reel to this day. 'You're Darn Tootin' is one of my favorite of their silents, one of their very funniest, just getting funnier and funnier as the action goes along. One of the other reasons I like it so much is because this is one of the few times that Stan (who's always been my special favorite of the two) actually stands up for himself, defending and asserting himself, almost coming across as the smarter superior one instead of letting himself be pushed around by Ollie all of the time. 'The Battle of the Century' is also quite funny, though it would probably be even funnier if we had the full picture and weren't still missing that footage at the beginning of the second reel, footage vital to the plotline. The famous pie fight at the end, the biggest pie fight ever in a movie, is outrageously funny, although contrary to popular belief, this was not some kind of staple in silent comedy. Whoever keeps saying that most silent comedies consisted of pie fights and police chases clearly isn't familiar with the genre! There's also the requisite pre-teaming short, 'Why Girls Love Sailors,' one of the many times Stan puts on female attire and a blonde curly wig to disguise himself as a woman, perhaps going further in the cross-dressing charade this time than he does in any of the other films he makes himself up as a woman in. Certainly this kind of thing would have brought down the wrath of the Hays Code had it existed back then, with Stan sitting on the laps of the other sailors, flirting with them, and having his skirt blow up far enough to expose the undergarments!

Contrary to what the product description says, the Our Gang short co-starring Ollie, 'Thundering Fleas,' isn't on this disc. In its place we have the Charley Chase short 'Mighty Like a Moose,' in addition to another of Charley's very funny films, 'Mum's the Word.' Sure the plots of these films might not make sense (such as in the former film the husband and wife not recognising one another after both have plastic surgery, even though they've only changed one minor detail, his teeth and her nose), but that's what makes it so funny. Not everything is supposed to make sense or seem rational in a comedy! The disc is capped off with the Clyde Cook short 'Wandering Papas,' which also co-stars Ollie. Clyde was a huge star back in his native Australia, but apparently didn't experience the same success when he came to America and began working at Hal Roach Studios. It comes as no surprise that most of his film roles after the early Thirties were uncredited. I'm sure he was a nice well-meaning guy, and he was funny (I liked this short much better than the other Clyde Cook short contained in this series, 'Should Sailors Marry?'), just really not distinct from all of the other would-be hopefuls also trying to become the next big thing in comedy. He was funny enough, just not anything really special or memorable.

STUNNING!.......2005-03-16

Starting to scape the bottom of the barrel here.......2004-10-23

If you are looking to buy just one of "Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy" (shouldn't it be called "found films?) pick a different one than this, the 9th in the series. This particular collection is just for avid L&H fans who want to fill out their collection. The most satisfying film in the set "Your Darn Toootin", follows a familiar formula. The boys are musicians who first disrupt a band concert by missing cues and fighting over a piece of sheet music, eventually spreading mayhem to the entire band. Following an interlude in a boarding house, the boys are trying to make it as street musicians. Eventually, they cause a chaotic scene involving mass gut-punching, shin-kicking and pants-ripping.

The second film, "Battle of the Century" follows almost precisely the same formula: displaying ineptitude as professionals (here Stan is a boxer), an interlude scene, this time involving an insurance salesman, (of which the footage is lost), and the famous, chaotic pie-throwing scene. The pie fight is almost worth the price of the DVD, and is much more rewarding than the pants-ripping scene, despite the overall fragmented state of the film. It includes the famous last shot of "Roach sexpot" Anita Garvin, having just executed a perfect fall on a discarded cream pie, demurely shaking her leg in the hopes of dislodging bits of cream from very private locations. (Garvin returns in "Why Girls Love Sailors" in this collection, a weak, early film with only historic interest for L&H fans.

As with the other volumes in the series, this collection contains short films from other Hal Roach actors, as well as Stan or Ollie individually. Two films by Charley Chase are found here, neither of which I found entertaining, as well as an obscure entry by Clyde Cook (deservedly obscure, in my mind). In general, if you're not collectors of Laurel and Hardy films, I would pass on this volume.

Thundering Fleas is not on this set, but-.......2004-08-06

After purchasing this, I was disappointed that "Thundering Fleas" isn't actually on this set (I am a big fan of the silent Our Gangs and I hope that Hal Roach Studies puts some of those out on DVD too), but what is on here is good enough to keep me from wanting my money back.

"You're Darn Tootin" is one of the weaker L&H's. Not much story here. Our heroes get kicked out of a concert band, then thrown out of their apartment, then violently vent it out on each other that leads into a free-for-all involving the whole town. Not in the same league with some of the other stuff here. Then there's two formerly lost L&H's. The Battle of the Century is a LAFF RIOT with the boxing scene with Stan as "The Human Mop" (look carefully to see a young Lou Costello at ringside) and Ollie as his hapless maganer. This is followerd by the legendary pie fight (personally, I think the 3 Stooges topped this in "The Sweet Pie and Pie," but BOTC is funny enough, especially Anita Garvin's bit of pre-code erotica with her pie.

"Why Girls Love Sailors" is a rediscovered treasure. Essentially, it's a great Stan Laurel comedy with Ollie in a bit part as a villan (shades of the first L&H comedy "Lucky Dog"). You've seen the plot detail in the other reviews, and this is really fall down on the floor funny! However, the scene with Stan dressed as a woman flirting with the crude captain while sitting on his lap was enough to make me run for the Pepto-Bismol. YUCK! Much of this comedy is filled with spicy pre-code humor, and even now should be shown with parental caution. But it's a real howler any way you look at it as a whole.

One comedy has the forgotten aussie comic Clyde Cook in a tale directed by Laurel and featuring a clean shaving Hardy as a worker who hates Cooks cooking, and two other comic misunderstanding tales with the also-forgotten Charley Chase. These are also highly amusing. For classic comedy fans, this makes you wanna do like Blazing Saddles and give Hal Roach Studios a Laurel and Hardy handshake.

This DVD series is a must for "The Boys" admirers.......2001-01-12

I just received my ninth (of the ten planned) installment of this MUST HAVE DVD series by the Hal Roach Studios "Lost Films of Laurel And Hardy". These meticulously restored movies are provided with original theatre poster art and film background information making this so enjoyable to watch. (Films as early as 1915. Can you imagine?)

Being re-introduced into the silent era was such a joy after only knowing them (known affectionately as the "The Boys") through the talkies and TV. This DVD collection brought to me a new level of enjoyment watching the golden age of comedy.

I have even joined a "Sons of the Desert" tent. (a world wide group (over 105 tents) of admirers to perpetuate the legacy of L & H. So named after their 1933 film of the same name.) They meet monthly to discuss and watch the 105 films made by "The Boys".

I just wanted to say that this is the best quality picture and sound. Reproduced and digitalized from the original master prints and audio disks.

Description

Mastered from the original 35mm material, this seventh volume of lost films from the great comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy includes: Their first "talkie," "Unaccustomed As We Are" (1929, 21 min.), "Should Married Men Go Home" (1928, 22 min., silent), a special talkie version of the silent "Double Whoopee" (1929, 19 min.) created by the Laurel & Hardy Appreciation Society with voices by Stan and Ollie impersonator Chuck McCann, "With Love and Hisses" (1927, 24 min., silent), "Sailors Beware" (1927, 26 min., silent), and the "Hal Roach All Star Comedy" series short "Mixed Nuts" (1934, 18 min.).

Customer Reviews:

PLAYABLE IN ALL REGIONS.......2006-05-14

Amazon misstates the facts regarding in which DVD Region these discs will play. ALL TEN of the "Lost Films Of Laurel And Hardy" series of discs are REGION ZERO, which means they will play ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. You can buy with assurance that the discs will perform perfectly as designed.

More for hardcore fans than newbies.......2005-08-03

Like most of the discs in this series, this seems to be geared more towards the hardcore fan as opposed to someone who's just getting into the boys or who's never seen any of their stuff before period. This is one of the discs, however, that starts to have more material of interest to really hardcore fans as opposed to even a fan who isn't that new but still likes this kind of obscure stuff. Probably my favorites on this disc are 'Unaccustomed As We Are' and 'With Love and Hisses.' UAWA was the boys' first talkie, as evidenced by the clever title, and while it's pretty funny and entertaining, it feels kind of rushed, and like they were overcompensating for the new medium of sound, by how much dialogue there is, kind of like showing off that they could really talk now. It's the same reason the silent version of this short doesn't work, because of an overabundance of dialogue. However, this whole short was classic enough that they remade it as the final third or so of one of their very best movies, 1938's 'Blockheads.' 'With Love and Hisses' is actually a pre-teaming effort, but is one of their funniest, since they're moving towards being more and more of a real team even though they were only cast together in the film by happenstance. It contains some incredibly racy scenes in the end, stuff that very soon the Hays Code would make illegal. Stan, the sapheaded new recruit, is supposed to be guarding the clothes of the soldiers, Ollie included, who are going skinnydipping, and manages to burn them in the campfire when he decides to join them. A group of women are passing by, and they have to hide behind a billboard; to make matters worse, there is going to be an inspection of the unit that very day. As Ollie shouts in consernation in a hilarious intertitle, "Holy Mike--I forgot about the inspection--and here we are--*raw*!"

'Should Married Men Go Home?' is another L&H short, and it's also quite strong and funny, though not one of my favorites of their silent career. It also contains the "fifteen cents" gag at the soda shop that was later used in their third talkie, 'Men O' War,' and was even funnier then because the humor was really dependent upon dialogue. I actually liked the version of 'Double Whoopee' with sound dubbed in better than I had expected to, but it can get more than just a little annoying, having sound effects and speech dubbed in when it was already funny and self-explanatory enough already. Who thought this was a good idea? Although at least it was done pretty tastefully, instead of being used as a device for making fun of silent film like is too often done when people dub in sound effects and made-up lines and voices. 'Sailors Beware' is another pre-teaming effort, but is also quite good and entertaining. The lowest point on this disc is the 1934 sound short 'Mixed Nuts.' It's only mildly entertaining, and pretty topical to the Depression era. I agree its inclusion probably was a mistake and they meant to include one of Stan's solo shorts of the same name.

STUNNING!.......2005-03-16

Very good for old school.......2004-12-02

I quite enjoy Laurel and Hardy, and the lost films series of DVDs are adequate. Unfortunately, there is still not a complete collection of their work available in the US (their available work, that is, since some films are lost).

If you enjoy Laurel and Hardy, they're worth a look - but be warned! Most of the films are silent. They're still quite good, mind you, I enjoy them immensely. But they do have a different flow and feel to them vs. the talking shorts they did in the 30s.

The dvds usually contain about 4 Laurel & Hardy shorts and about 2 "miscellaneous" shorts. Sometimes there will be older films with only one of the boys, but not both. Typically there's at least one Charley Chase short. Chase was a fine actor of this era that is sadly forgotten (seriously. Try searching online for "forgotten charley chase"). The Chase shorts are very good and enjoyable.

The "Mixed Nuts" short on this disc is, as best as I can tell, a mistake. The one included was from 1934, and does not have Laurel or Hardy in it. It was a Hal Roach film, directed by James Parrott, so it's not completely out of place. But, I'm willing to bet that they had actually intended to include the "Mixed Nuts" from 1922 which featured Stan Laurel 5 years before the team up.

There's Something "Lost" In These Lost Films.......2003-06-22

I think like most people my first introduction into Laurel & Hardy's films were through the "talkies". By watching short subjects like "Brats", "The Music Box", "Me & My Pal", & "Helpmates". And their feature films like "Way Out West" "Sons of the Desert", "Swiss Miss", & "Pardon Us".

Growing up Laurel & Hardy were my childhood heros, and I don't know what that says about me as a person. I would watch their movies religiously. I knew all the gags. I could see them coming a mile away, but I always laughed. And even to this very day, after some 15 years once in a while I'll still watch them. And that was what made them so special. The characters they played were so likeable. You didn't mind watching them over and over. Even if you knew the bits, you just still liked to take some time out of your day and watch these two characters. I personally think of Laurel & Hardy as the greatest comedy team in history. What other comedy team has managed to still make of laugh for the past 80 some odd years? And who still have fans all over the world? The only other team I can think of is The Marx Brothers.

Someone let me borrow this dvd knowing how much I enjoy their comedy. I've seen very very few silent Laurel & Hardy comedies. On this dvd there are 6 short subjects, 5 on which star Laurel & Hardy. "Mixed Nuts" made in 1934 does not include them, therefor I will not review it. I will go through each short individually.

"UNACCUSTOMED AS WE ARE" (1929) - This is billed as their first talking picture. The chemistry is in place but the piece feels rushed. It's 21 minutes and it doesn't allow "the boys" to go into their facial expressions..ie Stan's blank stare Oliver's disgusted look as he stares at the camera suggesting "Do you see what I have to put up with?" Had this one been made a little later it could have been better. ** 1\2 out of *****

"SHOULD MARRIED MEN GO HOME?" (1928) - It took me awhile to appreicate this one. At first it thought it was OK now it think it's a little better. The beginning moments are the best. A gag involving a door is very funny and would later be used in their talking short "Come Clean". Here though the gag works best. Also you'll notice to "15 cents" gag as "the boys" find out they do not have enough money to buy 4 drink. It would later be used in "Men O' War" but the dialogue is needed to make the piece truly funny. The usual characters are not here but it doesn't matter. That chemistry is there. I feel the end is a bit disappointing but it the piece does have it's highlights. *** out of *****

"SAILORS BEWARE" (1927) - "The boys" do not have many scenes in this one together, Infact it's Stan Laurel and Stan Laurel only who is the star. It's very funny to watch and at times reminded me of a Harold Lloyd short. Stan had enough presense to him to carry the short. There is one very funny scene involving Stan and baby and a dice game. Just watch and see. *** out of *****

"Double Whoopee" (1929) - Originally release as a silent someone got the "bright" idea to add sound to this piece. As one could imagine this becomes not only distracting but annoying. All of the male voices are done by Chuck McCann. As with some of the pieces here pacing and chemistry are in place but I felt the piece didn't really go anywhere. Also of note is the fact that Jean Harlow is in this. Not one of "the boys" best but OK. *** out of *****

"WITH LOVE AND HISSES" (1927) - "The boys" are not playing their usual chatacters in this one and have a few scenes together. To be honest the piece kind of bored me. The ending though is comedic brilliance. If not a little risque. ** out of *****

So there you have it. I would not recommend this as an introduction into Laurel & Hardy's work. I personally wouldn't show this to young kids or older people who have never heard of Laurel & Hardy or are not familiar with their work. This is for the fans. It's fun to watch these early pieces and see how infact the chemistry did grow and how they wold become one of the greatest comedy teams in history.

Bottom-line: Early collection of Laurel & Hardy shorts. I would say is really just for the fans. Shows how the team grew. Some highpoints but nothing really shows the team at their best.

Average customer rating:

Leaving Us Laughing

Not my favorite disc, but strong material as always

For L&H fans only, with one exception

This DVD is a Must for Laurel & Hardy Fans

WOW! Hal Roach has put out a masterpiece

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy - The Complete Collection, Vol. 5
Starring: Stan Laurel , Oliver Hardy , Sam Lufkin , Jack Hill (II) , and Fred Holmes
Director: Leo McCarey , and James Parrott
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Hardy, Oliver | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Laurel, Stan | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Mccarey, Leo | ( M ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
Parrott, James | ( P ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 3

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The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 7

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 9

ASIN: 6305772398
Release Date: 2000-03-14

Description

Mastered from the original 35mm material, this fifth volume of lost films from the great comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy includes all silent shorts: "Wrong Again" (1929, 20 min.), "Habeas Corpus" (1929, 21 min.), the first true Laurel and Hardy teaming in "Duck Soup" (1927, 20 min.), "Leave 'Em Laughing" (1928, 19 min.), the Charley Chase/Oliver Hardy short "Fluttering Hearts" (1927, 22 min.), and the Stan Laurel/James Finlayson film "Short Kilts" (1924, 21 min.).

Customer Reviews:

Leaving Us Laughing.......2006-02-16

Laurel and Hardy, to me, are the greatest comedy team in history. Their characters were two of the most likeable people in comedy history. To their fans they will always be these characters. We can never think of them in any other way. Of course in reality they were nothing like them. But despite how often I may watch them (and I do watch them often) I never grow tired of them. Their comedy, at least in the their best movies, is timeless. So here we have a collection of silent Laurel and Hardy comedies. All of which I will review individually.

'WRONG AGAIN' (1929, 20 Mins.) - 'Wrong Again' is simply known to some people as "the one with the horse on the piano". Now while undoubtedly that is the most famous set piece of the short, it is not the only funny bit. 'Wrong Again' is one of the top three greatest shorts Laurel and Hardy ever made. It's structure is almost perfect. There are only a few things I think should have been done differently. For instance, I think Stan should have been the one to first hear about bringing the horse inside the house, not Oliver. Stan seems a little too smart in this one. And it's a little out of character. Usually Stan simply had all the fate in the world in Oliver, here he actually questions him a bit. Still though still is highly recommended. **** (out of *****)

'HABEAS CORPUS' (1929, 21 Mins.) - Here "the boys" are sent by a mad scientist to steal a dead body so the scientist can perform an experiment on it. Though are no real great laughs in the piece but there are enough little ones to keep on watching it. A lot of these silent Laurel and Hardy films had strange plots that were really just excuses to put these characters in the most odd situations simply to see how they would react. Some work and some don't. This one works. *** 1\2 (out of *****)

'DUCK SOUP' (1927, 20 Mins.) - When reading about this one I thought I would love it. This was later remade as their talky "Another Fine Mess" (one of my favorites) because of this I thought I would enjoy this one too. Not so. I don't know if it's merely that dialogue was needed or if the comedy didn't seem to jell as well as it did in the remake or if it was a combination of both. But something is wrong here. I just can't quite put me finger on what it is. All I know is a lot of the jokes fell flat for me. ** 1\2 (out of *****)

'FLUTTERING HEARTS' (1927, 22 Mins.) - Besides seeing all these wonderful early silent efforts from Laurel and Hardy on these DVD's we also get a look at some Charley Chase shorts, a comedian the public seems to have forgotten all about. "Fluttering Hearts", while not a comedy masterpiece, does show Chase in very good form. There are a lot of wonderful bits in the short especially one involving Charley dancing with a life-size doll, (just watch!). *** (out of *****)

'Leave 'EM LAUGHING' (1928, 19 Mins.) - Stan has a terrible toothache and it's keeping Oliver awake. So the two try to yank the tooth out themselves but because it's Laurel and Hardy, this is much easier than it sounds. So Oliver decides to take Stan to the dentist and things just get worst from there. If you've ever seen their feature film "Pardon Us" you'll notice a similarity. The bit plays funnier in the movie but makes for a decent short. *** (out of *****)

'SHORT KILTS' (1924, 19 Mins.) For some odd reason the back of the DVD says this was made in 1936 and has sound, it doesn't! This is an early Stan Laurel piece without Oliver Hardy. It deals with a family feud between two Scotish families. At first I absolutely hated this short. I didn't find it funny and I thought the story was boring, that is never a good sign for a comedy. But eventually the piece won the over. As the short went on the situation seemed to become funnier to me and I started to enjoy the spirit of the piece. *** (out of *****)

Bottom-line: Pretty good collection of early Laurel and Hardy shorts. The best piece on here is 'Wrong Again', perhaps one of their greatest silent efforts of all time!

Not my favorite disc, but strong material as always.......2005-08-03

Though most of the shorts on this disc aren't among my favorites of their silent career, they're quite strong regardless. Most of the other discs in this series only have two or three L&H shorts proper, but this one boasts a total of four--'Wrong Again!,' 'Duck Soup,' 'Habeas Corpus,' and 'Leave 'Em Laughing.' Probably my favorites of this batch are 'Duck Soup' and 'Leave 'Em Laughing.' The former is one of the titles most often cited as the first "true" L&H pairing, even though they're not wearing the exact outfits we're used to seeing them in and their relationship and mannerisms still haven't completely congealed. And it was also strong and funny enough to be remade in the sound era as 'Another Fine Mess.' 'Leave 'Em Laughing' utilises a gag they used in several other films as well, such as the sound short 'Blotto,' that of starting to laugh and then getting more and more out of control, practically collapsing and rolling on the floor because they're so carried away with laughter, them and all of the people around them. 'Wrong Again!' features their famous gag of putting the horse on the piano, thinking that Blue Boy refers to the name of the rich man's stolen horse and not the title of the famous painting that is on its way to being returned to him as they're wreaking havoc in his fine mansion. 'Habeas Corpus' isn't my fave of their silents, but it's got some really good moments in it, even if a lot of it does seem a little hokey and predictable. It's also mentioned in the liner notes that this was one of the true lost films in this collection, rescued when it was literally on the brink of decomposition, so much so that the original nitrate totally disintegrated shortly after it had been pressed onto safety stock. That was a really close call fans had to losing this film for good!

The remaining two are 'Fluttering Hearts' and 'Short Kilts.' The former is a very funny Charley Chase film, co-starring Ollie; one wishes Charley's name and face were better-remembered today, since he was easily one of the funniest silent clowns, more deserving of a re-evaluation and renaissance than someone like Harry Langdon. 'Short Kilts' is one of Stan's solo films, and is pretty good, but it's also available on 'The Stan Laurel Slapstick Symposium.' I'm not really a fan of getting duplicate material; the people who put this fine series together might have chosen to release more of Stan's solo films that weren't already commercially available, like 'Mud and Sand' or 'Monsieur Don't Care.'

For L&H fans only, with one exception.......2004-09-06

For those who associate silent film comedy with pies and police chases, "Wrong Again" might be a revelation. Made in 1929, the year that film studios converted to making talking movies, this film is a fine example of the extent to which silent comedies had been refined and perfected since the days of Mack Sennett. It is the best of this volume of comedies starring Laurel and Hardy and other stars of the Hal Roach studio (including Laurel and Hardy in solo or supporting performances).

The world seems to be divided neatly into two groups: highly devoted L&H fans, and those who don't appreciate their humor. Much of their humor boils down to a set of recurring themes: premeditated pain directed at each other or someone else, destruction of property, "scare" humor, and humor resulting from uncontrollable laughter. Usually mixed with these elements are the duo running away from the law or from other trouble. This collection contains examples of each of these components. In general, L&H fans will savor this collection, while others might find a lot that is tedious and predictable.

"Wrong Again" however is different; it contains little or none of the typical L&H elements, but focuses more on the pure chemistry of their partnership, as well as their individual characters: the naive, child-like Stan and the arrogent, but equally clueless Oliver. The story is simple: the famous painting "Blue Boy" has been stolen; the boys are stable hands taking care of a horse named "Blue Boy"; they assume the horse has been stolen, so they try to return it. From this basic misunderstanding there emerges a number of clever situations, with the climax being attempts by the duo to place "Blue Boy" on a grand piano, as requested by the home owner, who is of course upstairs out of view of the proceedings the whole time. The film is a showcase for the depth of the duo's comedic talent: the naive clown Laurel paired with a great comic actor. In general, I find "Wrong Again" to be a silent film classic that reaches an artistic level close to that achieved by Keaton and Chaplin. Its level of sophistication looks more forward into the era of the "screwball" comedies than backward into the Chaplin era, not surprising given that the director of the film was Leo McCarey, the "inventor" of the screwball genre.

Among the other films, "Duck Soup" is interesting as the first film in which L&H star as a team. It's facinating as a film insofar as the basic chemistry of the duo appears almost complete in this film -- aside from the lack of the standard bolder hats, and other changes in their appearence, it's clear that the team's character emerged basically fully formed from the start.

This DVD is a Must for Laurel & Hardy Fans.......2000-04-18

I started collecting Laurel & Hardy films in 8 mm. back in the 1960s. Today, the video and sound qualities are better than ever and Volume 5 of the so-called Lost Films of L & H series in DVD is an absolute must for true fans. Among the many treats is the first "team" film, DUCK SOUP, that turns out to be the predecessor of their 1930 talkie, Another Fine Mess. In both cases, the plot - by Stan's father no less - gets in the way. But here, in DUCK SOUP, the Stan and Ollie characters are only partially developed and they just don't seem much like the Laurel & Hardy we know and love - sort of the way they became later in those awful 1940s films for Fox and MGM when they just didn't act like themselves.

Another highlight is the Charley Chase film, FLUTTERING HEARTS, that had me wondering why Hal Roach never gave him a chance in feature films during the sound era. This film is a surprise bonus if you expected to find only Laurel & Hardy.

The picture quality varies from very good to stunning. For whatever reason, WRONG AGAIN seems derived from two different sources. Various shots in the same scene will be sharp as a tack while others will appear soft. If there is one shortcoming, it's in the liner notes that should tell us more about the film sources. In both HABEAS CORPUS and SHORT KILTS, a small white box in the lower right of the screen is apparently hiding some logo; I suspect it's a cable station. But I'm just carping. It's a great DVD release and I had a ball.

WOW! Hal Roach has put out a masterpiece.......2000-03-19

WOW! Can I say anything more! Hal Roach has put out a masterpiece. The DVD volume five contains six of their funniest silence to date. Like in volume Four we were blest with "Bacon Grabbers" which no one has ever seen unless you were in the theaters 70 years ago. In volume five we have "Leave'em Laughing" which I have only seen bits and pieces of and is restored to its original color tents when it was first release. The second reel of this film has Laurel and Hardy on laughing gas in their Model "T" Ford on Main Street in downtown Culver City. There are no other actors who can laugh in character like Stan and Ollie. The second reel of "Fluttering Hearts" has to be Hardy's best solo performance. Charley Chase baits a very drunken Hardy with a department store dummy (this is an only couples speakeasy). Hardy falls head over heels for this dummy in what is said to be the best of all the Charley Chase Comedies thanks to the excellent support of Oliver Hardy. The film "Short Kilts" a solo by Stan Laurel with Jimmy Finlayson was so good, I watch it five times Thursday after receiving the DVD in the mail. The McPherson's and the McGregors are feuding clans liken to the Hatfields and Mccoys. Things really get out of hand during a game of musical chairs. As the head of each clan trade insults at various member of each family, Stan has enough, and elopes with his betrothed. Would be brother-in-law Jimmy Finlayson does the same after Stan says no. Finally, all is at peace, everyone is married to their intended, and even young Mickey Daniels (of the Our Gang fame) along with the first leading lady (of Our Gang) Mary Kornman tries to tie the knot. But, peace is short lived, and another game of musical chairs leads to the fade out brawl. The other three are "Wrong Again", "Habeas Corpus" and "Duck Soup."

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 8

Average customer rating:

Very enjoyable Laurel and Hardy silents
A piece of happiness
Silent Classics From Stan and Ollie
Best in Series
Contains some of their funniest

The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy: The Complete Collection, Vol. 8
Starring: Stan Laurel , Oliver Hardy , Edgar Kennedy , Thelma Hill , and Ruby Blaine
Director: James Parrott , and Fred Guiol
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: 6305908028
Release Date: 2000-10-17

Description

Mastered from the original 35mm material, this eighth volume of lost films from the great comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy includes all silent shorts: "Two Tars" (1928, 21 min.), "The Second Hundred Years" (1927, 22 min.), "Slipping Wives" (1926, 23 min.), "From Soup to Nuts" (1928, 22 min.), plus the Stan Laurel solo shorts "Scorching Sands" (1923, 15 min.) and "Should Tall Men Marry?" (1927, 19 min., color tinted).

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