Here comes Christmas, lets get chilled out and some time off with repeats on the telly !
oh,,If I p...
Here comes Christmas, lets get chilled out and some time off with repeats on the telly !
oh,,If I promise to come back with an 'E', THEN REMIND ME !!, I will not be offended.Greg
Member since:24.09.2004
Reviews:391
Members who trust:119
Laurel and Hardy - No. 22 - Liberty, Night Owls, The Hoose-Gow ======================================== The Boys: ======== Stan Laurel (June 16 1890 – February 23 1965). Real name Arthur Stanley Jefferson. Stan was born in Lancashire but toured with Charlie Chaplin and hence on one tour ended up in America. He had ‘Arrived’
Oliver Hardy (January 18 1892 – August 7 1957). Real name Norvell Hardy. Ollie was born in Harlem, Georgia and his mother was apparently responsible for him going into theatre. Right from early childhood Ollie had a beautiful singing voice. Soon the two would meet. They first appeared together in a silent movie called ‘Slipping Wives’ in 1927. The rest is history.
The magnificent Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy star in this wonderfully funny collection of 3 films. 'Liberty', 'Night Owls' and 'The Hoose-Gow'
A brief synopsis and a short opinion of each and then a summary at the end will follow.
LIBERTY. (Silent film) ============ Stan and Ollie escape from jail but whilst getting into normal clothes get their trousers mixed up. The film then follows then on the run from the cops whilst trying to swap their pants back. They eventually end up atop a sky scraper with all the terrifying stunts and trips and falls that that entails.
A good early outing from the duo and worth watching, being a silent movie really makes no difference to the comedic fest. The bit with the crab in Ollie’s pants is superb.
NIGHT OWLS. ======== Police officer Kennedy has failed to detect 42 burglaries in one week; he is the laughing stock of the dept. He is out on the beat when he comes across Stan and Ollie’s asleep on a park bench. He tells them they can get 90 days in jails for vagrancy or do him a little favour. They are brow beaten into robbing the police chiefs’ house to put Kennedy in good with the chief. “Be as quiet as you can” officer Kennedy tells them, you must be kidding!
They go along with his scheme but are the noisiest and most incompetent house breakers in the world. Dust bins full of cans and glass constantly get kicked over, a cat runs across Stan’s face and he crashes into Ollie and the cop and all the rubbish.
Finally they get over the wall, where they smash windows, fall into green houses, knock out PC Kennedy with a brick, start fires, set off self playing pianos and generally are the LOUDEST robbers ever.
They drive the butler literally nuts!
In the end the boys escape and Kennedy is arrested for the robberies. Getting over the wall on top of and in amongst the dustbins is quite literally excruciatingly funny to watch. This film is worth the price on its own.
THE HOOSE-GOW. ========== Stan and Ollie have been sentenced to jail after accidentally being picked up during a police raid. They escape but are shot in the ‘pants’ by the guard and are soon back on the chain gang. Whilst out digging ditches, somebody gives Stan a pick axe and he is both hilarious and dangerously funny. They wreck the camp, food tent and guard tower. Eventually destroying the governor’s car and ending up in a food fight which involves the entire chain gang, prison officers and the governor.
The boys are brilliant and clearly at the top of their game here. They have their routine down pat and this is one of their better films. A real snap shot of the late twenties and thirties.
The 3 films Star: Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Jean Harlow, Edgar Kennedy, Tiny Sandford, James Finlayson.
Sound quality at times is a bit scratchy but to me that adds to the enjoyment. Picture quality is along the same lines, but none the less highly watchable.
Format: Black & White Classification: U Run Time: 57 minutes ASIN: B000057IBB
Worth a £1 of you money from the bargain bucket.
Greg
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