Laurel and Hardy - Towed in a Hole (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Genuinely funny
Disadvantages:	Overly staged at times, just 20 minutes long

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Stan and Oliver are running a fairly successful fish business, but don't like having to give a proportion of their earings to a middleman who sources the fish for them. Stan suggests cutting him out all together, going out to sea to fish for themselves. Initially dismissive of the idea, merely because it is Stan's, Oliver soon warms to it and the pair find themselves a second-hand fishing boat in a scrap yard. However, repairing and painting the boat is not as easy as they expect, largely thanks to incompetence on both their parts. Will they ever have a sea-worthy boat? Or are they doomed to fail yet again?

Few people, even the very young, won't have heard of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, probably the most famous comic duo in existence. Although they both died a good few years before I was born, I remember watching them on our black and white television as a child and loving their silly, slapstick behaviour. And watching them again after a number of years Laurel and Hardy-free, I have been reminded of their immense talent for comedy, bouncing off one another to create laugh after laugh. Silly it may be, but their comedy is world-class nevertheless.

My favourite of the pair as a child was always Stan Laurel, real name Stanley Jefferson, who was born and bred in the UK before seeking his fame across the pond. I always felt sorry for him, he was always the underdog to Oliver Hardy's bossy father-figure, and I was always glad when he managed to come out on top. Watching him again after all these years, I think there is a little more to it than that. Compared to Hardy, he is a much more subtle actor - yes, there is some occasional face-pulling, but on the whole, he doesn't look as though he is trying all that hard and it isn't always possible to guess what is going to happen next. I really believe he is the most talented of the pair, although I am sure that many will disagree with me.

Oliver Hardy, born Norvell Hardy in the US, is much heftier than the slight Stan Laurel, which immediately creates humour, because the pair look so very different. His brand of comedy is much more slapstick, at least in this particular short film. It is nearly always possible to second guess what silly predicament he is going to find himself in next, and there is much more gurning and playing up to the cameras. However, that is probably what makes them so successful as a pair - the two of them balance each other out, making the overall comedy act slightly more realistic than it would have been if both actors overdid things. Hardy is definitely the boss of the pair of them, treating Stan like a silly child, which can be marginally annoying at times - but only marginally, because it is all part of the act. What is touching is the way that they work so well together - despite the occasional hostility, they are clearly comfortable working together and this shines through.

As anyone familiar with Laurel and Hardy will know, there isn't a great deal of dialogue - the comic value of their work relies on their idiotic behaviour (obviously they started out in silent film, so had to be able to convey their meaning without words). There is a great deal of falling over, being in the way of falling objects and generally making a complete mess of whatever they are involved in. Oliver blames Stan, but really, he is just as incompetent. I am not a big fan of this type of comedy in general - I much prefer the use of language - yet I cannot deny that I laughed out loud many times during this very short film. It just works. The balance of the characters and the way they make what should be an old joke very fresh and watchable - no smut, just good, clean fun. This is all the more amazing when you consider that the sets are very basic - there are no other characters in this short and they have very little in the way of props.

There is very little to criticise here. It is, of course, in black and white, so won't be to everyone's taste. However, it really is worth overlooking this in order to watch some quality entertainment - I don't think I need to convince anyone of that bearing in mind that Laurel and Hardy are still household names over forty years after their deaths. Personally, I find the lack of colour means that the viewer can concentrate on the acting - and ultimately, that is the important part of this film. The only other minor criticism I have is just that it is too short - about 20 minutes in length - and it is over too quickly. Then again, maybe this is an advantage; this type of comedy can become overkill if it goes on for too long. There is, unfortunately, nothing but the film on this version of the DVD - I would have loved a couple of documentaries about Laurel and Hardy, but this was not to be.

This short makes up just a very small part of Laurel and Hardy's career, but it sums up for me all that is good about them, and brought back some very happy childhood memories. I am looking forward to catching up on more of their work. If you want some good, clean, family fun, you can't go wrong with this film. Recommended.

The DVD is available from Amazon for £1.20; although I bought it from Poundland for, you've guessed it, £1. It is also worth looking out for as part of a collection.

Classification: U

Running time: 20 minutes