Expected more

Excellent but underrated film

Awesome Movie

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I am reviewing my L&H knowledge in anticipation of showing these films to others. Just saw this gem tonite. The year is 1931 and the boys have hit their stride in the sound era. I am surprised at how well the gags are paced and executed. There is one prolonged sequence that could have been timed better, but it is punctuated adequately with a couple of sight gags and we are soon back on track.I am wondering now whether this film would work with any other comedians at the helm. Ollie's childish gestures of sentiment towards his beloved fiancé are utterly precious. Stan is the perfect dope, ruining everything in his path as they gear up for the wedding.Silent era film-goers were probably pleased to see Ben Turpin make an appearance near the end. Before I show this film to others, I may have to explain Turpin's role in that era.Highly recommended. Allow no interruptions.

Our Wife is one of those Laurel and Hardy comedies that at first seem so broad and farcical (it is) but upon multiple viewings, reveal a surprising number of beautiful subtleties. I know, because my two-year- old son loves it and constantly requests it…sometimes twice a day. Look at Stan, re-entering the room after having been quickly ushered out by Ollie, who wants some privacy to talk to his beloved. It is a completely guileless gesture, just like(need I say it) a two-year-old's response to a restriction he doesn't recognize as such. And Stan's satisfied smile when Ollie explains "Why, you're the best man!" And no small credit goes to Babe London as Ollie's betrothed. Just look at her expression of guarded optimism as Justice of the Peace Ben Turpin goes through his auctioneering gibberish during the ceremony. Then, notice Ben at the fadeout. After mistakenly marrying Stan to Ollie, all he seems interested in is pushing through the group in his living room and rushing back to bed. Even their struggles to get into that 1930 American Austin Coupe, the depression era's version of the Mini-Cooper, is doubly funny when considering the context, that of a rushed getaway. The time-space continuum "takes five" as they try to maneuver themselves into the car. Ollie's exasperated query: "What did you want to hire a thing like this for?" goes unanswered, hinting at an excised shot or two, but it also signifies the boy's quick acceptance of obstacles thrown in their path and their earnest attempts to overcome them. The whole movie is a series of set pieces in which the boys go through the minimal obligatory motions of an adult rite-of-passage: the one-layer cake, frosting peeling off like a tree shedding bark, the minimal wedding decorations, the quick spray of dried rice and a shoe to the head, the mumbled wedding vows, the pro-forma "Congratulations, my boy, you've married the sweetest girl in all the world!" from the justice of the peace… it's all about two little boys playing grown-up, and overcoming the brief lacuna of adulthood and ending up back together again.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. Ollie is preparing to get married to his beloved Dulcy (Babe London), while Stan is setting the table, and filling a mouth spray squirter with bug spray to kill the flies on the cake, which Ollie puts in his mouth, needing ice, which he slips on and crashes into the table, his face landing in the cake, and causing many room objects to drop. Dulcy's father (James Finlayson) has forbidden her to marry Ollie after seeing his picture, so Ollie and Stan go to her house to take her and get eloped (secretly married), which the father manages to find out about from Stan. There is a big fuss trying to get a ladder, get Dulcy's luggage, and especially squeezing into the small limousine, but they eventually get to the Justice of the Peace, only to have a cross-eyed official (Ben Turpin) shaking hands with and kissing Stan and Ollie. Filled with good slapstick and all classic comedy you want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Worth watching!

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy ShortWhen the ferocious father of Ollie's intended forbids a marriage, Hardy decides to elope. But with Stan helping out, can chaos be far behind?A very funny little film, with lots of slapstick. Once again, marvel at the physical grace of Oliver Hardy. Highlight: the tiny getaway car. That's Babe London as Ollie's dimpled darling; James Finlayson as her fierce father; and silent film comic Ben Turpin as the cross-eyed justice of the peace.