Laurel and Hardy were life long friends in real life. Laurel's nickname for Hardy was Babe. At the end of his life Hardy lost his ability to speak, side-effects from a stroke, but the two had worked together so long that they could still communicate. Laurel visited Hardy every day. After Hardy died, Laurel never preformed again, although his did write gags for other preformers. Their friendship has always made their comedy better to me, knowing just how much they loved each other for real.

where are we as a society when a normal adult doesn't know who Laurel and Hardy are? How will you ever "extend a Laurel and Hearty Handshake"? 😂

"Y'all are making this so much worse for yourself" - pretty much the plot of every Laurel & Hardy story. These two were the definition of slapstick comedy.

Best Stan Laurel quote EVER ---" You can lead a horse to water ,but a pencil must be led" !!

Laurel and Hardy appeared together in 34 silent shorts, 45 sound shorts, and 27 full-length sound feature films. The Marx Brothers appeared in 14 motion pictures. The U.S. Motion Picture Production Code also known as The Hays Code was adopted in 1930 but didn't come in to force until 1934. Prior to the code movies portrayed nudity, sex, adultery, LGBTQ characters and so much more.

Stan Laurel was a huge influence on Dick Van Dyke and Johnny Carson. These guys were geniuses. Also, pay attention to the physical aspect of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. Tremendous athletic skills. The timing of these early guys was perfect, studied by all the greats who came after them.

Fun fact: Hal Roach who made these films had "Honolulu Baby" written just for this movie, and it accidently became a hit. I used to be a member of the worldwide Laurel & Hardy Fan Club called Sons of the Desert. Each chapter (or "tent") of the club was named after one of the boy's films, descriptive of the location. For example, a L&H club on a military base might be named, "Great Guns", or a chapter in the mountains might be named "Them Thar Hills". We also had real conventions modeled after the one in this movie where fans could get together and celebrate L&H by watching their films and having dance girls. We even had the same sashes and fez caps. The club president was called the "Exhausted Leader" (not Exalted Leader).

You need to see The Music Box (1932). It’s incredible and was the first short film to ever win an Academy Award. It’s just Laurel & Hardy trying to move a piano up an incredibly long flight of steps and it’s peak physical comedy.

Laurel & Hardy are probably the most successful and famous comedy team of all time. Stan Laurel started as understudy to Charlie Chaplin in England before they both movie to the United States to make silent movies. Hal Roach originally put them together for a film and they stayed together until Ollie's death. They were the very best of friends. This particular film is about a men's fraternity, and both of them were Freemasons, so this was sort of a tribute to that organization, although it appears (by the hats) to be more based on the Shriners (an elevated degree and organization of Masonry). Interesting fact: Almost all of the famous silent comedians were Masons, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd. The breaking of the fourth wall was a consistent act in all of their movies. Stan wrote much of the material and was a true creative genius, so he did most of the physical goofiness while Ollie just watched and got frustrated. "The Music Box" is considered by many to be their greatest film and you would love it. Another hysterical one is "Brats" where they play their own children on a giant set. They are relatively short, so you ought to give them a watch! Fun stuff, Ashleigh ... well done, as always.

The toothbrush moustache was popular in the 20s and 30s. Charlie Chaplin had one (at least in his Little Tramp persona). It fell out of popularity because of Hitler. They started enforcing the Hays Code in 1934, so movies before then could be more "adult." Things were pretty heavily censored from 1934 through around 1960, when the Hays Code started falling out of favor. They stopped using the Hays Code entirely in 1968. Laurel and Hardy won an Oscar for best short subject for The Music Box (1932), which is a masterpiece of physical humor. Towed in a Hole (1932) is another really good short Laurel and Hardy movie.

This was so fun! And now you know the reference from Blazing Saddles, "we extend to you, a Laurel, and Hearty handshake." Bonus fact: Laurel and Hardy were best pals irl their whole lives.

My parents saw them on stage in 1953, they came on stage, did the railroad doors sketch, never said a word and the audience was on the floor laughing, a pair of geniuses .

Hitler hadn't ruined that style of moustache for all of history yet

The American version of The Office was based on the UK version created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Ricky, Stephen, and Martin Freeman (who played Tim, the 'Jim' character in the UK version) were all huge Laurel and Hardy fans and heavily influenced by them...hence the 4th wall breaking.

I can't remember a time when I didn't know who Laurel and Hardy were. Even in the nineties people were dressing as Laurel and Hardy for Halloween.

Fun facts: the lighting has a wobbly look because they didn't have lamp stands, so they had men holding large heavy mirrors. -This was a *pre-code* (Hays code of 1934) movie, so you see a lot of what you wouldn't see after 1935; such as nudity & sex... Even if implied. -"Pinky and the Brain" was supposed to be an animated "Laurel & Hardy" but after seeing what the Brain looked like, Maurice LaMarche said that he looked more like Orson Welles and suggested that he be played as such. Explains why Brain would say "Another fine mess you've gotten us into".

Before the hays code of 1934, movies were raunchy, violent, and a lot of things happened on screen. After the code things got way more G rated. It took decades to get rid of the hays code.

I grew up watching laurel and hardy because of my dad. He has every film they ever made. 1 of the greatest comedy duo's ever.

When she saw the water spraying flower and said “the oldest trick in the book.” I was thinking this movie is 90 yrs old, I think this IS the book…..

There was recently a movie based on their lives called 'Stan and Ollie' featuring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly. You need to see more of theirs but their short format work is what I prefer. 'Tit for Tat' and 'County Hospital' are faves of mine. That Horn in the attic was a common type used on cars at the time.

I love all L&H stuff but if I had to pick a favourite it would have to be one of their shorts 'The Music Box'. 30 minutes of pure genius and laughs.

The guy with the squirting flower, and who shared drinks with Stan and Oliver at the nightclub, was Charlie Chase. He was a comedian in his own right. He made a number of movies.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the absolute kings of slapstick for me. I'm now approaching 60, but these films have been with me since I was a child, and I always find it absolutely sensational.Stan Laurel was a genious writer and also actor and with Oliver Hardy he has found an absolutely brilliant counterpart. I think you will love them too 😂😂.

This reaction was fun, Ashleigh. Thanks for giving older movies a shot.

Oliver Hardy actually was a shriner. Those shriners are famous for two things: helping people and wild parties. And driving around in tiny cars.

About to watch the reaction. Just jumping in first to say that what made Laurel & Hardy so great and set them apart from 3 Stooges, Abbott & Costello, etc was how much they cared about each other. In those other groups they were always pitted against each other, but with Laurel & Hardy it was always them against the world. They're both extremely talented, and their effect on comedy is still felt today (Example: The scene of OJ in the hospital bed in Naked Gun? Laurel & Hardy did it first) That being said, I prefer Way Out West, Block-Heads, and a lot of their short films to this one. But hope you like it and either way, thanks for giving it a chance!

Many years ago I attended a 15-hour Laurel & Hardy marathon at a revival theater, including this movie. I've never laughed so much in a single day before or since.

My Grandma had all kinds of 1930's and 40's comedies on VHS that we would watch any time we had to stay at her house. Laurel and Hardy was one of my favourites!

Laurel and Hardy are historically important. While they aren't the most famous, they, along with the Marx Brothers, represent a period where Hollywood was learning how to take people who had been performing on stage in Vaudeville or in silent films nd use them in "talkies." Laurel, the skinny one, was once employed as an understudy for Charlie Chaplin. You NEED to watch Chaplin films! Glad you watched this!

I'm a little sad that someone doesn't know Laurel & Hardy, but there it is. They are most famous for their short films. Stan Laurel (the thin one) was a Lancashire lad, like me, and was born near my home town. He was hired by Fred Karno to be a understudy to Charlie Chaplin. The entire troop saile to America to tour and Stan Laurel decided to stay. After about 50 short silent films he was officially teamed in 1927 with Oliver Hardy, who came from Harlem, Georgia. Stan Laurel was the brains of the outfit and did most of the writing and designing the stunts. Together they made 75 shorts and 27 films between 1927 & 1951. I think their shorts are where they are at their best where story is pretty much secondary to the comedy, but Way Out West is a must watch

Hi Ashleigh! A suggestion possibly for HalloBeans this year, give Abbat and Costello meet Frankenstein (1949) a look. You may enjoy it.

As a 50+ year old, I simply love Stan and Ollie. When I was a kid, we watched all their stuff, despite it being in b/w and over almost 50 years old at that time already. That didn't matter. The humour, the slapstick,...it just works. Same goes for movies with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Snub Pollard or the series "Our Gang"/"The Little Rascals". That stuff is timeless.

Laurel and Hardy go back to the silent era. Together they appeared in 34 silent shorts, 45 sound shorts, and 27 full-length sound feature films. The Marx Brothers started out in talkies, but was very big in Vaudeville and on Broadway. Of all the great comedy teams, The Marx Brothers are my favorite. If you go back to The Marx Brothers, I would highly recommend “Duck Soup” For Laurel and Hardy, I recommend “Way Out West”.

Laurel and Hardy are icons, saw great success in the silent movie period with their slapstick comedy, but they also managed to be equally successful in the early years of "spoken pictures". Every movie comedian, stands on the shoulders of Laurel and hardy, The Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton, they laid the foundations. And even though it is dated, their comedy still works because it is slapstick and they themselves are basically always the targets of their own jokes. The old classics are a must watch, because their influence is far reaching and you'll notice many elements in modern movies, that directly relate to that early era of comedy. Easiest example has to be Jackie Chan's (dangerous) physical comedy stunts, that is all directly out of the playbook of Buster Keaton. (and it's not a secret that Jackie is a big fan of Buster)

When I was a kid, on Sunday mornings local TV stations would show Laurel and Hardy shorts. They were like 7 minutes long each. Laurel and Hardy made many of them in silent movie days so no talking just background music. I loved them! When I was in elementary school my school had a Halloween contest every year. When I was in 1st grade my mother dressed me up as Oliver Hardy...I was a -pudgy- -big boned- fat kid. My mom coached me to fiddle with my tie like Hardy does. I won 1st place 😊

"Saps at Sea" is an absolute classic, so much going on.

Laurel and Hardy are one of the OG (look at me using that term!!!) movie partnerships. My father, born in 1929 in Spain, loved them, and could go into hysterics watching them with us. They perfected that tit for tat and slow burn reaction. One of their great directors, Leo McCarey, had the camera hold for Hardy (the larger one) for several seconds longer than you'd think, and the result was spectacular. The two men were close friends, and Laurel never recovered from Hardy's death. Here are two family favorite moments, from "Way Out West": kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gr5zqs-Al9DSiYk.html kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eJdjhNJymp_YcWg.html The duo often had trouble resisting the siren call of music.

I loved Laurel and Hardy as a kid. I haven’t seen this in ages. Thanks for giving it a go, Ashleigh.❤

This was such a fun reaction! I highly recommend Laurel and Hardy’s short “Them Thar Hills” where they accidentally get effed up on moonshine in the mountains.

Enjoyed this. Sons of the Desert, along with Way Out West, is probably the team's funniest feature. Their short films, however, are some of the funniest stuff anyone's ever done. Hope you'll do some silent films soon too!

Hi Ashleigh! Nice reaction! Lauren and Hardly were immensely popular in Italy too, up until the '70s I'd say. We know them as "Stanlio e Ollio". Now something really interesting about them... they started in the silent film era of course, and lived the transition to sound movies first hand. At the beginning, dubbing hadn't been invented yet, but the studios wanted to capitalize on their popularity in other countries. So they would reshoot scenes with dialog multiple times, with the main actors reading lines in a phonetic transliteration of the target language, and supporting cast sometimes replaced by different actors who could speak the language. So Lauren and Hardly would actually speak Italian in some movies, of course with a super thick Englsh/American accent. By the time studios introduced dubbing (that is, separated audio recordings for sound/effects/music and speech, so that the latter could be replaced with voice acting) Lauren and Hardly were so popular and their accent so integrated with their characters that all voice actors involved in dubbing their movies were forced to speak with (a resemblance) of their accent. This went on for their entire career, with tens of different dubbers taking the mantle over the years, and putting the accent on.

Ashleigh, you have one hell of a Laurel & Hardy journey coming up if you decided to watch more. As a newbie to their work, I'd certainly recommend their shorts over their features. e.g. The Music Box, County Hospital, Busy Bodies, Oliver The Eighth . . .

You need to check out "The Court Jester" (1955) starring Danny Kaye! “The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!” - Danny Kaye

i used to watch Laurel & Hardy all the time with my grandfather when i was young, we always had a good laugh. Brings back some memories, I just might rewatch a couple of them... they don't make'm like that anymore. (edit- You might want to look up some movies with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, they make a good pair and are a good laugh)

A great comedy duo whose personalities inspired Gilligan and skipper, Steve urkel and Carl Winslow, Kenan and kel and so forth

Laurel & Hardy! That's Olympic-level reactor viewing. Their short The Music Box is hilarious.

The greatest comedy double act ever. glad you have seen your first and hopefully first of many laurel and hardy movies. keep on going with them and also the marx brothers and abbott and costello

Whew!!!!! - - - So, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the FIRST Great Comedy Duo, going back to the Silent Movie Era!! They started separately as film comics, and after they started working together they were 2 of the most famous people in the world! They were already world famous when this was made. This film was so popular, their official fan club (which had international chapters) is named "Sons of the Desert". According to what I read on their site, they still have close to 100 chapters! Lodges were men only groups that were like adult fraternities, they all had their special hats, handshakes, and were super popular during the 20th Century in America. There was the Order of the Water Buffaloes in the Flintstones, ones in The Honeymooners, Andy Griffith Show, Petticoat Junction, up to All in the Family. The closest thing left are The Shriners, who survived by devoting so much to charities. As for Laurel and Hardy, their shorts (about 20 mins.) and films are still shown pretty frequently on channels like AMC and TCM.

I’m an enormous L&H fan. I don’t know that I would have picked this one. Maybe “Block-heads” or “Way Out West” or “Our Relations”. I grew up watching these with my mom every Sunday morning. I love these boys.

Ashleigh, I'd definitely try another Laurel and Hardy film - "Way Out West" with their comic dance to a Sons of the Pioneers song, followed by a wonderful duet "On The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (a UK No2 hit in the mid 70s) which I guarantee you'll be singing along with. Or "Chumps at Oxford" with the ghost in the maze scene. Oliver Hardy was a real "Southern Gentleman" always trying to act dignified, no matter what Fate, or the writers, threw at him, His little habit of fussing with his tie or "Drilling" with his finger or the way he'd sign his name with a little flourish came from his Aunt Suzie who had the same mannerisms that the young Oliver found amusing.

It's really clear how much influence Laurel & Hardy had on "The Honeymooners." They even re-use the plot of sneaking off to go to a convention, and the "king of the castle" line.

My grandpa showed me Laurel & Hardy when I was a kid. Stan was the one who labored over writing all their material while Ollie just lived la dolce vita which is really kinda perfect. Actually, the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup was the funniest movie from 1933 and honestly, still probably on the short list of all time because I really think it aged quite well. As chaotic as A Night at the Opera was, Duck Soup is pure anarchy.

The all-time classic must-watch Laurel and Hardy short is "The Music Box" - it's the one where they're trying to deliver a piano. Countless cartoons and live-action comedy shows have paid homage to it. Another of their most influential films was the much earlier silent comedy "Liberty" - that's the one with the skyscraper construction site which, again, set the pattern for *so many* cartoons in later decades.

The Laurel and Hardy fan club is also called Sons of the Desert. Individual chapters are named after various L & H films. San Diego chapter is Saps at Sea. I was a member back in the 1980s and we would watch movies and host special events. One time we had Henry Brandon (the actor who played the evil Barnaby in the film March of the Wooden Soldiers, also known as Babes in Toyland) as our special guest!

Yes, Laurel and Hardy were a recurring comedy team from this era. I think it's awesome that you are reacting to something like this, to at least have a sense of the history of film.

My favorite Laurel and Hardy short is Chickens Come Home (1931). It cracks me up every time.

Jesus, they did one film called The Music Box that's just non-stop hysterical. Thoroughly recommend.

My grandfather was a big fan of Laurel & Hardy. You should check out "Babes in Toyland" from 1934. One of their best. (It was re-released under different titles, so if you can't find it under "Babes in Toyland," you might find it listed as "March of the Wooden Soldiers" or under "Laurel & Hardy in Toyland, Revenge is Sweet.")

Because they were so iconic, most of their movies can be summed up in a single setup sentence. The Boys work in a mill, the Boys deliver a piano, Stan visits Ollie in the hospital, etc. The setup were simple and the situations unraveled. The magic was in their characters.

There's a very good and recent movie about their later years, Stan and Ollie. It was so good. Laurel and Hardy were my mom's favorite, and their old movies were on TV when I was growing up. They were hugely popular.

Laurel and Hardy are simply LEGENDS

Congrats on your first Laurel and Hardy movie. Such influential physical comedy. Alan Hale's portrayal of "The Skipper" on the TV show Gilligan's Island (1963-1967) is such an homage to the comedic work of Oliver Hardy.

Ashleigh, you said that those paddles looked really thick. Those are in fact 'slapsticks', where the term 'slapstick comedy' comes from. It's actually two quite thin pieces of wood with a gap between them, so that when one performer hits another, it makes a very loud slap sound with minimal force. They are also used by some clowns and to great effect in a Punch & Judy show. I am a sponsor of the Britannia Panopticon in Glasgow, where Stan Laurel made his stage debut over a century ago. 💚🐇🐴💚

love laurel and hardy, best physical comedians of all time. they just show up at a place and break everything possible.

When Ashleigh said she doesn't know if it's a murder mystery, or what, visible cartoon question marks shot out of my head. I thought just about everyone had some kind of almost innate knowledge of Laurel and Hardy. They were the most popular film comedians of the 1930s, and Stan Laurel thought up a great many of the gags that are still used in comedies to this day. He had a remarkable understanding of what was funny and why, and how to best exploit comedy in film. He really was a genius. So funny that he looked like a complete moron in character. And now, Ashleigh needs to watch Stan and Ollie, a beautiful valentine to these two immortals.

I am more of an Abbott & Costello fan, but Laurel & Hardy were also cool. Their most famous film is probably the holiday classic "March of the wooden soldiers", which is usually shown on tv at Thanksgiving & Christmas. Hopefully, you'll give Abbott & Costello a try. Most notably the 1948 film "Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein". 1946's "The time of their lives" was also great. I hope you watch them. I think you'll enjoy them.

By 1933 there had already been a long tradition of movie comedies, begining with silent movies. Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd masters of early comedy.

In "Blazing Saddles," they welcomed the new sheriff with "a laurel and hearty handshake" (a clear reference to this classic comedy duo of yesteryear). Laurel & Hardy are possibly best known for their silent film career, which was heavy on physical comedy ... because it was silent. Just like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

They practically invented breaking the fourth wall. Those two are the most copied comedians of our age.

Not that it makes a difference, but I LOVE that you’ve been exposed to Laurel and Hardy. There’s another film of theirs that is a special treasure to my heart: March of the Wooden Soldiers aka Babes in Toyland. It’s very much a kids movie, but the charm of the film carries it. I strongly recommend that you give it a chance.

Movies came from a background of live theater, where, particularly in comedy, the fourth wall is hard NOT to break. An actor can look out across the audience and express emotion, or do an "aside" where they speak to the audience. In a musical production, each number would be followed by applause and if it was loud enough, they would do an encore, continuing a direct connection with the audience. So breaking the fourth wall was a tradition from the START of movies.

My mom loved them and I love them a lot too. I regularly visit their graves and thank them

I love Laurel & Hardy! I do think they were funnier in their shorts but my favourite feature-length film of theirs is 'Way Out West' (1937), which is their most famous one! So happy you reacted to them!!

Stan and Ollie from 2018 is a great story of their lives!

the best thing about laurel and hardy films is that even if you do not speak or understand english they still make you laugh they were and still are the funniest Comedy duo of all time.. you should do more best not to try and understand the "story" just enjoy the slapstick comedy.

Ollie always plays the boisterous one and is usually also the one who is more 'grounded'. Stan is the cloud cuccoolander of the pair. He's usually rather demure and does... odd things. I like this one skit they do where Ollie is trying to light a cigar and has no matches. And Stan tucks his thumb into his fist and flicks it out again, lighting it on fire like a lighter... and just doesn't pay any attention to it. Ollie catches on, demands he explains and eventually tries himself. After a little while it works and instead of being happy about it of course Ollie is in pain due to his thumb being on fire :D

In my opinion Laurel and Hardy were at their best in their 20 minute shorts. Films including The Music Box, Towed in a Hole and Big Business showed them at their best.

Laurel And Hardy are the kings of slapstick comedy 👑

Ashleigh, between the 30s and 50s there were so many loved comedy teams that made entire catalogs of movies that became huge hits. Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, The Bowery Boys (formerly a dramatic act known as the Dead End Kids and later the East Side Kids), Abbott and Costello, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, even the Three Stooges started making films after making a huge amount of short features. Although I love both the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello and The Bowery Boys stand out for me.

Laurel and hardy are simply the best. Grew up in the early 80's watching these pair thanks to my dad

Laurel and Hardy developed their physical comedy routine from the time the were first appeared in a 1920 silent The Lucky Dog. They did a lot of "2-reeler" (25 minutes or so) during both the silent and talkie eras. The Marx Bros., on the other hand, developed their physical comedy style on Vaudeville and Burlesque theater stages in live performances.

Laurel & Hardy definitely did a few more films together 😉 Fun Fact A Great Uncle of mine was in the same entertainment troop which Stan Laurel started out in and traveled to America with him & Charlie Chaplin around 1910 or 1912. They toured the US in the Karno troop and then my relative ended up in Hollywood as an actor & stunt man in silent movies with Mary Pickford & Douglas Fairbanks (who were like the Julia Roberts & Tom Cruise of their day). Before he ended up injured in a stunt gone wrong, got addicted to Laudanum (basically morphine) and was shipped back to the UK.

The "wild guy with the glasses" seen with all the practical jokes at the Chicago convention was Charley Chase, who was another master of slapstick comedy and farce. He was very popular in both silent films in the 1920s and talkies in the 1930s, but only had supporting roles in a couple of feature films; his starring roles were all in comedy shorts, some of which he also directed. He later directed five classic Three Stooges shorts, but sadly, he died (due to long-term depression and alcoholism, which weakened his health) shortly afterward, in 1940, at the young age of 46.

The biopic movie about this duo, “Stan and Ollie” is on Hulu I believe. Laurel and Hardy are comedic duo that were the founders for straight man and comedian duos that came afterwards. Another duo like them are Abbott and Costello who had their own TV show and did movies too like Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein which is a comedic monster mash with Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Lon Chaney Jr as the Wolf-man and Glen Strange as the Frankenstein Monster p. They couldn’t get Boris Karloff to play the monster in the film so they got someone else.

Laurel and Hardy are a legendary comedy duo

I love these old movies! Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Bros, the Three Stooges, Keystone Cops, Little Rascals/Our Gang, Abbott and Costello, keep em coming!

Do you remember that in Blazing Saddles. When the new sheriff came to town. The person who was reading the welcoming speech said With a Laurel and Hardy handshake. It was a reference to the comedy team of Laurel & Hardy. There was a timeframe where movies weren't censored very much. In the 1934 version of Tarzan and His Mate, with Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Tarzan pushed Jane off a branch and into the water where her dress got snagged on the branch and came off and they did an underwater scene with Jane swimming naked.

My first exposure to Laurel and Hardy was “March of the Wooden Soldiers” from 1934. Definitely a good watch during Christmas time.

When I watch Laurel and Hardy all my stress bleeds away, and I just get to laugh. Love this reaction!

R2-D2 and C-3PO were based on these two comedians

Used to watch a lot of Laural and Hardy movies as a kid. My favorite L&H movie was Way Out West. Classic.

The best Laurel and Hardy short is The Music Box. It still holds up as absurdly funny.

Laurel & Hardy are also noteworthy for appearing in silent shorts and eventually graduating to the era of sound. Remember when you watched "Singing in the Rain" and they tried filming a movie with a silent film starlet and her voice proved too grating for sound? Alas, some performers really could not make the transition. Thankfully, Laurel & Hardy were talented in verbal humor as well as physical. Oh, you ever hear the phrase, "That's a another fine mess you've gotten us into!"? That was Hardy's catchphrase which usually Stan Laurel to remove his bowler, start fidgeting with his hair and whimpering. That exchange has been homaged throughout the years.

Wow. Just so hard to wrap my head around this. Laurel and Hardy were giants of the Silent Movies. How did your teacher NOT show Laurel and Hardy silent films during rainy day recess? At least Google up The Piano Movers. I am so old 😢

You really should see some of Laurel and Hardy’s other films, including shorts, like BERTH MARKS (1929), ANOTHER FINE MESS (1930), BEAU HUNKS (1931), and THE MUSIC BOX (1932), which won an Academy Award, as well as features like WAY OUT WEST (1937), BLOCK-HEADS (1938), THE FLYING DEUCES (1939), A CHUMP AT OXFORD (1940), and SAPS AT SEA (1940). I’m also curious to see your reactions to Charlie Chaplin’s films, especially some of his silent films like THE RINK (1916), THE KID (1921), THE GOLD RUSH (1925) and THE CIRCUS (1928), as well as his sound films such as CITY LIGHTS (1931), MODERN TIMES (1936) and THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940).

I just adore Stan Laurel,he also wrote their stuff

Still waiting for Ashleigh to watch her first Buster Keaton movie.

Laurel and Hardy are a really great comedy duo. Their short films (around 20 minutes) are usually better than the features (the features can suffer from being padded-out slightly). Way Out West (1937) is probably their best feature film. In terms of the shorts the best and funniest (in my view) are Hog Wild (1930), Helpmates (1931), The Music Box (1932), Towed In A Hole (1933), Busy Bodies (1933), Them Thar Hills (1934), and Tit for Tat (1935). Tit for Tat is a sequel to Them Thar Hills. The Music Box won the Academy Award for best short subject of 1932. Try to at least see The Music Box and Helpmates.

"As Chairman of the welcoming committee, I offer you a laurel and hardy handshake to our new....."-Blazing saddles

Just a 'few' recommended classic L&H shorts, no particular order; Men O' War, Perfect Day, They Go Boom, The Hoose-Gow, Night Owls, Blotto, Brats, Hog Wild, The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case, Another Fine Mess, Laughing Gravy, Any Old Port, The Chimp, County Hospital, Scram, Their First Mistake, Oliver the Eighth, Towed in a Hole, Beau Hunks, The Midnight Patrol, Dirty Work, Going Bye-Bye, The Live Ghost, Thicker than Water. Many of them are here on KZfaq. As for features no particular order, I'd recommend The Flying Deuces, Pack Up Your Troubles, Pardon Us, Nothing but Trouble, The Devil's Brother, Babes in Toyland, Block-Heads, Bonnie Scotland, Swiss Miss, Saps at Sea, A Chump at Oxford, The Bohemian Girl.