(1929; director: James Parrott)
“Jason, how come you haven’t reviewed a Laurel and Hardy short since June?”
“Jason, where in living fuck are the Laurel and Hardy reviews?”
“Jason, what happened to your Laurel and Hardy review series? They’re the only thing that I liked on your stupid site!”
“Jason, your Laurel and Hardy reviews are the light of my life. Please bring them back.”
Absolutely no one has said any of the above to me, but I am still keenly aware that I’ve neglected this series for too many months now. What can I say? The dog ate my homework. New Year’s resolution: More Laurel and Hardy reviews. Or at least finally get to the second disc of the Essential Collection DVD box set.
SO, in this short, Laurel and Hardy go to jail. Almost every great movie comedian goes to jail at some point. Charlie Chaplin went to jail in Modern Times. Buster Keaton’s arguble best short, Cops, dealt with going to jail. The Three Stooges went to jail a few times, I think. Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder went to jail in Stir Crazy. Bill Cosby recently went to jail for real.
It’s a proud tradition.
We don’t know why Stan and Ollie are locked up here. In a Kafkaesque twist, even they don’t seem to know why. This is just where the ol’ zephyr sent them. All that matters is that they’re here to make trouble.
If I had to isolate my favorite thing about Laurel and Hardy movies it’s that NO ONE in them has any dignity. There’s never a cute kid or some flawlessly pretty girl to stand as a symbol of purity. No, in the world of these films everyone is a jerk who deserves whatever happens to them. When Stan and Ollie start klutzing it up, they bring everyone down with them. All authority figures. Anyone in expensive clothes. Anyone who thinks that they know what they’re talking about. Anyone strolling by. Anyone at all. They’re all gonna end up rolling around in the mud with everyone else. It’s kinda beautiful.
And that’s what happens here in this wonderful short. The prison guards. The governor. The governor’s stupid family who are along for the ride while he checks out the hard labor camp. None of these people are gonna go home happy at the end of this. Laurel and Hardy see to that, however unintentionally.