Tuesday 19 January 2010

Laurel & Hardy


All my adult life i've been a MASSIVE fan of the Boys, collecting tons of books, videos and DVD's.
And it all stems from their shorts being shown on weekends and at Christmas throughout my childhood.
They also installed a deep love and fascination of pre 40's Hollywood that's never left me, the juxtoposition of the squalor and misery of the skid row of prohabition times with the glamour of the movies.
But back to the boys - and they were sheer genius and i loved, and love, them dearly. The shorts and the features bear up to many, many repeat viewings. But to ilustrate the point, which Youtube clip to go for?
There's so many, and they're all great. Was going to go for anyhthing from "The Music Box", or the shaving scene from "Busy Bodies", or the head-behind-the-mast bit from "Towed In A Hole".
But in the end went for the most obvious. Its a true classic and a reminder of how, bizzarely, it made Number One in the charts and therefore an indelible reminder again of life in the seventies:

5 comments:

  1. We bought my 12 year old son the Box Set of Laurel and Hardy for his Birthday the other week, he,both him and my 8 year old daughter love Laurel and Hardy, just like I did at that age !!!

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  2. Its great isn't it? Went to a L&H season at the old Scala cinema in London once and the audience ran from 3/4 year olds right up to pensioners.
    And my 9 and 6 year olds love them too. And its nice to see that both enjoy the slapstick, visual humour but now the 9 year old is just starting to get the wit of the script.
    And that's the appeal of them for me over the likes of Chaplin, Lloyd and Keaton - very often the spoken word is far funnier than the visual work.
    And Ollie's delivery too is outstanding. Such a great comedian. Best ever IMO.

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  3. His looks at camera are the best ever !!!

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  4. Yep, only just ahead, of course, by James Finlayson 8)

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  5. Doh!!
    the original Doh!!!
    love Laurel and Hardy..went to Ulverston to see Laurel's house and the musuem....have to go back and see the statue now..

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