<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Thundering Fleas is not on this set, but-
Review: After purchasing this, I was disappointed that "Thundering Fleas" isn't actually on this set (I am a big fan of the silent Our Gangs and I hope that Hal Roach Studies puts some of those out on DVD too), but what is on here is good enough to keep me from wanting my money back.
"You're Darn Tootin" is one of the weaker L&H's. Not much story here. Our heroes get kicked out of a concert band, then thrown out of their apartment, then violently vent it out on each other that leads into a free-for-all involving the whole town. Not in the same league with some of the other stuff here. Then there's two formerly lost L&H's. The Battle of the Century is a LAFF RIOT with the boxing scene with Stan as "The Human Mop" (look carefully to see a young Lou Costello at ringside) and Ollie as his hapless maganer. This is followerd by the legendary pie fight (personally, I think the 3 Stooges topped this in "The Sweet Pie and Pie," but BOTC is funny enough, especially Anita Garvin's bit of pre-code erotica with her pie.
"Why Girls Love Sailors" is a rediscovered treasure. Essentially, it's a great Stan Laurel comedy with Ollie in a bit part as a villan (shades of the first L&H comedy "Lucky Dog"). You've seen the plot detail in the other reviews, and this is really fall down on the floor funny! However, the scene with Stan dressed as a woman flirting with the crude captain while sitting on his lap was enough to make me run for the Pepto-Bismol. YUCK! Much of this comedy is filled with spicy pre-code humor, and even now should be shown with parental caution. But it's a real howler any way you look at it as a whole.
One comedy has the forgotten aussie comic Clyde Cook in a tale directed by Laurel and featuring a clean shaving Hardy as a worker who hates Cooks cooking, and two other comic misunderstanding tales with the also-forgotten Charley Chase. These are also highly amusing. For classic comedy fans, this makes you wanna do like Blazing Saddles and give Hal Roach Studios a Laurel and Hardy handshake.
Rating: 
Summary: This DVD series is a must for "The Boys" admirers
Review: I just received my ninth (of the ten planned) installment of this MUST HAVE DVD series by the Hal Roach Studios "Lost Films of Laurel And Hardy". These meticulously restored movies are provided with original theatre poster art and film background information making this so enjoyable to watch. (Films as early as 1915. Can you imagine?) Being re-introduced into the silent era was such a joy after only knowing them (known affectionately as the "The Boys") through the talkies and TV. This DVD collection brought to me a new level of enjoyment watching the golden age of comedy. I have even joined a "Sons of the Desert" tent. (a world wide group (over 105 tents) of admirers to perpetuate the legacy of L & H. So named after their 1933 film of the same name.) They meet monthly to discuss and watch the 105 films made by "The Boys". I just wanted to say that this is the best quality picture and sound. Reproduced and digitalized from the original master prints and audio disks. Laughter through visual comedy is the devine genius of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. They are truely kindred spirits that we can now enjoy for a life time.
Rating:
Summary: This DVD series is a must for "The Boys" admirers
Review: I just received my ninth (of the ten planned) installment of this MUST HAVE DVD series by the Hal Roach Studios "Lost Films of Laurel And Hardy". These meticulously restored movies are provided with original theatre poster art and film background information making this so enjoyable to watch. (Films as early as 1915. Can you imagine?) Being re-introduced into the silent era was such a joy after only knowing them (known affectionately as the "The Boys") through the talkies and TV. This DVD collection brought to me a new level of enjoyment watching the golden age of comedy. I have even joined a "Sons of the Desert" tent. (a world wide group (over 105 tents) of admirers to perpetuate the legacy of L & H. So named after their 1933 film of the same name.) They meet monthly to discuss and watch the 105 films made by "The Boys". I just wanted to say that this is the best quality picture and sound. Reproduced and digitalized from the original master prints and audio disks. Laughter through visual comedy is the devine genius of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. They are truely kindred spirits that we can now enjoy for a life time.
Rating:
Summary: This DVD series is a must for "The Boys" admirers
Review: I just received my ninth (of the ten planned) installment of this MUST HAVE DVD series by the Hal Roach Studios "Lost Films of Laurel And Hardy". These meticulously restored movies are provided with original theatre poster art and film background information making this so enjoyable to watch. (Films as early as 1915. Can you imagine?) Being re-introduced into the silent era was such a joy after only knowing them (known affectionately as the "The Boys") through the talkies and TV. This DVD collection brought to me a new level of enjoyment watching the golden age of comedy. I have even joined a "Sons of the Desert" tent. (a world wide group (over 105 tents) of admirers to perpetuate the legacy of L & H. So named after their 1933 film of the same name.) They meet monthly to discuss and watch the 105 films made by "The Boys". I just wanted to say that this is the best quality picture and sound. Reproduced and digitalized from the original master prints and audio disks. Laughter through visual comedy is the devine genius of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. They are truely kindred spirits that we can now enjoy for a life time.
Rating: 
Summary: Starting to scape the bottom of the barrel here
Review: If you are looking to buy just one of "Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy" (shouldn't it be called "found films?) pick a different one than this, the 9th in the series. This particular collection is just for avid L&H fans who want to fill out their collection. The most satisfying film in the set "Your Darn Toootin", follows a familiar formula. The boys are musicians who first disrupt a band concert by missing cues and fighting over a piece of sheet music, eventually spreading mayhem to the entire band. Following an interlude in a boarding house, the boys are trying to make it as street musicians. Eventually, they cause a chaotic scene involving mass gut-punching, shin-kicking and pants-ripping.
The second film, "Battle of the Century" follows almost precisely the same formula: displaying ineptitude as professionals (here Stan is a boxer), an interlude scene, this time involving an insurance salesman, (of which the footage is lost), and the famous, chaotic pie-throwing scene. The pie fight is almost worth the price of the DVD, and is much more rewarding than the pants-ripping scene, despite the overall fragmented state of the film. It includes the famous last shot of "Roach sexpot" Anita Garvin, having just executed a perfect fall on a discarded cream pie, demurely shaking her leg in the hopes of dislodging bits of cream from very private locations. (Garvin returns in "Why Girls Love Sailors" in this collection, a weak, early film with only historic interest for L&H fans.
As with the other volumes in the series, this collection contains short films from other Hal Roach actors, as well as Stan or Ollie individually. Two films by Charley Chase are found here, neither of which I found entertaining, as well as an obscure entry by Clyde Cook (deservedly obscure, in my mind). In general, if you're not collectors of Laurel and Hardy films, I would pass on this volume.
Rating:
Summary: Average Laurel & Hardy silent comedies but a great pie fight
Review: This ninth volume of "The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy" offers more of the silent comedies of the screen's greatest comedy team, with the twist that we have two versions of a couple of them on this DVD. Laurel & Hardy as bandstand musicians might seem a strange subject for a two-reel silent comedy, but that is what we get in "You're Darn Tootin'." The boys lose their jobs when they ruin the band's performance and end up turning on each other, a fracas that eventually spreads to everybody on the street. If you pay attention to the early parts of this film, you will notice that all sorts of sound and musical cues were clearly indicated, but, of course, are lost to us now. Directed by Edgar Kennedy, one of the great comic foils of the Golden Age of Comedy, this 1928 Hal Roach-MGM comedy was "supervised" by the great Leo McCarey. The 1927 two-reeler "Why Girls Love Sailors" directed by Fred Guiol was considered lost for years. English and French versions are offered here. When Laurel's girl friend is kidnapped by a sea captain he dresses up as a vamp to serve as a distraction while he and Hardy effect a rescue. While this film was "lost" it had the reputation as being the one in which the "tie twiddle" and the "long stare" are developed by Oliver Hardy. This is true for the first, but certainly the stare is seen in earlier comedies, albeit not to this length. There are also two versions of "Battle of the Century," the 1927 two-reeler directed by Clyde Bruckman. Laurel is a prize fighter being managed by Hardy. Obviously, Stan will not be making a lot of money at this occupation, so Ollie takes out an insurance policy on his fighter. Of course, while accidents happen to Laurel all the time, Hardy becomes the victim of every deliberate attempt to hurt his friend. This comedy, which ends with one of the truly epic pie-fights in movie history, was "supervised" by Leo McCarey and based on a story by Hal Roach. This last sequence is pretty much better than everything else on the disc. Finishing up this DVD are Hardy's 1927 solo short "Wandering Papas," the 1926 Our Gang short "Thundering Fleas," and Charley Chase's "Mum's the Word" from 1926.
Rating:
Summary: Average Laurel & Hardy silent comedies but a great pie fight
Review: This ninth volume of "The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy" offers more of the silent comedies of the screen's greatest comedy team, with the twist that we have two versions of a couple of them on this DVD. Laurel & Hardy as bandstand musicians might seem a strange subject for a two-reel silent comedy, but that is what we get in "You're Darn Tootin'." The boys lose their jobs when they ruin the band's performance and end up turning on each other, a fracas that eventually spreads to everybody on the street. If you pay attention to the early parts of this film, you will notice that all sorts of sound and musical cues were clearly indicated, but, of course, are lost to us now. Directed by Edgar Kennedy, one of the great comic foils of the Golden Age of Comedy, this 1928 Hal Roach-MGM comedy was "supervised" by the great Leo McCarey. The 1927 two-reeler "Why Girls Love Sailors" directed by Fred Guiol was considered lost for years. English and French versions are offered here. When Laurel's girl friend is kidnapped by a sea captain he dresses up as a vamp to serve as a distraction while he and Hardy effect a rescue. While this film was "lost" it had the reputation as being the one in which the "tie twiddle" and the "long stare" are developed by Oliver Hardy. This is true for the first, but certainly the stare is seen in earlier comedies, albeit not to this length. There are also two versions of "Battle of the Century," the 1927 two-reeler directed by Clyde Bruckman. Laurel is a prize fighter being managed by Hardy. Obviously, Stan will not be making a lot of money at this occupation, so Ollie takes out an insurance policy on his fighter. Of course, while accidents happen to Laurel all the time, Hardy becomes the victim of every deliberate attempt to hurt his friend. This comedy, which ends with one of the truly epic pie-fights in movie history, was "supervised" by Leo McCarey and based on a story by Hal Roach. This last sequence is pretty much better than everything else on the disc. Finishing up this DVD are Hardy's 1927 solo short "Wandering Papas," the 1926 Our Gang short "Thundering Fleas," and Charley Chase's "Mum's the Word" from 1926.
Rating:
Summary: Good but....
Review: This volume includes: You're Darn Tootin' (1928, 22 min., Silent), Battle Of The Century (1928, 28 min.*, Silent), a Clyde Cook/Oliver Hardy short Wandering Papas (1927, 21 min., Silent), a Charley Chase/Vivian Oakland short Mighty Like A Moose (1926, 24 min., Silent), Why Girls Love Sailors (1927, 21 min., Silent), and a Charlie Chase/Martha Sleeper short Mum's The Word (1926, 22 min., Silent). All have Vitaphone Music & Effects or Vitaphone track. There are two "extras": 1) a second version of Battle Of The Century (the first version is *11 minutes with all the known surviving film played together) which is *17 minutes long including original script & still photos where there is missing film. The only problem is the second version of Battle Of The Century HAS NO SOUND despite the sound copyright notice in the opening title screen of the film. 2) a second version of Why Girls Love Sailors in FRENCH. While having no music background effects on the second version of Battle Of The Century is a disappointment and Mum's The Word had a cooper/gold look to it instead of the usual white we see in films, this DVD is 159 MINUTES LONG, making it by far the longest in the series! I've been waiting over 10 years to see the very rare Why Girls Love Sailors. Any DVD owner and L&H fan who hasn't seen Why Girls Love Sailors will be happy owning this DVD just for this one rare film.
<< 1 >>
|
