Leave 'em Laughing

Sub-standard Laurel & Hardy comedy, short on ideas whie stretching out what little it does come up with.

Laurel and Hardy go full anarchic in "Leave 'Em Laughing", as Stan's toothache prompts a visit to the dentist, where things run completely amok. Stan and Ollie were probably still trying to figure out their comedy style at this time, but the short is still a riot. It's the sort of thing that lots of people would probably love to try, especially once the guys get on the road.

I noticed that one of the signs said Culver City. That's where "Jeopardy!" gets filmed nowadays. It was also where Disney's "Fantasia" got animated. I bet that L&H never envisioned either of those when they filmed this.

Anyway, funny short.

PS: Edgar Kennedy, who plays the cop, also played the lemonade vendor in the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup".

Leave 'Em Laughing (1928)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Laurel is suffering from a toothache so Hardy takes him to the dentist who accidentally fills them with laughing gas. The early gags of Hardy trying to pull the tooth are funny but the ending with the cars goes on a bit too long and gets rather tiresome.

They Go Boom! (1929)

*** (out of 4)

Hardy has a cold so it's up to Laurel to try and find a cure so that they can get a good night's sleep. Highlights include the mustard bath and the exploding mattress.

One Good Turn (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

L&H set out to raise $100 when they overhear an elderly woman say she's going to be evicted. Not too many laughs in this one outside the opening sequence in the woods.

Thicker Than Water (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Laurel and Hardy waste $300 on a grandfather clock so Hardy's wife hits him with a frying pan and sends him to the hospital. Again, not too funny and the worst part is the ending where the two change personalities. This here should have been a lot funnier than it turned out.

This was another Laurel & Hardy short I watched on Hulu as linked from IMDb. In this one, Stanley has a toothache that's bothering bed mate Ollie so he tries various ways to get rid of it to no results. So they go to the dentist but this one is not the best in health care since the patients keep running away! I'll stop there and just say that this was quite funny almost to the end but when the laughing gas effect comes in and they run into cop Edgar Kennedy, the scene is maybe milked a little too long but it at least leads to a hilarious ending. Oh, and Charlie Hall also has a good bit as the landlord. So on that note, Leave 'Em Laughing mostly lives up to its title.

For the lovers of Laurel and Hardy out there, this is about as typical as you can find--with lots of bits in this silent film that were reprised in later Stan and Ollie shorts. While some may find this a bit repetitive, there is a nice familiarity about the film--plus in most cases, this was their first film to feature these bits.

The film begins with Stan in misery with a toothache and their irritated landlord losing his patience. Once again, as in THEY GO BOOM, Charlie Hall is the short-tempered landlord and once again the argument results in some funny rough and tumble bits. Then the film switches to the dentist's office and is reminiscent of the dentist portion of PARDON US--but with a twist. Both Stan and Ollie get a massive over-dose of laughing gas and leave the office highly intoxicated. This leads to a funny but overly long segment with traffic cop Edgar Kennedy. It seems to go on forever but end very well.

Again, nothing especially different about this film compared to others, but it is all done so well and is so much fun, I really didn't mind at all. This is one of the more difficult silent shorts of the team to find, but if you do, be sure to give it a watch.