One Good Turn

I'm not sure how to take this one. Stan and Ollie have hit bottom during the depression. All they have is an old car and a tent, which is soon destroyed They are reduced to begging and an old lady gives them some food. But because they can't get along, they waste the food, throwing it at each other. When they hear a melodrama being practiced behind closed doors, they think that the old lady is being foreclosed on by Jimmy Finlayson. It is actually a rehearsal for a community play. They decide to sell their car to help the kind old lady out. Well things go south. The thing with this episode is that they end up in a confrontation that detracts form their normal relationships. It's still worth a watch with quite a surprise ending.

A nice Laurel & Hardy movie where they are victims of the depression. After Laurel has burned their tent and lost their food and clothes they get something to eat from a nice old lady. They overhear the woman when she is talking to a man. He says she will be thrown out of her house because she can't pay the 100 dollars she owes him. Laurel & Hardy want to help the lady because she helped them. They still own a car and they try to sell it for the 100 dollars they need.

There are some pretty funny moments in this short movie, especially near the end. Another fine one by the two comedians.

The comedy short One Good Turn stars Laurel and Hardy as victims of The Great Depression, more specifically, poor beggars trying to live life in the middle of nowhere. They cook their own poorly-prepared food, they wash the two pairs of clothes they have, and they simply try to make it to the next day alive and well. The two manage to muster up the courage to ask a friendly old lady for some food, and she kindly provides food for the both of them. While inside, eating at her kitchen table, Laurel and Hardy overhear the woman talking to the landlord, who threatens to throw her out of her home if she cannot pay her mortgage. However, the lady was robbed and doesn't have the funds to pay for overdue bills. Feeling the need to repay the woman for her kindness, Laurel and Hardy attempt to sell their automobile in town square.

One Good Turn functions more like a Three Stooges skit than one featuring the comic talents of Laurel and Hardy, featuring more of an emphasis on slapstick humor than verbal wit and situational escalation. This is especially surprising given the presence of director James W. Horne, who finds inventive ways to conjure up situations for Laurel and Hardy to haplessly fall into. The humor of One Good Turn is present on occasion, but one finds it treading far too close to familiar territory that is often explored by the aforementioned comedy troop. Our senseless heroes are always fun to spend time with, but here, it feels as if they are forcing themselves into a box they can't quite fit into.

Starring: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Directed by: James W. Horne.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. Didn't find 'One Good Turn' as one of their best and a bit disappointing compared to their late 1928 and the best of their 1929 efforts, which were among their best and funniest early work. It is still very good and has much of what makes Laurel and Hardy's work as appealing as it is.

The story is slight, though more discernible than most Laurel and Hardy shorts at this point. and the first part takes a little bit too time to get going.

Did appreciate its more gentle approach and it was touching to see a sympathetic side to Laurel and Hardy.

When 'One Good Turn' does get going, which it does do quite quickly, it is great fun, not always hilarious but has enough amusing parts. It is never too silly, it doesn't lose its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive. The unexpected and wonderfully strange ending here is the highlight.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'One Good Turn' and on the most part from 'Two Tars' onwards we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable, especially Laurel's though Hardy at the end is one of the pleasures here.

'One Good Turn' looks good visually, has energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid.

Overall, very good. Not essential or classic Laurel and Hardy, but a good representation of them. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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.

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.

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.