The Second 100 Years

Generally thought to be the first official Laurel and Hardy release(although PUTTING PANTS ON PHILLIP is also put in this bracket),the boys don't wear their Bowler hats and have their heads shaved,but are very much a team in this early effort,more so than PPOP where they play against each other rather than for.There's plenty of amusing incident and situations(especially when they attempt to escape the jail as painters);one slight quibble is that as convicts,the characters they have to play here have a very slightly more unpleasing edge than they would be establishing only a few films later in the partnership.Still funny though,and Jimmy Finlayson's double take and fade away is worth a few more laughs as well here;in early publicity material the boys were sometimes billed as 'Hardy and Laurel' in this film;that soon changed.

Stan and Ollie are in prison and are constantly trying to escape. The problem is that they are idiots and every plan they try fails. Some of them are pretty funny and some a bit too silly in this film. This is one of the earlier Laurel and Hardy films, so I'm cutting it a bit of slack in scoring it a 6. The problem is that this prison comedy, while funny, also has a couple bits where the timing is just awful and they milk gags way too long--something you'd never see in their later and more polished films.

The first of these over-long bits is when prisoners Stan and Ollie try to escape by pretending to be painters. When a guard becomes suspicious and follows them out of the prison, they start painting EVERYTHING in sight. When I was a kid and saw this, I thought it was hilarious. Now, as an adult, it just seemed stupid--and NOT in a good way! The second was the awful dining scene where Stan chases a cherry all around the table with his spoon. This "funny" bit was often seen in films before this with other comics and it just isn't funny--and it goes on and on far too long.

Overall, even poor Laurel and Hardy is pretty funny and worth seeing. So give this one a look but understand it's not up to their usual high standards.

Second Hundred Years, The (1927)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Laurel and Hardy play convicts who make an escape but they find themselves in a more dangerous place than prison. There's small laughs scattered throughout this short but in the end the only real highlight is seeing boys with shaved heads.

Call of the Cuckoo (1927)

** (out of 4)

A man (Max Davidson) swaps houses, sight unseen, due to his wacko neighbors. When he moves into the new house it turns out the thing is falling apart in every way possible. The only real highlight is the few scenes with the neighbors who are played by Laurel, Hardy and Charley Chase.

The movie is amusing enough but it's far from being the best Laurel & Hardy silent comedy shorts. The movie is at certain points dragging to much for that, especially toward its stretched out ending.

It's a movie that certainly does have its great comical moments but not quite enough to really stand out as a comedy. The movie has a fun premise and some good comical moments and situations. However these moments and situations are rather stretched out in this movie, which causes them to be too long with as a result that it loses some of its comical power. This especially is the case in the ending of the movie, which takes too long. It makes the movie as a whole also feel too long, even though it of course is shorter than 20 minutes.

But yes, the good moments in this movie certainly make sure that you'll still be entertained by this movie as a whole.

The boys are in good form in this movie, which was one of their first teaming ups as a comedy duo. Especially Stan Laurel is in his element, while Oliver Hardy was still clearly searching and developing his character. It was a bit weird to see the boys without hair but unlike Samson, they don't lose any of their power. It's always fun to see James Finlayson in a Laurel & Hardy movie, even when it's a silent one. I thought I also noticed Walter Long as one of the convicts but I'm not too sure of this, also since he isn't credited.

Slightly disappointing when compared to Laurel & Hardy's other work but entertaining enough to watch nevertheless.

6/10

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THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS

Aspect ratio: 1.33:1

Sound format: Silent

(Black and white - Short film)

Two jail birds (Laurel and Hardy) escape from custody and assume the identities of French dignitaries who turn out to be prison inspectors (Otto Fries and Bob O'Conor) on their way to the very jail from which L&H have just escaped! Havoc ensues.

One of the best of L&H's silent comedies, and certainly their best collaboration with director Fred Guiol. This one features a full range of amusing set-pieces, including an inspired sequence in which The Boys elude a nosey cop by pretending to be painters (only to end up painting everything in sight, including someone's car!), and the lengthy scene in which they're mistaken for visiting VIP's and received at the prison as guests of honor by warden James Finlayson, only to cause chaos at the dinner table. The escalation of comic incidents is entirely believable throughout. However, the film also contains an offensive sight gag, when L&H accidentally slap white paint all over the face of an African-American passer-by.