Two Tars

When I was young my stepfather borrowed - for quite some time - this old movie-projector and some old short-reels that we used to watch on a white wall in his radio-shack (later I learned he borrowed it, not to entertain the kids but to watch old pornographic movies, but that's another story).

My favorite memory from this was "Two Tars", a 21-minute short with Laurel and Hardy, and ever since it has been my all-time-favorite comedy short. I will not dwell on the reason for this, only tell those who haven't seen it that it contains what has to be the wackiest traffic-jam in the history of movies! Every time I come across it on TV it just cracks me up how a small quarrel ends with the motorists literally TEARING their cars apart! It has to be one of most brilliant examples of crazy-comedy put together, masterfully staged by it's director James Parrott.

Not surprisingly, Leo McCarey who originated the story for "Two Tars", five years later directed the mother of all crazy-comedies: the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup".

A must see!

Laurel and Hardy's silent short Two Tars could essentially be branded as "the quintessential silent comedy," boasting a great deal of physical comedy, broad, situational comedy, early examples of breakneck slapstick, and two engaging and energetic leading men at its core. The short concerns Laurel and Hardy as your average sailors, who meet two dashing dames in the middle of town, who are having trouble operating a gumball machine (or, what they refer to as, a "doodad") since it ate their penny. Trying to assist the girls becomes a comedic affair in itself, as Hardy mistakenly breaks the doodad, with gumballs flying everywhere. Possibly one of the most famous scenes in the career of Laurel and Hardy involves Laurel slipping and sliding on a mess of gumballs that now lie on the town's sidewalk.

After ditching the mess just in time, the quartet find themselves stuck in the middle of a monstrous traffic jam, one so big, it almost, almost compares to the one we would witness in Jean-Luc Godard's Weekend a few decades down the line. As always in traffic jams, tensions flair and motorists become restless, leading to unsurprisingly fun and unpredictable results. Another element of Two Tars that I neglected to mention, with it adhering to the building blocks of silent filmmaking, is that it makes complete use of its elements of unpredictability, always deceiving you in which direction you think the short would presumably go. It also helps we have such energized leads like Laurel and Hardy to make the affair that much more fun and engaging.

Two Tars can ultimately be summed up as the classic silent comedy from the 1920's, and a fine depiction of two of life's greatest challenges and patience-testers, which are pleasing women and coping in traffic jams.

Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Thelma Hill, and Ruby Blaine. Directed by: James Parrott.

TWO TARS (1928) is probably the best silent Laurel and Hardy ever made. It is hilarious. From the opening lamp-post gag, to the gumball machine, to the hilarious traffic jam and finally the train ending, this movie really is a rib-tickler. It's one of the greatest comedies ever made! Thelma Hill and Ruby Blaine are the girls, and Edgar Kennedy is the motorist whose car Laurel and Hardy promptly tear to shreds.

This is a good short feature, among the best of Laurel & Hardy's silent movies and one of several of their popular 'retribution comedies'. Stan and Ollie are "Two Tars" on leave, who pick up a couple of women and then get involved in a series of slapstick confrontations. The second reel, set in a traffic jam, is particularly funny. Two of their best supporting players appear in Charlie Hall and Edgar Kennedy. If you like Laurel & Hardy's silent films, make sure to see this one.

When I first watched this at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library about 30 years ago, I remember being a bit disappointed since there was no dialogue or sound effects, this being my first exposure to a silent film in its entirety not to mention that of Laurel & Hardy without their voices. I liked it much better when I bought the VHS tape during the '90s and having now rewatched it on Hulu as linked from IMDb, I now think this is one of their near-best ever! Everything from Stan's first accident when driving to Ollie's when he takes the wheel to a bubble gum machine incident involving L & H regular Charlie Hall to that chaotic traffic jam, it's just one hilarious visual gag after another! Besides Hall, other funny supporting turns come from Thomas Benton Roberts, a prop man at Hal Roach Studios, as a man with the tomatoes, Edgar Dearing as the motorcycle cop attempting to arrest the boys, and especially Ruby Blaine as the blonde half of the girls Stan and Ollie pick up for dates who really gives it to Hall and later sprays oil on another female passerby. Ms. Blaine was reportedly a professional wrestler then appearing in near Pasadena. Thelma Hill plays the other brunette half. If you're interested in the behind-the-scenes info on this particular short, I highly recommend Randy Skretvedt's book "Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies" on which he reviews all their films (though since one of them-Hats Off-is completely lost for now, he can only mention what reviews at the time said of that). So on that note, Two Tars is highly recommended.