Berth Marks

This first talking movie from Laurel & Hardy is a surprising good one. It has the typical Laurel & Hardy humor in it, for which they are so famous and loved over the world. This is one of their most typical shorts. It's simple and it's almost non-stop filled with slapstick moments. Laurel & Hardy at their purest and finest.

The movie begins standard but from the moment when the two boys enter the train the movie becomes an almost fun and non-stop laugh-fest. The movie its humor is very simple and also predictable but executed brilliantly by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Especially the scene in which the two boys try to get in bed, which last at least 5 minutes, is one to remember and Laurel & Hardy hilarity at its best and purest form. Although the movie its humor and moments are rather stretched out, the movie never really becomes tiresome to watch.

More than in other early Laurel & Hardy comedy shorts, the supporting cast also plays an important part when it comes to the humor. The movie is filled with comical moments, that don't even feature the two boys in it. Among the supporting cast is Laurel & Hardy regular Baldwin Cooke and movie icon Paulette Goddard. Talk about movie history!

This movie is definitely better than Laurel & Hardy's other work from the '20's. It's humor and characters already have the shape and form as their later and best work from the early '30's.

8/10

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I'm told this is the second sound film for Laurel and Hardy. They really look young in this one. They are a couple musicians, trying to get to a gig. They manage to get an upper berth on a train, so both have to sleep in the same bed. As they work their way through the close quarters, they do some troubling things. This time they don't pay the price because other people are mistaken for their actions. The ongoing joke has to do with people ripping up each other's clothes. The boys spend their time trying to locate music that Stan has misplaced and everywhere they go, trouble ensues. We can see the comic genius here. Obviously, they also did many silent features.

With their vaudeville careers slowly taking off, Messers Laurel and Hardy set off on a tour of small music halls. They arrange to meet at the train station with their instrument but find that the journey is not as comfortable or straightforward as they had first expected.

Laurel and Hardy's first short film with sound is clearly the start of a developing series of shorts. For the first few minutes there is almost no sound to speak of as they rely on their normal comedy style – it feels a little like they want to stay with what they know for a while. When the sound does kick in, it is very grainy and is given limited use for that reason. However, considering it is now over 70 years old this is understandable and it doesn't really affect the film too much.

The routines are pretty good and show a keen imagination – one running gap is left to run offscreen for five minutes before we are allowed to see it's extreme punchline! The routine in the train carriage berth has been reused to better effect by Laurel and Hardy but is still funny here. Both men are good and work well in the confines of the berth – Laurel has the better of the material here though.

Overall I enjoyed this short but must admit that the sheer age of the film did shine through in regards sound quality and even film stock at times. Regards though it was still funny although I missed the verbal wit that is part of their comedy in other shorts.

I just recently got into collecting really old films in their original format--16mm--to be viewed on a projector. And I just won a print of this on eBay, to arrive in a few days.

I'm curious how the experience will differ watching it blown up on a large screen in my backyard... with the noise of the projector...and those real grey tones and unaltered sound.

As opposed to just watching a DVD of it.

Yeah, progress is great, but I have a feeling that watching it via film is gonna feel more like living a little bit of history. When it arrives and I finally view it, I'll give a review.

But I have a feeling that it's going to be magic.

For anyone who doesn't believe that train rides can be a total hassle, see this film, and your views will be sorely changed. Laural And Hardy, two vaudeville stars heading for Pottsville, take us on a 20 minute ride of their life (one most of us wish would never happen). This movie makes me laugh tears right from the opening scenes, as the boys even find boarding the train a hard thing to do (this is one of the best scenes in the short). Next we find them on the train, and they've apparently lost their music for their act, can things get worse? of course! stan, on the way to his berth, walks into a womans room, causing her husband to think someone was looking at her, and a free for all coat fight ensues! The next scenes are what tops the short off... Stan and Ollie spend the last 15 minutes just trying to get in the berth and get settled into it! These last scenes make this short a killer, one to be remembered forever, and even though i am only 18, i will make sure my grandkids watch this when they are my age. A truly great L&H short...for everyone