Dos pares de mellizos

A variation on Shakespeare's 'COMEDY OF ERRORS' (there are occasional references to the bard through the film),OUR RELATIONS is one of Laurel and Hardy's better features.It is certainly the most stylishly-produced film they ever made,and arguably the best from a technical viewpoint.If there is a fault it is with the overly-complex and overly-plotted storyline;it does rather mitigate against truly classic and hilarious routines that were evident in SONS OF THE DESERT and WAY OUT WEST(their best feature films),because there is so much story conveyed.And it's debatable if the familiar 'double' device,which was becoming hackneyed even in 1936,can squeeze that much humour out of it's various confusions and mistaken identities.The large number of characters supporting Stan and Ollie are also something of a distraction;some are relevant to the story,others are not so and abruptly depart somewhat improbably during the narrative.

These quibbles aside,the film is consistently amusing throughout,with familiar L & H foils (Finlayson,Housman),and those not so familiar (Toler,Hale) giving fine support.The most impressive aspect of OUR RELATIONS is it's technical sheen;it is very handsomely produced;the nightclub set particularly is highly impressive,and possibly the most elaborate and polished production design ever seen in a Laurel and Hardy film.Behind the camera,aspects are pretty accomplished too.Director Harry Lachman,usually more comfortable with straight drama (DANTE'S INFERNO with Spencer Tracy was his other most notable cinematic achievement) handles the comic sequences nicely,and commendably directs with a slick,speedy pace.This quickness has a slight downside;it would have been better if Lachman had sat back on a few occasions to allow L & H to indulge in their slower,yet more nuanced and subtle routines.We do see this near the beginning when Ollie reads a letter from his mother,and Stan conspires to break Ollie's reading glasses.This familiar and intimate bit of business is possibly the funniest scene in the film;the welter of plot complication after means we see virtually none of this well-versed style of theirs from this point on.Their encounters with the various many characters are amusing alright (especially Fin,who is well and truly savaged in his battle with the boys on this occasion),but OUR RELATIONS may have been even superior if Lachman had utilised a more methodical pace and concentration on L & H.Rudolph Mate,one of Hollywood's best Black and White cinematographers of the 30's and 40's, does a very accomplished job on the visuals,with some unexpectedly dramatic lighting,especially with the latter gangster sequence.This scene itself is rather over-stretched and perhaps even a trifle intimidating,with Tiny Sandford,in his final L & H film,not entirely comfortable as a brutish thug here.After being dispatched(entirely by mistake)on the dockside,the gangsters involved unconvincingly vanish from the scene,though Stan,Ollie,Alf and Bert finally meet at the end after all these complications.

OUR RELATIONS is not quite the best Laurel and Hardy feature,but only a small handful(WAY OUT WEST,SONS OF THE DESERT,BLOCKHEADS)could probably regard themselves as superior.There are no musical numbers or romantic sub-plots,perhaps because there's so much plot and incident abound! It would have been preferable had there been more emphasis on just L & H themselves,but from a technical and production point of view,OUR RELATIONS is Laurel and Hardy's most polished film;and while not their funniest,is still very amusing.

Rating:7 and a half out of 10.

This has got to be one of the better 'long' Laurel & Hardy pictures. Reason why this movie is better than most of the other Laurel & Hardy comedies is that this movie has a very well written story, that at times gets a bit confusing but remains solid, enjoyable and funny all at the same time throughout its entire running time.

It isn't really a comedy with many slapstick moments or other silly events. It's more a movie that relies on its story, that might not be 'hilarious' but it remains consistently funny all the time. It makes "Our Relations" one of the more consistent Laurel & Hardy movies to watch and because of that it also becomes one of the most enjoyable ones.

Yes, it really is the slick tight story that is filled with some good comical moments that made this movie such a good and pleasant one to watch. Especially toward the ending the movie becomes really good, although also a bit confusing at the same time. It's very hard to tell who is Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy and who is Alf Laurel and Bert Hardy (the twin brothers of the two boys, who are of course being played by Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel as well.) and who is being chased by who and why. It makes the movie a bit too hard to follow in the end but the good comical moments and situations compensate this more than enough.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy really show their acting skills in this movie. They have more lines and interacting with other characters than usual. It's good to see that James Finlayson also shows up again in a fairly big role. Other fine roles are being portrayed by; Sidney Toler, Arthur Housman and Alan Hale.

OK so the movie might not be 'hilarious' by Laurel & Hardy standards but the story is extremely well written and has some well timed and executed comical moments in it, which will surely make you laugh.

9/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Stan and Ollie also play their twin brothers Alfie and Bert in Our Relations which is their own particular spin on Shakespeare's A Comedy Of Errors.

Laurel and Hardy are both a pair of henpecked husbands in perpetual trouble with their wives and also a pair of sailors who just find trouble wherever they are. The sailors are on leave and get a job from their captain Sidney Toler to pick up a ring. They also have their usual run-in with perpetual nemesis James Finlayson who is intent on fleecing them out of their pay on shore leave and good thing he's as dumb as they are.

Our Relations is more a comedy of the usual mistaken identity situations with twins than it is a series of comedy bits that usually characterize a Laurel and Hardy short. One exception to this is a bit with Stan and Ollie getting into a crowded phone booth with movie inebriate Arthur Housman. No need for description, especially with the diet challenged Ollie as one of the people in that phone booth.

Alan Hale is also in this doing a very nice bit of slow burn comedy as the owner of a waterfront dive who runs into both sets of Stans and Ollies driving him a bit crazy. Of course no one is driven crazier than the wives of civilian Stan and Ollie, Daphne Pollard and Betty Healy. You know how these two are with the women in their lives from The Sons of The Desert. That goes double for Iris Adrian and Lorna Andre the two bimbos the sailors pick up at Alan Hale's joint.

Ironically the Comedy Of Errors would make it to Broadway two years later as Rodgers&Hart did a musical adaption of it as The Boys From Syracuse. Our Relations doesn't have the great Rodgers&Hart songs, but it sure doesn't lack for comedy with Stan and Ollie.

This and its companion were the only projects the boys ever said they didn't like. And it has fallen to the bottom of the listings, in part because of limited availability.

But I like it because I am particularly attuned to self-referential films. Explicit self reference (outside of shows about shows) was already becoming a fashionable idea in Hollywood. In this case, we have a plot taken from Shakespeare and characters (as always) inspired by Longfellow.

So a running joke, repeated 6 or seven times, has (at key points) one of them saying "Shakespeare" and the other responding "Longfellow." Also, there's a developing joke from Lewis Carroll about what goes up a chimney? Developing jokes depend on the thing being said differently each time. (The play is on flew/flue.)

I consider this their second best because there's more effort than just the stock physical comedy.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

This film has an unusually complex plot for a Laurel and Hardy film. It is reminiscent of A Comedy Of Errors. In addition to playing Stanley and Oliver, the pair also play their long lost brothers Alf and Bert. The comedy fizzes along nicely although the film overall is lacking in classic moments. The main problem is that the characters of the two pairs of brother are not sufficiently differentiated so the viewer is often as confused as the characters in the film between Stanley and Oliver and Alf and Bert. The new print is generally excellent, although there are a few lapses of continuity.