Call me crazy ("Hey, crazy!") but I never enjoyed silent era films. I tried, oh I tried, but each time an actor's mouth moved there was nothing but an awkward silence. Then after what seemed too lengthy of a wait, a placard flashed on the TV screen, reflecting what the actor had just said moments before. I found this to be very distracting, plus it slowed down the natural comedic timing. This lapse between action and dialog, for me, was like watching an entire movie subtitled, and I couldn't square the two up.
That being said, I didn't watch any of the short and feature length "TV reruns" unless they were "talkies." As a kid who was fortunate enough to have a tiny black and white TV set in my bedroom, every Saturday morning before my parents or the Sun were up, I was thoroughly mesmerized by the vaudevillian, overtly physical humor of Buster Keaton, Our Gang (The Little Rascals), The Three Stooges, and of course, Laurel & Hardy.
The first Our Gang (The Little Rascals) talkie was "Small Talk" released in 1929. Buster Keaton's first talkie was "Free and Easy," released in 1930. The Three Stooges (Larry, Moe and Curly) most recognized talkie was The Woman Haters (1934). "Unaccustomed As We Are," released worldwide in 1929, was Laurel and Hardy's film debut with sound. It was an immediate hit with audiences.
Unlike many of their silent film era contemporaries who couldn't make the transition from silent to sound film, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy effortlessly slipped into this new media. Both actors had the rare gift of "comedic timing," and the duo knew how to thoroughly exploit sight gags. Moreover, lovable Hardy routinely broke the "fourth wall" of film, and after each hilarious yet tragic gag, he would often look straight at the camera as if to say, "Can you believe what just happened to me?"
"Men O' War" (1929) was Laurel and Hardy's third sound movie. Like the first two, it is a short. The plot is simple: Stan and Ollie are Navy sailors on leave who, while walking through what looks like Echo Park in Los Angeles, meet two attractive ladies also walking through the park. A very shy Ollie invites the giggling women to join them for a soda, but they only have enough money for three people. Afterwards they rent rent a row boat with the women, which turns into a war with the other boaters. From there it escalates into sheer mayhem.
It's all brilliantly performed by two of the most iconic comedic teams in history, and supported by a wonderful set of actors who would often appear in many future Laurel & Hardy shorts and feature length films.
No spoilers here as usual, but I will reveal that this was vaudevillian actor James Finlayson's first venture into a talkie, and it is also the first time (but certainly not the last time) in which we hear his trademark exclamation: "D'Oh!"
