County Hospital

"County Hospital" is a perfectly fine L&H short until the final sequence. I always enjoyed the scenes where Stan roams the hospital halls looking for his buddy (trying to figure out what a "solarium" is) and accidentally wanders into the maternity ward; he's mightily relieved when he finds out he's on the wrong floor! I also very much enjoy Ollie's scenes with doctor Billy Gilbert and silly Englishman William Austin. The film is also enlivened by the nurses, played by Estelle Etterre (who laughs hysterically when she finds that Stan has accidentally injected himself with a sedative) and May Wallace (who joins in the laughter and says, "He'll sleep for a month!" -- so much for medical ethics).

Personally, I always liked the scene where Dr. Gilbert is flung out the window of Ollie's room on the top floor--it adds a little action to a film where the longest scene is a single take of Stan trying to eat a hard-boiled egg. Also, the gag with the egg dropping into an unseen container by Ollie's bed and making a metallic clunk is NOT a mistake--the joke is that we think at first the egg has dropped into a chamber pot (ask your grandparents what that is), but as Stan brings it up into view we're relieved to see it's only a pitcher. The same gag happens in the team's earlier short "Helpmates," where Stan drops an alarm clock into an unseen container under his bed.

As for the final sequence with the back projection, it's not so much the quality of the film running behind the boys as a problem of sluggish editing. If the shots had been much shorter--and if we'd had a few more cutaways outdoors than just the one of the car skidding on a wet road--the sequence might have worked. Roy Seawright, who did the special effects scenes at Roach's, was a good friend of mine and his crew generally did top-notch work-- check out the split-screen scenes in "Our Relations" and "Brats," the animated bubbles in "Swiss Miss," and all of the effects work in Hal Roach's feature "Topper."

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. Didn't find 'County Hospital' quite one of their very best, but it to me still very good and some of the best material is among their funniest.

Admittedly, the story is pretty thin and is pretty standard and it does run out of steam at the end complete with some very obvious back projection and sluggish editing, both of which fake-looking.

Despite that, 'County Hospital' is great fun, never less than very amusing and the best moments, being classic hilarity. It is never too silly, there is a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive. A lot happens yet it doesn't ever feel rushed or over-stuffed. The first half is terrific and one of the better first halves of Laurel and Hardy's output from this period.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'County Hospital' and on the most part from 'Two Tars' onwards we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable.

Excepting the editing at the end, 'County Hospital' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid, especially Billy Gilbert, but it's Laurel and Hardy's show all the way.

In summary, very good if not one of the best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of the Laurel & Hardy comedies that show how resourceful they could be in getting the most out of the limited resources within a confined setting. Most of the gags work well, and only a somewhat uneven finale keeps it from being among the better of their two-reel comedies.

The simple story setup has Oliver in the "County Hospital" as a patient in traction, with Stanley stopping by to visit. You would hardly expect that anyone could get into so much trouble in a confined space, but they come up with a lot of comedy ideas, from hard-boiled eggs to the traction equipment, and more, with a couple of particularly good ones.

The climactic sequence is a bit hard to figure, because the back projection so obviously does not match the main footage. It's so much out of sync that you almost wonder whether it was done deliberately for the sake of comic effect, or whether it had to be left that way due to limits on time or money. In any case, this is a funny comedy with a few bits that are quite good.

Stan and Ollie's best shorts are filled to the brim with accidents, destruction and disasters from the tiny to the large: 'Big Business' (1929; silent), 'Busy Bodies' (1932), 'The Music Box' (1932), 'Towed in a Hole' (1932), and 'Dirty Work' (1933). Innocent Stan unwittingly causes no end of anxiety, trouble, exasperation and pain for long suffering Ollie.

'County Hospital' is true to this wonderful formula for the first two thirds of the film. Stan visits Ollie in the hospital, and continually exasperates him with his little behavioral quirks and oddities. Then after the doctor comes in, Stan lifts the truss weight from the floor, and very quickly the doctor winds up hanging out the top story window while Ollie is being hung upside down from the ceiling by the cast on his leg, the doctor's clothes are ripped, and as Ollie falls, his bed collapses.

All the scenes in the hospital are vintage Laurel and Hardy; even though he does most of his acting immobile in bed, Ollie is Ollie! The film dies as soon as they leave the hospital, and there is a flat back projection careening car ride with Stan supposedly sleeping while driving that is simply not funny because it is so obvious the boys are spinning in a car in front of a screen. The weak ending shows them spinning around in an L-shaped car (which had wrapped itself around a pole).

My grandchildren enjoy watching it, but the ending detracts too much for this to be one of their top top bests. I give it a 7.

Another fine comedy from Stan and Ollie. Stan pays a hospital visit to Oliver, who is up in traction with a broken leg, enjoying the peace and quiet. Of course it isn't long before that peace is destined to vanish.

Stan is so wonderfully inept in this one. Visiting Ollie as he hasn't anything else to do today, not bringing Ollie candy as "It costs too much" and not having been paid for the last batch. He comes up with his legendary gift.

Don't think any other comedian eating a hard boiled could be funny, but in Laurel's effortless hands it's great. The trouser gag is absolutely hilarious.

Only the climax is a let down, spoiled by poor rear projection work and going on too long. We are rescued though by the boys' L-shaped car (at least that's how it ends up!) Stan and Ollie: best there's ever been.