V'là la flotte

Laurel & Hardy are once again sailors in this silent short from the early days of their partnership. The relationship between them is pretty much fully-formed by now, and the tit-for-tat format of their rucks with those who displease them (or whom, more often, they displease) is already established. On shore leave, they rent a car and go off in search of girls. They find a likely pair attempting to retrieve sweets from a sidewalk dispenser, and despite inevitably scattering the sweets all over the street, the boys somehow manage to entice the ladies into their car.

It's not long before they find themselves at loggerheads with other drivers as they find themselves stuck in a traffic jam, and soon cars are being systematically destroyed as tempers fray. The film is pretty good and there's quite a few laughs scattered throughout.

This Laurel and Hardy silent short might seem very familiar to Laurel and Hardy fans even if you've never seen the film before. That's because it uses a formula that worked well in many of their shorts. Basically, Stan and Ollie are trying to act tough (this time spurred on by two cute ladies) and after a small altercation develops, the two take the "tit for tat" notion to amazing heights. In this case, a tiny fender bender results in car destruction on a massive and hilarious scale. A few Laurel and Hardy films that have used similar plot construction are the great BIG BUSINESS, BATTLE OF THE CENTURY, TIT FOR TAT and the final portion of MEN O'WAR (which, incidentally ALSO has them playing sailors on shore leave).

So, if the formula is so familiar, why bother watching TWO TARS? Well, like the other films listed (and others), TWO TARS is just plain funny. Period. While the first 75% of the film is mildly funny, seeing the end results of all the destruction. The many, many sight gags are very reminiscent of the Keystone comedies and must have, for the time, cost a lot of money.

Now there is a problem with viewing this film, however. There are no DVD sets of the existing prints of all the Laurel and Hardy films. There was a videotape set produced many years ago, but it's out of print. As a result, I know of no place where you can now view this rare Laurel and Hardy film except online. Under Google Video, there's an old Blackhawk films print (probably taken from an 8 or 16mm home movie) but there is no incidental music--just silence. But, even given these limitations, it's still well worth finding and watching. Not the best Laurel and Hardy film, it IS among the better ones this fine team produced.

FYI--This short is currently playing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York with organ accompaniment. I have no idea how much longer this will be, but it's sure worth seeing--even if much of the art in the museum is too sophisticated for 99% of the public.

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.

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!

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.