Ton cor est à toi

More of a collection of loosely linked sketches than a plot, You're Darn Tootin' builds to a crescendo which finds a dozen men doing battle in the street without their trousers.

This is a highly entertaining Laurel and Hardy short from the silent era.

Plot In a Nutshell: Two unemployed and recently homeless musicians turn to panhandling, with disastrous results.

Why I rated it an '8': Simply put, it had me laughing or at least smiling throughout the entire 20 minutes. I don't know if any moment reaches the heights of their absolute best work, but there are plenty of funny moments here. From the band stand to the lodging house to the city streets, Laurel and Hardy bring their "A" game to this loose collection of sketches woven into a story. The highlight is unquestionably the finale, where no less than 15-20 men engage in a pants-ripping melee that will leave you in stitches. I sure was!

8/10. Would I watch again (Y/N)?: Yes, absolutely. Good stuff!

You're Darn Tootin', released in 1928, is one of Laurel & Hardy's last silent shorts. There is no high-brow humor, no Andy Kaufman what's-he-really-doing-here angst, and the closest thing to sophisticated word play comes when Stan throws Ollie's horn under a steam roller and, after trying to get the now half-inch thick instrument to toot, Ollie deadpans to the camera and a placard announces "It's flat."

You can see the fine hand of legendary comedic actor Edgar Kennedy in his direction. Kennedy's fortes – the slow burn and intricate interactions with props – are the centerpieces here, from the fiddle bow and music sheet sequence early on to the gradual acceleration from annoyance to mayhem and utter anarchy at the end.

Stan and Ollie destroy a band concert, get fired, evicted, and fight with each other and everyone else who so much as passes by. The big finale is the infamous pants-ripping scene. "You're Darn Tootin'" is pure slapstick and low-brow humor. It's also the funniest twenty minutes ever committed to film.

Warning: do not watch this film without a change of underwear available.

Although I certainly don't consider this movie to be Laurel & Hardy's best, it still is of course a very amusing short, that features plenty of good slapstick moments.

The movie is a bit dragging at times with its gags but overall the movie has plenty of moments in that will surely make you laugh. Especially the ending is purely classic. The slapstick comedy is very typically Laurel & Hardy like, so fans of the two will surely enjoy watching this comedy short.

Like often was the case with Laurel & Hardy, the movie can be divided into two parts. The first halve is about the comedy duo playing in a municipal band, while the second halve is about the two coping with the fact that they are fired from the band by trying to earn some money on the street by playing. Both parts have their up- and downsides but overall the upsides overcome its lesser parts.

The movie got directed by Edgar Kennedy, who also directed the other Laurel & Hardy silent short "From Soup To Nuts". Kennedy is still best known though as an actor playing in several Laurel & Hardy movies, most often as the cop Kennedy.

Amusing, especially for the fans.

7/10

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This is the story of two musicians who played neither by note no ear, instead they used brute strength. On the night in question the orchestra leader was making his farewell appearance – something the public had been demanding for years. Fired for messing this up the pair find themselves out of their house as well as they are already 14 weeks late with the rent. On the city streets with only their instruments the pair find it hard going earning money.

Shown as part of BBC3's generally good documentary series on silent comedy legends "Silent Clowns", this Laurel and Hardy short is one of the very few silent films of theirs I have seen. I do love their "talky" short films and looked forward to this. It took a minute or two to get used to the lack of audible jokes and the short does demonstrate that this was something they wanted, because the title cards are mostly funny and not solely used to describe plot. Naturally though the vast majority of this is physical comedy, which for fans will be just fine because they still deliver this really well.

It is impressive how the pair do so much with very basic routines and obvious gags. The opening orchestra scene is funny and, after a bridge scene, the streets produce some good laughs leading up to the famous sidewalk chaos bit. Newcomers might not see what the fuss is about (this is always the risk – some viewers just watch L&H and think "all been done before", missing the point that no, it has all been done since) but fans will take to it despite the lack of sound. As always Laurel and Hardy work really well together, trading laughs off one another and delivering their parts equally well. Kennedy's directorial approach is wisely to pretty much just point and shoot.

Overall an enjoyable and funny silent short that Laurel and Hardy fans will lap up even if, like me, those accustom to sound will feel its absence.