Les deux cambrioleurs

Laurel and Hardy make incompetent burglars in this fairly good entry. James Finlayson was so talented and his facial expressions are timeless and add to Stan and Olivers' genius. The slapstick comedy is well-staged, and competently done.

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short. A cop finds himself in trouble for not making any arrests during a robbery spree. So, he talks vagrants Stan & Ollie into breaking into the Chief's home, where he can then arrest them. Like a couple of NIGHT OWLS, the Boys descend upon the house. Chaos erupts during their attempt to scale the wall & get through a window. But matters only get worse when they finally get inside...

A good little comedy, filled with hardy slapstick. Edgar Kennedy plays the cop; that's James Finlayson as the Chief's butler.

"Night Owls" was one of the last Laurel and Hardy films for comic foil, Edgar Kennedy. He was soon to be replaced by Billy Gilbert. Released in 1930, Stan and Ollie are playing their vagrant characters who are offered the change of avoiding jail by carrying out a burglary for corrupt cop, Kennedy (who is on the verge of being fired from the force). The house in question, is none other than that of the police chief! Although this comedy short was all filmed in the "Hal Roach" studios, this doesn't affect the comedy in any way. James Finlayson is great as the put-upon butler of the said household. At one point, he takes a leaf out of Hardy's book by addressing the camera. I loved it! Stan and Ollie's attempts at burglary are like everything else they put their hand to - the final results being a disappointment. They both really squabble with each other during "Night Owls" but they always remain united against any adversity. One of their very best.

NIGHT OWLS

Aspect ratio: 1.37:1

Sound format: Mono

(Black and white - Short film)

Hoping to make an arrest that will please his boss (Anders Randolph), a lowly cop (Edgar Kennedy) persuades two vagrants (Laurel and Hardy) to rob Randolph's house in the dead of night, so he can 'arrest' them. However, things don't go according to plan...

An early sound-era comedy, in which absolute silence is the main objective! Naturally, L&H make enough noise to wake the dead whilst attempting to extricate themselves from a tricky legal dilemma (Kennedy threatens to arrest them if they decline his 'request'!), leading to the usual array of comic complications. James Finlayson hams it up as Randolph's clueless butler, hurling shoes at 'cats' in the garden (actually L&H, trying to evade detection) and getting one hurled back at him for his troubles! Ollie bullies Stan into compliance at every turn, though Stan tolerates his behavior only so far, resulting in conflict at every turn, timed to perfection by artists at the peak of their craft. Directed by James Parrott.

Night Owls (1930)

** (out of 4)

A policeman is on the down and outs with the captain so he has L&H to pretend to be robbers so that he can arrest them. The boys think the policeman will then get them off the hook but breaking into a house is harder than they thought. This is a pretty lifeless short with only a few chuckles and mostly dead jokes. The scene where the boys pretend to be cats is certainly the highlight.

Ladrones (1930)

** (out of 4)

Spanish version of Night Owls has the exact same story, although there's an added third reel, which is a different ending. Like other Spanish versions, the alternate ending here is actually a lot funnier than the American one so you've gotta wonder why it was cut. Some of the physical gags also work better here but it's still not one of the duo's best.