Les deux cambrioleurs

I've read quite a few reviews of Laurel and Hardy films and a similar pattern is emerging, for some reason a few people want to analyse the plot. This is old fashioned comedy at its finest and some of the best slapstick that you are likely to see, the plot was never intended to be the focal point of any of their films. The same thing can be said about a number of comedy teams at the time, so I'm not sure where their critical view of a weak plot comes from, certainly die hard fans of this duo cannot be surprised about the thin plot and to be honest, who cares?

More sophisticated comedy exists, but not many films or sitcoms can touch Laurel and Hardy's brilliance. I often feel let down by comedy in modern times, Night Owls though is harmless, hilarious and it does what comedy should do, it makes you laugh and it makes you feel good. If you seek comedy films with a better plot, then by all means search for what is right for you, otherwise perhaps it's best to leave Laurel and Hardy to people who love, admire and enjoy comedy from this era, because they are far above and beyond what some people are making them out to be, on this website. Overall, I would recommend Night Owls, in my opinion it is close to the level of Helpmates and Music Box, some of their finest work.

Stan Laurel makes most of the gags in 'Night Owls' work. In this comedy short a police officer (Edgar Kennedy) will be fired when he screws up one more time. He finds Laurel & Hardy sleeping on a bench in a public park. They have a choice. They can spend some time in jail or help the police officer. He wants them to break in with his chief. He will save the day and the chief will like him again.

The short, with sound, shows us Laurel & Hardy as burglars most of the time. They must be the worst burglars ever. They enter the house over and over again but they also manage to lock themselves out every single time. We have some laughs, all because of Laurel. Although this is definitely not the best Laurel & Hardy comedy short, it is another fine little movie.

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.

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.

Cop Edgar Kennedy is in trouble. Their have been forty-two robberies in the police chief's neighborhood and he'll be fired unless he makes an arrest. He gets an idea. Rather than run off two vagrants, Stan and Ollie, he convinces them to rob the police chief's house so he can arrest them in the process. It was a pretty good idea, if Stan and Ollie hadn't proved to be the most inept burglars in history.

"Night Owls" was the team's seventh talkie and definitely the best one to date. The concept itself is funny, and the slapstick gags are plentiful and well-performed. (My favorite bit is when the boys pretend to be cats.) Nor does it hurt that Stan and Ollie are backed up here by Edgar Kennedy and James Finlayson, two of their best foils. Stan and Ollie themselves seem very comfortable in this film. Their interplay has a smooth, naturalistic rhythm that one expects from the boys at their best.

This film isn't quite a classic, but it fine little film. The team had finally found their footing in the new medium of talking films.