Berth Marks

Several published works on Laurel And Hardy seem to rate this as one of the boys' poorest shorts. How dare they! This is extremely funny - if not quite top drawer - Stan and Ollie. An early talkie, half the film is simply our two heroes trying to get undressed in the upper berth of a sleeper train, getting entangled in each others trousers, night-shirts etc. The boys have also inadvertently set the rest of the passengers against each other, via a method I won't spoil by revealing. It's simplicity itself, yet it works wonderfully well. When most comedies of the twenties and thirties have long been forgotten, the films of these two lovable characters continue to delight.

The real secret is surely in their universal humanity; there's a little bit of Stan and Ollie in all of us.

Laurel and Hardy are back again in this talkie train adventure. The duo have a gig and they take the train, unknowingly create mayhem, try to get some sleep but encounter some trouble with wardrobe and when they're finally ready, they reach their destination only to forget the cello in the train. It's got the usual slapstick element and again Hardy does more of the talking while Laurel remains quiet. It's a simple little film of the typical Laurel and Hardy humour (for which they are loved). It's finely executed and provides several laugh out loud moments such as the bed scene or the sequence where the passengers start ripping each others clothes off and this starts multiplying (till the point where the conductor's clothes are tattered). Paulette Goddard and Baldwin Cooke provide great support. I love most of the things this wonderful comedy duo have done and 'Berth Marks' ranks among my favourites.

I just recently got into collecting really old films in their original format--16mm--to be viewed on a projector. And I just won a print of this on eBay, to arrive in a few days.

I'm curious how the experience will differ watching it blown up on a large screen in my backyard... with the noise of the projector...and those real grey tones and unaltered sound.

As opposed to just watching a DVD of it.

Yeah, progress is great, but I have a feeling that watching it via film is gonna feel more like living a little bit of history. When it arrives and I finally view it, I'll give a review.

But I have a feeling that it's going to be magic.

On a train to a musical performance, Stan and Ollie do what you might expect. The best part of "Berth Marks" is when they're in the compartment trying to go to bed. A notable piece of trivia about this short - their second talkie - is that it's the film debut of Paulette Goddard, Charlie Chaplin's wife from 1936-42 (and his co-star in "Modern Times" and "The Great Dictator").

It's not Laurel & Hardy's best movie, but still fun. There's now a movie about the comic duo, with Steve Coogan as Laurel and John C. Reilly as Hardy. I hope to see it. In the meantime, I recommend "Berth Marks". One can see how L&H influenced Gilligan and the Skipper.

Good one.

This first talking movie from Laurel & Hardy is a surprising good one. It has the typical Laurel & Hardy humor in it, for which they are so famous and loved over the world. This is one of their most typical shorts. It's simple and it's almost non-stop filled with slapstick moments. Laurel & Hardy at their purest and finest.

The movie begins standard but from the moment when the two boys enter the train the movie becomes an almost fun and non-stop laugh-fest. The movie its humor is very simple and also predictable but executed brilliantly by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Especially the scene in which the two boys try to get in bed, which last at least 5 minutes, is one to remember and Laurel & Hardy hilarity at its best and purest form. Although the movie its humor and moments are rather stretched out, the movie never really becomes tiresome to watch.

More than in other early Laurel & Hardy comedy shorts, the supporting cast also plays an important part when it comes to the humor. The movie is filled with comical moments, that don't even feature the two boys in it. Among the supporting cast is Laurel & Hardy regular Baldwin Cooke and movie icon Paulette Goddard. Talk about movie history!

This movie is definitely better than Laurel & Hardy's other work from the '20's. It's humor and characters already have the shape and form as their later and best work from the early '30's.

8/10

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