Chickens Come Home

These L & H shorts are priceless. In this one Ollie has political aspirations. He is even practicing his acceptance speech as a mayoral candidate. Who should show up but regular Laurel and Hardy nemesis Mae Busch. She has a photograph of her cavorting with Ollie in a sort of compromising position. They were an item in a previous time. Of course, she has gotten wind of his recent political successes and decides to blackmail him. She demands money or she will show the photo to his wife. What transpires is a series of pratfalls and attempts to hide Mae in closets. Of course, the wives are again dangerous characters so Stan and Ollie get it from both sides. Marvelous effort once again.

The great thing about Laurel and Hardy's movies is that they were so simple, but so damn hilarious! In "Chickens Come Home", Oliver is running for mayor, when a woman (Mae Busch) from his past shows up to blackmail him. She threatens to interrupt a party at his house. When Oliver gets Stanley to stop her...well, let's just say that it's not that easy! You can just imagine how the people behind the camera must have been cracking up watching L&H do these things right in front of them, especially the scene where they carry her (you'll see what I mean; it must have been a risqué scene for that time). A comedy classic.

For my money this is probably my favorite of the L&H shorts (except, maybe for "Two Tars," or perhaps "County Hospital," or maybe "Helpmates," or "Another Fine Mess," or could be "Them Thar Hills"... oh well; you get the point). It's a hoot to see grandly pompous Ollie, in his run for mayor, brought low by the machinations of a former paramour from his "primrose days." Mae Busch, a stalwart regular in the L&H flicks, is wickedly wonderful as the old girlfriend. Ollie's sub rosa business with his knowing butler, good old Jimmy Finlayson, is a delight, and the comic high point - a thoroughly discomfited Ollie warbling "Somebody's Coming to My House" for his dinner guests, accompanied by his wife - as disaster approaches, is a treasure. The Boys will always live in the memory of their devoted fans, to whom they brought so much joy.

Chickens Come Home (1931)

*** (out of 4)

Hardy is ecstatic that he's in the running for Mayor but this joy soon turns to fear when a woman from his past shows up with a photo of the two that could cause trouble if it reaches the press. The woman, wanting money to keep quiet, tells Hardy to be at her house that night but the wannabe Mayor is having a dinner for various judges so he sends Laurel to do his dirty work. Laurel, being too weak to stop the woman, gets in trouble with his own wife who thinks he's having an affair but the real havoc occurs back at Hardy's house when the three meet head on.

Chickens Come Home isn't considered the best L&H short but it still manages to get some big laughs all the way to the outrageous end. The one thing that's always amazed me about the L&H shorts is, usually, they run towards the thirty-minute mark yet it feels as though these films run mere minutes due to the high energy level brought to the screen by the two stars. The story of blackmail isn't any original or new but the boys make it seem as fresh and full of life as if this had been the first time we've ever seen something like it.

The biggest highlight comes towards the end of the film when the boys must try and sneak the blackmailer out of the house without Hardy's wife finding out about the past. This little scene has the boys putting the woman on their back and making it appear she's walking out on her own. Another wonderful segment is when Laurel goes to the woman's house and does all in his will to keep her there. This includes a hilarious scene where he blocks the door with all sorts of items only to have her throwing the stuff back at his head. The dialogue is also very fresh and we get several laughs from it. The best moment is when Laurel asks the blackmailer if he can smoke and she tells him he can burn if he wishes.

I'm not an expert on Laurel & Hardy so I don't know if "Chickens Come Home" is considered a classic or not but it is very funny. There are a lot of laughs packed into those thirty minutes. Honorable mention: a dreamy Thelma Todd.