One Good Turn

The 1931 comedy short film "One Good Turn" is without a doubt a classic Laurel and Hardy movie, and I am glad that I had the opportunity to sit down and watch it here in 2022.

The storyline told in this movie is straight forward, and certainly is one of the more enjoyable storylines in all the Laurel and Hardy movies I've seen so far, especially since there is an aspect of being a good samaritan to it.

Of course you have all the usual witty banter and funny slapstick comedy, and that is one of the major ingredients that make these classic comedy movies so enjoyable. And it was something that Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had managed to get to work in perfect unison.

I had some genuinely good laughs throughout the 20 minutes that "One Good Turn" ran for. And if you enjoy comedy, then you definitely have to sit down and watch "One Good Turn".

My rating of "One Good Turn" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

I've always loved Laurel & Hardy, no matter which of their films I'm watching. Their best movies are delightful, and even in their lesser efforts I find that their impeccable teamwork and special idiosyncrasies usually carry the day. Over and above the comedy it's their relationship I savor, and for that reason I've always found One Good Turn a rather disturbing short. If you care about Stan and Ollie as buddies this one can even be a somewhat traumatic experience, for in this film the pressure of unemployment and homelessness put a serious strain their friendship, causing not just the usual knockabout quarreling, mind you, but a genuine crisis that leads to a misunderstanding, hurt feelings and, worst of all, a rift in their partnership that is left unresolved at the end. When I first saw this short as a kid it left me upset, and watching it again today I remember why.

Normally at the beginning of an L&H comedy we find a fairly stable situation: the boys are workers of some sort, or suburban husbands who've assigned themselves a home fix-it project. Gradually, of course, and despite their best efforts, things unravel. But when One Good Turn opens their situation has all but unraveled already. Stan and Ollie are homeless and broke, though they still own a car, and it appears that the car and a pup tent are their only shelter. They're camping in a field, and right off the bat Ollie is irritated with Stan, who is cooking their soup and hanging up their laundry. Within minutes Stan has managed to ruin the soup, wreck their clothes and destroy the pup tent, so the guys are reduced to going door to door, begging for a handout. At the first home they visit a nice old lady answers the door, and Ollie explains that they are "victims of the Depression" and asks her for buttered toast.

The guys were often broke and struggling to get by in their movies, starting with their earliest appearance as a team in Duck Soup back in 1927, but outright panhandling is not typical of them, and the blatant appeal for sympathy in citing the Depression is even more unusual, not to mention dicey. (Topical references of any sort are rare in their films.) The old lady is receptive and quick to oblige, which makes the boys' subsequent behavior all the more exasperating. Ollie offers to work for their meal but is plainly unhappy when Stan volunteers his friend's services as a wood cutter. They accomplish very little, and to make matters worse, when they sit down to the meal the old lady has kindly provided they quarrel and wind up in a childish food fight. Any laughter the sequence provokes is tempered by our awareness of that wasted food. Did viewers laugh at this in 1931? As it happens, the old lady is active with the local community theater group, and when she rehearses a scene in the next room with a colleague (an enjoyably hammy Jimmy Finlayson) Stan and Ollie mistakenly assume that the dialog they overhear is real, and that she is going to be evicted from her home. Happily, at this juncture the boys' good-hearted spirit reasserts itself, and they venture into the nearby town to sell their car, and raise the cash to save their benefactress from financial ruin. But due to a misunderstanding Ollie jumps to the conclusion that Stan has stolen the old lady's money, and so he marches his "one-time friend" back to her house to make a full confession. When the mistake is revealed, the worm turns as Stan exacts a violent revenge on his embarrassed, remorseful ex-pal.

Wow, that's kind of a heavy storyline for a Laurel & Hardy two-reeler. I guess it's a testament to the skill of the cast and crew that One Good Turn has its funny moments despite the dark atmosphere. Thematically this film reminds me a little of L&H's silent short Early to Bed, in which Ollie inherits a fortune, Stan becomes his butler, and Stan finally rebels against Ollie's relentless abuse. That one leaves me a little queasy too, but there it's the sudden arrival of unexpected money that causes Ollie's bad behavior, and in the end, the boys reconcile. Here, it's the LACK of money and shelter that sours the mood. The tone is harsh from the outset: Ollie is irritable with Stan even before he destroys what little they have, everything deteriorates from that point, and in the end they haven't reconciled at all. Laurel & Hardy fans will certainly want to see this film, and perhaps some will enjoy it more than I do, but if you're like me you may want to follow it up with one of their happier efforts such as Way Out West, in which the boys actually succeed at their given task and are still friends at the final fade-out.

One Good Turn (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

L&H set out to raise $100 when they overhear an elderly woman say she's going to be evicted. Not too many laughs in this one outside the opening sequence in the woods.

Leave 'Em Laughing (1928)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Laurel is suffering from a toothache so Hardy takes him to the dentist who accidentally fills them with laughing gas. The early gags of Hardy trying to pull the tooth are funny but the ending with the cars goes on a bit too long and gets rather tiresome.

They Go Boom! (1929)

*** (out of 4)

Hardy has a cold so it's up to Laurel to try and find a cure so that they can get a good night's sleep. Highlights include the mustard bath and the exploding mattress.

Thicker Than Water (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Laurel and Hardy waste $300 on a grandfather clock so Hardy's wife hits him with a frying pan and sends him to the hospital. Again, not too funny and the worst part is the ending where the two change personalities. This here should have been a lot funnier than it turned out.

A nice Laurel & Hardy movie where they are victims of the depression. After Laurel has burned their tent and lost their food and clothes they get something to eat from a nice old lady. They overhear the woman when she is talking to a man. He says she will be thrown out of her house because she can't pay the 100 dollars she owes him. Laurel & Hardy want to help the lady because she helped them. They still own a car and they try to sell it for the 100 dollars they need.

There are some pretty funny moments in this short movie, especially near the end. Another fine one by the two comedians.

The comedy short One Good Turn stars Laurel and Hardy as victims of The Great Depression, more specifically, poor beggars trying to live life in the middle of nowhere. They cook their own poorly-prepared food, they wash the two pairs of clothes they have, and they simply try to make it to the next day alive and well. The two manage to muster up the courage to ask a friendly old lady for some food, and she kindly provides food for the both of them. While inside, eating at her kitchen table, Laurel and Hardy overhear the woman talking to the landlord, who threatens to throw her out of her home if she cannot pay her mortgage. However, the lady was robbed and doesn't have the funds to pay for overdue bills. Feeling the need to repay the woman for her kindness, Laurel and Hardy attempt to sell their automobile in town square.

One Good Turn functions more like a Three Stooges skit than one featuring the comic talents of Laurel and Hardy, featuring more of an emphasis on slapstick humor than verbal wit and situational escalation. This is especially surprising given the presence of director James W. Horne, who finds inventive ways to conjure up situations for Laurel and Hardy to haplessly fall into. The humor of One Good Turn is present on occasion, but one finds it treading far too close to familiar territory that is often explored by the aforementioned comedy troop. Our senseless heroes are always fun to spend time with, but here, it feels as if they are forcing themselves into a box they can't quite fit into.

Starring: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Directed by: James W. Horne.