Pack Up Your Troubles

"Pack Up Your Troubles" is a much funnier and better made film for Laurel and Hardy. The plot is more solid with a tighter narrative and the comedy has been blended in well. The opening of the film is 1917 - the year America entered the First World War. Stan and Ollie are drafted into the army where they befriend a fellow private. Sadly, this other soldier is killed in action and Stan and Ollie take it upon themselves to look after the deceased's little daughter. With the war ended, they need to avoid the dreaded orphanage as the child's mother shows no interest. Stan and Ollie try to locate the child's grandparents and this is what dominates the majority of "Pack Up Your Troubles." The team are on top form and they have great material to work with. Besides the comedy, there are moments of drama. Laurel and Hardy handle the more serious material very well. The scene where they realise their soldier friend has died is greeted with no humour or slapstick of any kind. James Finlayson has a brilliant cameo as the army officer, whose army quarters are accidentally smelling of litter. Watch his expression as he blows his whistle! Another regular supporting comedian, Billy Gilbert, makes an appearance as a rather irate future father-in-law at a wedding. I enjoyed the way the film ended, it was quite moving.

PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES is the second L&H feature. They do a great job, providing straight laughs for over an hour! The supporting cast reads like a "who's-who" of 1930's comedy:Charles Middleton, Jacquie Lyn, Muriel Evans, Billy Gilbert, C. Montague Shaw, George Marshall, Rychard Cramer, James C. Morton, Richard Tucker, Lew Kelly, and other greats such as the immortal James Finlayson as a General. Directed by George Marshall and Raymond McCarey (brother of L&H creator Leo McCarey), Photographed by Art Lloyd. Screenplay and Dialogue by H. M. Walker. A comedy classic.

Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy wind up in the army in the Great War. In the trenches, they become friends with Don Dilaway. When he buys the farm, they return to the United States, rescue his orphaned daughter Jackie Lyn Dutton, and try to locate her grandfather amid the comedy set pieces.

It's a surprisingly serious movie amidst all the shenanigans and gags. Among the issues are marital breakdowns, abusive foster parents (played by the thoroughly malign Richard Cramer) and the unfeeling child welfare system (personified by Charles Middleton). Yet it never falters, thanks in no small part to direction by Ray McCarey and George Marshall -- the latter has three scenes as a miserable army cook. Through it all, the friendship of Stan and Ollie sustains them. They are stupid and ineffective, but they know they can rely on each other's poor best in the face of a hostile world. Plus they are so very funny.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. Didn't find 'Pack Up Your Troubles' quite one of their very best, but it to me still very good and some of the best material is among their funniest.

Admittedly, the story is pretty thin and is pretty standard and the beginning is a touch slow.

Despite that, 'Pack Up Your Troubles' is great fun while also having a definite degree of substance, never less than very amusing and the best moments, such as the ending, being classic hilarity. It is never too silly, there is a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive. Yet there is also a surprising amount of pathos, that is actually genuinely moving and not over-sentimental. A lot happens yet it doesn't ever feel rushed or over-stuffed. The ending is a delight.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'Pack Up Your Troubles' and on the most part from 'Two Tars' onwards we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable.

'Pack Up Your Troubles' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid, but Laurel and Hardy steal the show as they ought to.

Concluding, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Early Laurel & Hardy feature isn't among their best, but still provides entertaining viewing.

Story begins with America entering the First World War, and L&H conscripted into the army after being spotted loafing on a park bench. Action moves to training camp, then onto the trenches in France before returning to America. Here Laurel & Hardy find themselves responsible for a dead army buddy's little girl, whom they must return to her rightful guardian.

Film isn't as polished as later entries, and certainly can't compete with the likes of 'Sons of the Desert'. Even so, the continual odd-couple bickering between the two ensures plenty of laughs. The scene where they go to the Bank to get a loan on the strength of their mobile food business is out of the top draw - if there is a better comedy duo in movie history I've yet to see them.