Amale e piangi

I watched this immediately after watching the 1931 remake (which is a genuine Laurel & Hardy film rather than a movie in which they both happen to appear) and it was a weird experience. The Oliver Hardy role is taken by James Finlayson who plays the butler in the remake. Hardy plays the judge and is barely recognisable behind a wig and thick moustache.

The film is quite amusing, although it's difficult to judge objectively after seeing the remake. By 1931 the boys had had time to polish their act and some of the comic moments were embellished upon. This is still enjoyable enough, though. Elements of Laurel's character as it would become once he teamed with Hardy peep through every now and then, but his hair's slicked back and he isn't quite the helpless child he would become.

Love 'Em and Weep (1927)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A married man (James Finlayson) gets a call from his old girlfriend threatening to blackmail him so another guy (Stan Laurel) takes her out to make a deal. Oliver Hardy has a small role and it's hard to tell it's him due to his wig and mustache. The film has some good laughs but many of them aren't too big. The film was later remade with L&H working together in Chickens Come Home.

Should Married Men Go Home? (1928)

*** (out of 4)

Laurel breaks up a quiet evening at Mr. And Mrs. Hardy's house but he and Oliver go golfing anyways, which just leads to trouble. This was the first official Laurel and Hardy movie and it works quite nicely. The best moments occurs towards the end of the film with a big mud fight. Another highlight is a gag by the malt stand, which was later borrowed by Abbott and Costello in Buck Privates.

Yes Oliver Hardy did have a sort of cameo but the stars of this Roach comedy is james Finlayson who starred in a series of comedies in the mid twenties. Here Satn is Fins assistant and Satn has to distract Mae Bush not to cause havoc at Finlayson house. This film would be remade with Hardy in place of Fin and Finlayson in place of Charlie Hall as the butler. It was entitled Chickens come Home and is one of if not the best laurel and Hardy comedy. Differences between the two films was in Love em and weep Stan takes Mae to the pink pup. Plus the scene when they take out the passed out Bush drags on way too long. Nevertheless a great silent comedy. It is available on The Lost films of Laurel and Hardy volume 3.

Later remade as a talkie in the thirties as "Chickens Come Home", also staring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy and James Finlayson, this film, while inferior to the remake, is still a pretty nice movie, with the excellent Finlayson getting the lions-share of the jokes with Laurel quickly following behind. The plot, while the same as the remake, has interesting casting differences. Here, Finlayson plays the blackmailed husband, not Hardy, who is given the nothing role of a house guest. Laurel is in the same role as the blackmailed husband, but is quite unlike the later roles he played, and is definitely not meek. So, it's not exactly a masterpiece, but a good example of silent comedy, and a must for Laurel and Hardy buffs.

This is yet another early film of Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy but here, as in other of their early work, they're not really together as Stan has the lion's share of scenes and Ollie is only in small doses as a visiting judge. In this one, Stan works as an associate of James Finlayson and they both are married. Suddenly, Mae Busch comes in Fin's office and demands money or she'll reveal her affair to his wife! I'll stop there and just say I thought this was as hilarious as when it was remade as Chickens Come Home when Hardy took Fin's role, Fin took Charlie Hall's role here as a butler, and both Ms. Busch and Stan reprised theirs. There was also a Spanish-Language version called Politiquerias which only featured Laurel, Hardy, and Finlayson. By the way, I reviewed both under my previous username tavm. All the supporting players I just mentioned made their L & H debut here. So on that note, I say give Love "Em and Weep a look if you're curious about the early work of Stan and Babe (Ollie's offscreen nickname). P. S. Also appearing is Vivien Oakland as Stan's wife. She subsequently played Hardy's in That's My Wife, a judge's wife in Scram! And the sheriff's in Way Out West.