I due galeotti

Originally advertised as the first 'official' Laurel & Hardy film (although still part of the Hal Roach 'All-Star' films - designed to feature old stars of the Roach 'stable' on the downgrade, and showcase those whom Roach hoped would be future stars - in which Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had been appearing since the previous year; the first film in the 'Laurel & Hardy' series would be SHOULD MARRIED MEN GO HOME?, released in 1928), this is a mildly amusing little comedy, with Stan ('Little Goofy') and Oliver teamed as convicts who escape from prison and assume different disguises. Part of the interest surrounding this film stems not only from the fact that it is the first 'official' Laurel & Hardy film, but also from it being the film that led Stan Laurel to acquire his famous spiky hair that became a part of his screen image. Both Stan and Oliver had their heads shaved for this film, and later, as his hair was growing back, Stan noticed that his constant attempts to keep his hair under control were causing the crew and other people on the Hal Roach lot to laugh. So Stan, the greatest gag inventor (and gag executor) that ever lived, decided to keep his hair spiked in his films, due to its usefulness as a laugh-getter. Stan and Oliver's shaved heads can also be seen in the next film they made together, a cameo in the Max Davidson comedy, CALL OF THE CUCKOOS.

This film can be enjoyed to a greater extent (as can all the silent films) with the addition of wonderful recreations of the Shields and Hatley tunes by the Beau Hunks orchestra - those who own a copy of THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS on VVL as I do are fortunate enough to have these marvellous little melodies playing in the background; if you don't, buy the CDs and play them while you're watching.

Second Hundred Years, The (1927)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Laurel and Hardy play convicts who make an escape but they find themselves in a more dangerous place than prison. There's small laughs scattered throughout this short but in the end the only real highlight is seeing boys with shaved heads.

Call of the Cuckoo (1927)

** (out of 4)

A man (Max Davidson) swaps houses, sight unseen, due to his wacko neighbors. When he moves into the new house it turns out the thing is falling apart in every way possible. The only real highlight is the few scenes with the neighbors who are played by Laurel, Hardy and Charley Chase.

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.

'The Second Hundred Years' is nowhere near classic Laurel and Hardy, later films, short and feature, had stronger chemistry when fully formed and used their considerable talents better. At this point, Laurel was much funnier and more interesting while Hardy in most of the previous outings had too little to do. 'The Second Hundred Years' is still worth watching though and is an improvement on some of their previous short films, along with 'Duck Soup', 'While Girls Love Sailors' and 'Sailors, Beware!' it was up there as among Laurel and Hardy's best up to this point.

Personally would have liked more sly wit that made their later entries better.

The story is a bit busy at times and both slight and formulaic. Have to concur too with the ending sequence being too long and over-stretched.

Laurel however is very funny, and sometimes hilarious, like as was said for a few of his previous outings 'The Second Hundred Years' is worth seeing for him alone. Hardy is at least not wasted, and he does give one of his funniest and most interesting appearances of his pairings with Laurel up to this point despite his persona being not as fully formed as Laurel's. The chemistry is much more here than in previous outings of theirs if still evolving. Support is nice.

A good deal of the humour is well timed, hugely energetic and very funny, with everything going at a lively pace, and there is a lot of charm and good nature to keep one going. 'The Second Hundred Years' looks quite good.

To conclude, decent. 7/10 Bethany Cox

'The Second 100 Years' is a nice silent comedy from Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, but it is only nice, nothing more. The short start in jail where the two share a cell. They are about to escape through a tunnel. Their plan fails so they have to come up with something else. They pretend to be painters to get out of jail. After that, to escape a police officer they steal clothes from two French prison inspectors. Of course the inspectors were on their way to the prison Laurel and Hardy just escaped from.

The first part of this short has some laughs. The funny thing here is that not Laurel and Hardy are that funny, but the written words on screen between scenes. The middle part, when they are painters, is the best. While the police officer is following them they paint everything white on their way, including a certain person that could be offensive to some. Unfortunately it ends with a sequence that plays too long and therefore becomes dull.

I guess this could be a nice comedy short for fans of silent films or simply Laurel and Hardy comedies. I liked it up to a point, but compared to most other films I have seen from the two comedians this was a little disappointing.

THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS

Aspect ratio: 1.33:1

Sound format: Silent

(Black and white - Short film)

Two jail birds (Laurel and Hardy) escape from custody and assume the identities of French dignitaries who turn out to be prison inspectors (Otto Fries and Bob O'Conor) on their way to the very jail from which L&H have just escaped! Havoc ensues.

One of the best of L&H's silent comedies, and certainly their best collaboration with director Fred Guiol. This one features a full range of amusing set-pieces, including an inspired sequence in which The Boys elude a nosey cop by pretending to be painters (only to end up painting everything in sight, including someone's car!), and the lengthy scene in which they're mistaken for visiting VIP's and received at the prison as guests of honor by warden James Finlayson, only to cause chaos at the dinner table. The escalation of comic incidents is entirely believable throughout. However, the film also contains an offensive sight gag, when L&H accidentally slap white paint all over the face of an African-American passer-by.