Lavori forzati

James Parrot's short film The Hoose-Gow opens with Laurel and Hardy being trafficked to prison after being mistaken for involvement in a hold-up. The two spend their days digging ditches, cutting down trees, and doing the hard manual labor in prison with the comedic longevity expected from two of the greatest masterminds in silent/talkie comedy. The two manage to get themselves into enough physical pain and trouble that makes up for their false prison sentence, but the two push on and try to pay their dues, even if it results in grave injury.

This is one of the first times I've seen where slapstick really works for Laurel and Hardy. The Hoose-Gow doesn't make much of an effort to incorporate a lot of verbal wit, and instead, emphasizes the physical elements. For some reason, perhaps the result of a mood-change or an unconscious desire, I was pleased by the slapstick here, especially during the scenes when Hardy is attempting to cut down a tree and Laurel keeps getting in the way, nearly missing the sharp blade of the pickaxe. Scenes like that provide for slapstick that almost seems improvisational rather than a copout for screen writing.

One can tell, however, this is an early sound-short because of the lack of formal dialog. The Hoose-Gow could've really been a silent short and simply had the timely luxury of being able to be produced with sound. My only assumption to the lack of real conversation was writers at the time, in this case, H.M. Walker, who wrote most of Laurel and Hardy's short films, was just getting used to screen writing with audible dialog, making the early sound-shorts lack the kind of leisurely- paced dialog that would be present in Laurel and Hardy's later shorts. It's not a particular flaw, just a difficultly in adapting on part of the short's crew, but it would've made for a more witty short.

Yet The Hoose-Gow accomplishes a feat I never really thought possible with Laurel and Hardy shorts, which is make them more slapstick driven than dialog driven and have them turn out successful. For that, the film deserves a huge plus, and the fact that this is the most active I've seen both men in any project only adheres to their credibility has fantastic physical performers.

Starring: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Directed by: James Parrot.

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short. Stan & Ollie have finally gotten themselves thrown into THE HOOSE-GOW. Having failed miserably in an escape attempt, they find themselves assigned to a road gang - digging ditches. Creating havoc all around them, the Boys even manage to assault the visiting State Governor, eventually involving prisoners, guards & VIP's in a frantic free-for-all with handfuls of boiled rice.

This early talkie is rather unpolished in construction, but Stan & Ollie are always fun to watch. Slapstick humor abounds, especially in the finale. James Finlayson plays the Governor.

An early Laurel & Hardy talkie, `The Hoose-Gow' is strongest in its first half…the pathetic attempts at escape, the sheer terror on Stan's face as he tries to dislodge the apple from his mouth, the absolute fear and despondency of two child-souls set down amongst a hardened prison population. Also priceless: Ollie's guileless explanation to guard Tiny Sanford: "Honest, officer, we were only watching the raid." Somehow, coming from Stan and Ollie, the statement rings of truth. In the work camp, things settle into the traditional Stan and Ollie mealtime gags. When they chop down the lookout's post it's another of those gags of anticipation which was such an integral part of their humor. And it's to their credit that most of the film is shot on location, something uncommonly problematic for the early sound technology of the late 20s. There is also something wistfully nostalgic about those Arcadian, windswept eucalyptus-lined locations of southern California, so unpopulated in 1929. Once they get involved in the creamed rice fight at the end, it descends into rather standard fare.

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 'The Hoose-Gow' as one of their best and a bit disappointing compared to their late 1928 and previous 1929 efforts, which were among their best and funniest early work. It is still good with a lot of great merits.

It may not be "new" material as such, some rather familiar material here and the first part takes a little bit too time to get going.

Compared to the late 1928 and previous 1929 output, it is a little on the subdued and bland side, contrary to the insane craziness and wacky slapstick that was properly starting to emerge.

When 'The Hoose-Gow' does get going, which it does do very quickly, it is good enough fun, not really hilarious but never less than amusing. It is never too silly, the energy is there 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.

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 'The Hoose-Gow' we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable.

'The Hoose-Gow' looks mostly good visually (even if the polish is not always there), has 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.

Overall, very good. Not essential or classic Laurel and Hardy but hardly disgraces them either. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Despite claiming to be innocent bystanders when a raid occurs, Laurel and Hardy are sentenced to jail time along with the criminals themselves. Despite trying to reason with a guard they find themselves working a gang digging ditches all day every day.

Any short film that needs a great deal of set up before it actually starts going anywhere, is asking for trouble. On the surface that may not totally be the case here but I suspect it is one of it's weaknesses. The plot here sounds good but it has a few little unnecessary things that are needed to get it to it's original idea (I assume) which is the prison gang.

Once it reaches this stage it is funny but never feels like it reaches a peak. Individual moments are good but it doesn't have any really good sequences – I found the rice fight to be so-so rather than hilarious I'm afraid.

Laurel and Hardy are good of course but they seem to be hampered by a film that requires them to do things that aren't funny just to set up a joke that is funny. This split of time is almost 50/50 so the result is that the film doesn't seem to be as full and lively as their shorts are normally. Finlayson is usually my favourite support actor in the Laurel and Hardy shorts but here he doesn't get to do his trademark moves and is more of a straight man than a part of the comedy.

Overall this is still worth watching but I thought it was one of those rare occasions where the duo simply couldn't stretch the central idea to cover the whole short.