Cane fortunato

SERVING AS A SORT of "Back To The Future" convoluted, retro precursor of the still unformed Laurel & Hardy team, THE LUCKY DOG is a dichotomy of film history. In the first place, it is the first time than both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy appear in the same comedy. And, although it is a delight to see the two great funny men working together for this initial encounter, it is not a true L & H comedy as we know it.

BEING THAT THIS is a starring vehicle for Stan, it should surprise no one that he has the Lion's share of the screen time. The scenario, such as it is, revolves around a rather typical 'Boy meets Girl' plot. As is so very commonplace, much of the humor is derived from the frustrations that plague all of us when it comes to romantic involvement.

ADDING WHAT WE would call a parallel sort of romance, Stan's mongrel dog displays definite interest in the girl's poodle. The inclusion of this plot device serves not only to provide a canine mirror image of their masters' world; but also provides a strong moving force for the story. Much of the middle action takes place at the Kennel Club Show, all of which brings all of the principals together.Even the title takes on a deeper, multi-faceted meaning; making "Lucky Dog" a sort of cinematic pun.

THE SCREEN PERSONA displayed by Stan Laurel, while energetic, clever and inclined toward physical comedy, is not the dimwitted guy that we all know and love. This character is brash and highly energetic. In many respects, what is presented on the screen is more akin to that of many other comics' films. This manic Stan's comedy is much more like that of Harold Lloyd or Charley Chase. This comedy could have been done by either of these silent masters.

AND THAT BRINGS us back to the main interest in THE LUCKY DOG; that being the first work that Stan and "Babe" did together. Being filmed in 1919 and released in 1921, the film predated the actual formation of the Laurel & Hardy team by a good 7 or 8 years. At that time, at Hal Roach Studios, association with folks like Mr. Roach, Leo McCarey and others, Stan's brash, young guy left. In his place, the slowly paced, dimwitted man-child replaced him forever.

SLOWING THINGS DOWN sped up their success.

Oliver Hardy was a character actor who had played in dozens of movies, mostly villains, when he first appeared in the same movie as the British comic Stan Laurel. The 31-year-old Laurel had recently changed his name from Stan Jefferson because it contained an unlucky 13 letters on the advice of his girlfriend and sometimes stage partner, Mae Dahlberg. Gilbert 'Billy Bronco' Anderson had sold his partnership in Essanay Studios and was looking to begin a comedy serial headlining the up-and-coming Laurel. His new small studio produced a pilot, December 1921's "The Lucky Dog," in an attempt to sell to sponsors the series 'Stan Laurel Comedies.'

It was simply happenstance Hardy was brought in to play a robber and the bad guy in "The Lucky Dog." He was freelancing for several studios and was hired to play the foil for Laurel's character. In the short film, Laurel plays a homeless person who befriends a dog and first meets Hardy robbing his victim. Hardy then robs Laurel of the money he had taken from his initial victim. Such are the roustabout frivolities taking place throughout the remainder of the movie.

Anderson's dream of a serial with Laurel didn't materialize, but the two did collaborate on several shorts afterwards. As for Hardy, he eventually signed with Hal Roach Studios in 1924 before appearing in a handful of films directed by none other than Stan Laurel in the mid-1920's.

So, here it is - Stan Laurel alongside Oliver Hardy in a film for the first time. The first on-screen words Oliver Hardy speaks to his future partner are: "Stick 'em both up, insect, before I comb your hair with lead." It seems that Mr Stanley Laurel has gone too far this time - has Ollie had enough even before they've started?

Well, if Mr Hardy had said this in a typical Laurel & Hardy comedy, it might seem that way, although the outcome would of course be very different, with these two ever-endearing square pegs continuing together on their awkward journey through life - me and my pal. But this isn't a typical comedy from the Masters of Mirth; this is essentially a Stan Laurel showcase, where he plays a snappily ebullient, natty juvenile, who picks up a stray dog and is accused by its owners of 'dog-napping'; Oliver Hardy displays his formidable and well-used talents as a rough looking 'heavy', or villain. Their two scenes together only indicate a little of what was to come, but the film is fascinating if only to view the two greatest comedians of all time sharing the screen about six years before they officially became a team, at a time when Stan "didn't think ... there was much future in pictures" as far as he was concerned, and both could only dream of the huge artistic heights they would scale and immeasurable critical and popular success they would only enjoy to a relatively small extent in their lifetimes, compared to the esteem they are held in today. Although it may be slight as a creative accomplishment, being only a pleasant film experience, and even though it really had no overall impact on Laurel & Hardy's development or existence as a team, this film should not be overlooked, as it is a very important part of film history, bringing together for the first time the funniest men ever to appear in any medium.

A far different Oliver Hardy, but essentially the same Stan Laurel we know and love did their first short film together The Lucky Dog. The voice and mannerisms that went with the Ollie we know from the talkies just are not there in this short subject.

Stan, a little younger, but the same innocence just gets tossed out of his roominghouse and he and a little pup make friends. Later on a rather bulky crook played by Hardy tries to rob him, but when all you have is a pooch to your name there's not much point. In the end Hardy's very bulk gets him in trouble.

An interesting bit of historical silent film, but the short subject in and of itself is no great shakes. Stan would be doing some nice solo short subjects. Ollie would be a supporting player until Hal Roach teamed him with Stan.

For the fans of Stan and Ollie.

Context is important. The first time I saw this film, it was part of Image Entertainment's "Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy" DVD series years ago. In that set, the film was presented alongside their repertoire of better-known, far superior work that they produced several years later at the Hal Roach lot as a team. It's important to keep in mind that in this film they are not at Roach, and years ahead of their official teaming.

At this point in his career, Laurel is an up-and-coming vaudeville performer, a veteran of Fred Karno's English music hall troupe and understudy for Charlie Chaplin prior to his film career. He has appeared in relatively few films. Hardy, conversely, is a seasoned and professional film comedian, having spent most of the previous five or six years in hundreds of films, probably all comedies. Often he played the villain, sometimes another supporting role, and, in his "Pudge and Runt" comedies with Billy Ruge, the star.

I just saw "The Lucky Dog" in sequence with many of the other films that either Laurel or Hardy appeared in during that time. In that context, one has to marvel at the amazing coincidence of this film's mere existence. For example, the false mustache Hardy sports in this film is larger but otherwise similar to the real one he bore in his later appearances with Laurel, after they teamed. It was the only time that I've seen at this point in his career that he wore a smallish, square mustache.

Laurel proves to be a competent and charming comedian on his own, but the film comes to life when the two appear together. Their screen relationship is apparently from the start. Hardy plays a burglar who resolves to wipe out Laurel once the latter turns in defiance of him. Unlike his many other roles as the heavy during this period, Hardy comes off as bumbling and oafish a bully as he does years later, Laurel is as blithe and unintimidated in the face of this imposing man as we remember him from the team's heyday.

When the two appear together, they appear as two kids playing, and we in the audience share in their delight. It does seem like the appearance of Hardy in the second, more rare half of the film, seems to have been inserted as an afterthought, as though the director realized how funny and natural the two of them were together, and decided to use Hardy in another scene with Laurel. One can imagine a scene in real life, just as the one depicted in the film, where Hardy, in his burglar outfit, appears to be leaving the film when the director (or, in the context of the film, the villain) cries out to him - "hey you -- get back here!"

It is worth noting that for all of the times Hardy becomes frustrated with Laurel's character in the team's heyday, this is the only film in which we get to see Hardy literally beat the crap out of Laurel. One scene briefly features Hardy thrashing about a Laurel stuffed dummy to comic effect.

One has to wonder if producer "Bronco Billy" Anderson spent the last 40some years of his life kicking himself for not having teamed these two back in 1919 when this film was produced. It appears someone must have noticed how well the two worked as a team. It seems tragic that we lost so much potential work with them, but we can also be thankful for what they did leave us. It's no slouch by any standard.