Cane fortunato

In Jess Robbins' The Lucky Dog, Stan Laurel plays a recently-evicted man who is left to wander the streets alongside a stray dog. After being robbed by another wayward stranger (Oliver Hardy), Stan and his dog get acquainted with another older woman (Florence Gillet) who clings to her trusty poodle. She suggests that Stan enter a dog show with her and her poodle. He proceeds with that idea only to be denied entry and, following a misunderstanding with the lady's boyfriend, Stan becomes the target for a grave misunderstanding.

The Lucky Dog marks the first short where Laurel and Hardy appear together, despite working as individual characters and not a duo. With that, The Lucky Dog is a noteworthy piece simply because it features two souls that would later go on to be unfathomably beneficial to the comedy community, leaving an indelible watermark on the field that couldn't be replaced. The short is also quite noteworthy for its technical pieces, like the early scene where Stan stands on the tracks of a train, oblivious to the fact that the train comes within about an inch of him. We see this shot exist in a symmetrical state, with Stan facing us, evenly centered on the tracks, with the train approaching us as well as the character.

In addition, one will take notice of Laurel's heavy-eye makeup, which is due in part to Stan's light blue eyes and the belief that light-colored eyes wouldn't show up well on screen, hence making Laurel look as if he's a crossdresser without all of his garb applied. The Lucky Dog makes an interesting case for cinema history, so much so that we forget the short isn't consistently funny, but just pleasant enough to remind us about what was made of a long, prosperous career for one of the greatest duos in comedy.

Starring: Stan Laurel, Florence Gillet, and Oliver Hardy. Directed by: Jess Robbins.

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.

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.

The date of "The Lucky Dog" is uncertain; it has traditionally been given as 1917, but it has been suggested that it may have been shot as late as 1921. Stan Laurel here plays a down-on-his-luck young man who is thrown out of his lodgings for not paying his rent. He is held up by a robber and twice narrowly avoids being run over by a tram. His only friend is a stray dog who befriends him. The dog, however, proves to be his lucky charm, as it is through the dog that he meets a dog-loving young lady. The dog also saves his life from the girl's jealous boyfriend who is plotting to blow him up with the assistance of the robber.

There is nothing specially interesting about the film, which lacks the inventiveness and the slapstick brilliance of many silent shorts from this period, It has, however, become famous because of an accident of history. It was the first film to star both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, although they had not yet become a comedy partnership. In most of their films they play close friends, work colleagues or business partners, but here Ollie plays the robber who holds Stan up and later conspires with the jealous boyfriend. Had these two not gone on to become the famous duo of Laurel and Hardy, this film would doubtless today be forgotten.

I can't complain too much, since I picked up 14 Laurel & Hardy films for $6, but I am disappointed in this cut. The movie is missing the entire second half, cutting off at the point where Stan has Babe stuck in the plank fence.

This version (Platinum Disc) is also totally without title cards, so it lacks the infamous line 'Put 'em both up, insect, or I'll comb your hair with lead!' that marked the first dialogue to take place between the greatest comedy team who ever made movies.

Still, for six bucks, I'm glad to have even this fragmentary version, though I will certainly seek the full film, in the future.