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I'm not sure how to take this one. Stan and Ollie have hit bottom during the depression. All they have is an old car and a tent, which is soon destroyed They are reduced to begging and an old lady gives them some food. But because they can't get along, they waste the food, throwing it at each other. When they hear a melodrama being practiced behind closed doors, they think that the old lady is being foreclosed on by Jimmy Finlayson. It is actually a rehearsal for a community play. They decide to sell their car to help the kind old lady out. Well things go south. The thing with this episode is that they end up in a confrontation that detracts form their normal relationships. It's still worth a watch with quite a surprise ending.

Laurel and Hardy are destitute – living by the river in a tent and their car. When Laurel manages to destroy most of their few remaining possessions they are forced to beg door to door for food. A misunderstanding with a kindly old lady leads the duo into a kind act that ultimately leads to a division between them.

This film has no one major strong scene that stuck in my mind, but it does have a consistently funny tale that made me laugh the whole way through. The plot starts with the usual `down on their luck' set up that works very well – Laurel playing with fire is well done. The actual plot device used to create the main story is a little contrived but it is played so well that it doesn't really matter.

All though the short there are lots of nice touches.- Hardy's looks are as good as ever. Some fans may feel that this is more low key than they expected due to the lack of a big sequence, but the smaller, consistent jokes work well to produce a short that lacks a major peak, but then manages to have no dips either.

The cast are good. The little old lady is a little clichéd and James Finlayson has little of value to do, but Laurel and Hardy are both good. Here Laurel keeps his usual character but he also adds a tougher edge. In other shorts he has tended to be one or the other (often being tougher in later films) but here he gets the mix right (apparently due to Laurel wanting to let his daughter see her dad stand up for himself onscreen). Hardy is as good as always.

Overall this lacks peaks but makes up for it by being consistently funny from the opening campfire sequence right through to logs a-flying!

The comedy short One Good Turn stars Laurel and Hardy as victims of The Great Depression, more specifically, poor beggars trying to live life in the middle of nowhere. They cook their own poorly-prepared food, they wash the two pairs of clothes they have, and they simply try to make it to the next day alive and well. The two manage to muster up the courage to ask a friendly old lady for some food, and she kindly provides food for the both of them. While inside, eating at her kitchen table, Laurel and Hardy overhear the woman talking to the landlord, who threatens to throw her out of her home if she cannot pay her mortgage. However, the lady was robbed and doesn't have the funds to pay for overdue bills. Feeling the need to repay the woman for her kindness, Laurel and Hardy attempt to sell their automobile in town square.

One Good Turn functions more like a Three Stooges skit than one featuring the comic talents of Laurel and Hardy, featuring more of an emphasis on slapstick humor than verbal wit and situational escalation. This is especially surprising given the presence of director James W. Horne, who finds inventive ways to conjure up situations for Laurel and Hardy to haplessly fall into. The humor of One Good Turn is present on occasion, but one finds it treading far too close to familiar territory that is often explored by the aforementioned comedy troop. Our senseless heroes are always fun to spend time with, but here, it feels as if they are forcing themselves into a box they can't quite fit into.

Starring: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Directed by: James W. Horne.

For the first 90% of this Laurel and Hardy short, there wasn't a whole lot to distinguish it from any other. In fact, the plot seemed a bit "schmaltzy" (i.e., sappy), as Stan and Ollie try to help out an old lady who they mistakenly think is about to be evicted by an evil landlord. Instead of the usual Laurel and Hardy hi-jinx, the film tends to be a nicer and gentler side to the boys--thus, to me, it's a tad dull! That is, dull until the very end of the film! At this point, in a HUGE contrast to the usual relationship between Stan and Ollie, Stan has had enough and proceeds to chase Ollie about trying to beat the stuffing out of him!! And, in the process, they destroy much of the nice old lady's home! The scene is a lot of fun to watch and quite spectacular, so the film is definitely worth seeing. Just don't expect it to be among their better films--at least until the end.

"One Good Turn" is a Laurel & Hardy short with some good moments. Stan and Ollie are reduced to begging, and arrive at the home of a friendly old woman who offers them a meal. While in her house, the boys misunderstand some events in the woman's life, and their well-meant but misguided attempts to help her out create more problems than they solve. The build-up to the gags in this one takes a bit longer than usual, but there are some good laughs to make up for it. One of the funniest parts is near the beginning when Stanley tries to extinguish an out-of-control campfire.