Detetives Pensam?

Although not the first "Official" L & H film,this was the first time the boys wore their celebrated bowler hats,an essential part of detectives' garb at the time.A bit frantic in places,DO DETECTIVES THINK? nevertheless presents us with the embryos that were to develop into the greatest comedy team in cinema history.Often mechanical,the film has lively supporting performances from James Finlayson and Noah Young,and still has very funny scenes,especially when Ollie(playing a character named Sherlock Pinkham!)is given two black eyes.Stan has the equally absurd character name of Ferdinand Finkleberry! Not their best short by a long short,but historically interesting.6 out of 10.

Judge James Finlayson's life has been threatened and indeed why would it not be threatened as he's a hardnosed law and order type who has just handed out a life sentence to some tough criminals. That gang hires the Slasher played by a creepy Noah Young to take vengeance on Finlayson.

This film may have been responsible for the adversarial relationship that Stan and Ollie enjoyed with Finlayson. The boys are the detectives that are sent by the local police to guard the life of the good judge.

The pattern of the characters of Stan and Ollie that we would get to know so well is forming here. Stan is the simpleton and he knows it, Ollie is the man who thinks he's a genius, but always falls way short. One thing Ollie is not is a marksman, a fact he proves by frightening everyone in the house with his shooting.

Future frenemies are formed here.

Although by no means a comedy must-see, "Do Detectives Think?" is a worthy movie from Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who in 1927 just began working together as a comedy team, for the Hal Roach studio's.

It's a movie that is good thanks to its little comical moments. It's not the sort of movie that is hilarious constantly but it has some great original and funny moments in it that are good for a couple of laughs. It's certainly not the most consistent Laurel & Hardy silent comedy short around but it's an enjoyable one nevertheless, which is also thanks to its fun simple story. It makes "Do Detectives Think?" an above average early Laurel & Hardy movie.

Problem of the movie really is that the comical moments in it are rather stretched out. If only the movie was about halve its running time shorter, perhaps the movie than would had been a better and even more enjoyable one. The movie its flow would at least had been better if that had been the case.

The cast is good. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (who was looking quite thin by the way) already seem to be in their element as the famous comical duo. Also really good was James Finlayson in a great comical role. He steals the show in most of his sequences. Just his looks alone and some small actions is enough to provide the movie with some great laughs and comical moments. Also Noah Young is well cast, as a psychotic killer who tries to kill the judge (the James Finlayson character) who convicted him. The boys play two detectives, with odd names, who are send by their agency to protect the judge but of course everything goes wrong and the boys really mess things up again.

Of course everything about the movie is predictable but it's a well made and originally directed movie. The timing is nice and the movie is well edited which makes most of the comical moments work out really well.

A good enough enjoyable early Laurel & Hardy comedy short, that uses a bit too many stretched out comical moments to prevent this movie from being one of their best works.

7/10

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To paraphrase the fellow, "even not very good Laurel and Hardy is still better than almost everything else". This early L&H silent is one of the first to show the boys as a team, that is, as pals in the same general situation, on the same side, rather than working against each other. Their personalities can be seen developing nicely: Ollie the bully, Stan in his shadow, with his instant crying; however, here Stan still maintains a bit more independence and aggressiveness and willingness to defy or even abandon Ollie than we will be used to seeing later on. The gags are too simplistic and predictable, so the film is not going to be a memorable one; however, it is always a joy to see the boys on the screen, no matter what they are doing.

To be honest, the funniest moments are enjoyed by James Finlayson; I laughed loudest when, in a sudden cut, Finlayson is seen sitting in his bathtub, his body and entire head completely covered with soap bubbles, with only his face showing through. And the water he is bathing in is, in certain shots, completely filthy and black. Very bizarre!

A quick note about Hardy's character's name, Sherlock Pinkham; while "Sherlock" is obvious, the name "Pinkham" seems more obscure. I assume this is meant to spoof the famous "Pinkerton" detectives of Civil War and post-Civil War fame.

Let us recognize this is L&H at the beginning of a process, one that would lead to a partnership that they themselves could never have imagined would captivate the world. Then we can enjoy this film for what it is, without being disappointed.

Do Detectives Think? (1927)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A judge (James Finlayson) sentences a man to prison and the psycho swears vengeance on him. Soon afterwards the man escapes from prison so the judge hires two detectives (Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy) to protect him.

DO DETECTIVES THINK? isn't going to be mistaken for a classic or even one of the better Laurel and Hardy films but fans of the duo will find enough laughs here to make the film worth viewing. The biggest problem with this two-reeler is that there are several scenes that get dragged out and there just aren't any laughs there. One such example is a scene where Laurel and Hardy keep getting their hats mixed up. The gag doesn't work the first time and it works even less the fifth time. With that said, there are some funny moments scattered throughout including the boys walking to the judge's house and constantly finding something to scare them. Findlayson is also very good as the judge and easily steals the film.