Leave 'em Laughing

Laurel and Hardy go full anarchic in "Leave 'Em Laughing", as Stan's toothache prompts a visit to the dentist, where things run completely amok. Stan and Ollie were probably still trying to figure out their comedy style at this time, but the short is still a riot. It's the sort of thing that lots of people would probably love to try, especially once the guys get on the road.

I noticed that one of the signs said Culver City. That's where "Jeopardy!" gets filmed nowadays. It was also where Disney's "Fantasia" got animated. I bet that L&H never envisioned either of those when they filmed this.

Anyway, funny short.

PS: Edgar Kennedy, who plays the cop, also played the lemonade vendor in the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup".

This movie certainly does justice to its title.

It takes a while for the movie to take shape and pace, after all, this is one of the earliest Laurel & Hardy movies, from the period when they obviously were still searching for the right style. However after the movie its slow ending the movie really starts to take pace and become interesting from the moment the two boys are at the dentist. The movie becomes a good old fashioned laugh fest from that point on.

The bits at the dentist were already great but the movie gets even better in the ending, when the boys are extremely high from the laughing gas they got exposed to at the dentist. They get into trouble with the police officer played by Edgar Kennedy, who tries to control the traffic but of course the seriously high boys keep messing things and traffic up with their car.

The movie consists out of some great slapstick moments and some hilarious comical situations. Also the very last scene is one to remember, also because of the fact that it's so totally random. It makes it all the more hilarious.

All in all this is a surprisingly good and entertaining Laurel & Hardy silent comedy short, especially when considering that this movie was from their begin-period.

8/10

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The final shot of this Laurel & Hardy two-reeler has been excerpted and used in several silent comedy compilations: Stan and Ollie laugh uproariously in their car as bemused cop Edgar Kennedy glares at them . . . while in the meantime, the car and all three occupants sink into a deep, dirty mud hole. That shot neatly captures the antic spirit of silent comedy. Leave 'Em Laughing itself is an early L&H comedy, made while they were still finding their style, but there are several funny moments en route to that memorably muddy finale.

The film consists of three sequences: 1) the boys in their apartment, contending with Stan's toothache and angry landlord Charlie Hall; 2) a trip to the dentist's office, where they are overcome with laughing gas; and 3) the finale, as they try to deal with traffic -- and Officer Kennedy -- while helpless with laughter. I like the third part best, myself, but perhaps that's because I'm discomfited by the tooth pain element of the earlier scenes. In watching the film again recently I notice gags in the first two sequences that are rather cartoon-y, and not in keeping with what the guys would do in their prime. For instance: early on, Stan has a handkerchief around his jaw, tied in two knots atop his head like rabbit ears, and at one point the pain he feels is indicated by the "ears" twisting themselves in circles. Similarly, in the dentist's waiting room, surprise is indicated through Stan's hat flying up into the air. This kind of shtick seems more typical of the Mack Sennett Studio, whereas the best comedians on the Hal Roach lot (L&H, Our Gang, Charley Chase, etc.) tended to favor a more naturalistic style with less straining for laughs. It's interesting to compare these gags to the later 'Magic Stan' bits, such as the hat-eating in Way Out West or the thumb-smoking in Block-Heads; those routines are certainly unreal, but they feel intrinsic to Stan's oddness and somehow perfectly natural, not standard shtick which any other comic could do, like the rabbit ear hankie or the flying hat bit.

At any rate, the finale is great fun. I once saw this film at a museum screening, and despite the lack of sound the boys' unstoppable laughter during the final sequence succeeded in getting the audience going, too. That could also be a matter of context: Stan and Ollie are creating a traffic jam, but instead of reacting fearfully they're laughing in the face of the unsmiling cop who doggedly tries to make them follow the rules. It's a rare sequence where Stan and Ollie are openly subversive and don't give a damn about the consequences, and it's downright liberating.

Sub-standard Laurel & Hardy comedy, short on ideas whie stretching out what little it does come up with.

For the lovers of Laurel and Hardy out there, this is about as typical as you can find--with lots of bits in this silent film that were reprised in later Stan and Ollie shorts. While some may find this a bit repetitive, there is a nice familiarity about the film--plus in most cases, this was their first film to feature these bits.

The film begins with Stan in misery with a toothache and their irritated landlord losing his patience. Once again, as in THEY GO BOOM, Charlie Hall is the short-tempered landlord and once again the argument results in some funny rough and tumble bits. Then the film switches to the dentist's office and is reminiscent of the dentist portion of PARDON US--but with a twist. Both Stan and Ollie get a massive over-dose of laughing gas and leave the office highly intoxicated. This leads to a funny but overly long segment with traffic cop Edgar Kennedy. It seems to go on forever but end very well.

Again, nothing especially different about this film compared to others, but it is all done so well and is so much fun, I really didn't mind at all. This is one of the more difficult silent shorts of the team to find, but if you do, be sure to give it a watch.