O Morto-Vivo

THE LIVE GHOST,out here in New York,is shown in conjunction with the annual Thankgiving showings of MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS---so I've pretty much memorized everything in it down to t he last comma.

Walter Long was saying his near-farewells,as only GOING BYE BYE and an overlooked bit in PICK A STAR(1937) remained in his work with Stan&Ollie.

The boys agree to help roughneck sea captain Long shanghai a crew;only to end up knocked out themselves and out at sea--with the men they abducted in an unforgiving mood.

Long is sensitive about people referring to his ship as "haunted" and growls that the next guy who says that "will get his head twisted around so when he's walking North he'll be looking South".

Their drunken shipmate Arthur Houseman falls into a vat of whitewash and Stan&Ollie end up the victims of the threat.

Mae Busch makes one of her last appearances with the boys,and Charlie Hall is cast against type as a roughneck seaman.

These days,the price of eggs would work against their shanghai-ing method.

And remember--the ocean is infatuated with sharks.

With today being Halloween, I thought I'd celebrate the day by watching some comedy teams' films that deal with various scary things. In this one, Stan & Ollie are offered some money by a ship captain (Walter Long) to shanghai some drunken men to work on his boat. They succeed but also end up on it themselves. Since those men are stuck with them, the boys are protected by the captain. So when Laurel & Hardy decide to stay at each port, the captain orders them to keep an eye on one really drunk sailor (Arthur Housman) from leaving. That's when the fun really begins...It took a while but as the short kept on, I really found myself laughing especially when Stan gets really scared and then Ollie becomes so as well. Housman really piles his standard drunk act to hilarious results. Oh, and a threat from Long results in yet another freak ending Stan usually likes to employ to outrageous effect. So on that note, The Live Ghost gets a high recommendation from me.

Laurel and Hardy are hanging out around a port with no money when they hear of a ship that needs a crew – the captain can't get a man to join him because they believe his ship to be haunted. Laurel and Hardy agree to help the captain for payment by knocking out men and putting them on the ship. Things go well until Laurel and Hardy are also knocked out and loaded onto the ship – with a none too friendly crew – however the captain says he will protect them while they are onboard. Staying onboard at every port, Laurel and Hardy are put in charge of looking after a drunken crew member. A confusion over a gun leads them into panic over a `live ghost'.

The Live Ghost is a good short that could easily have been expanded into a longer film were it not for the tenuous `ghost' climax. As it stands it has a reasonable plot with very good characters. Unlike some of their shorts this feels like one idea that has been expanded into a 3 or 4 scene story as opposed to 2 good scenes worked into a story. As such it feels a lot more like a film than a sketch and is the better for it. The onshore scenes are good and the action on the ship, although a little stretched, is well delivered and very funny.

Laurel and Hardy are, of course, excellent, and it is their delivery that makes the conclusion (the live ghost of the title) work rather than seeming laboured in terms of plotting. The support cast is also good and well served. Rather than being just goons or fall guys, the actors all feel like characters – Walter Long as the frustrated captain (`I heard your ship has a ghost' - `stop SAYING that!') was my favourite and gave the film a more rounded feel that went beyond Laurel and Hardy while still keeping them very much at the core.

Overall this is an enjoyable film that is an all round showcase for the talents of Laurel and Hardy. Their delivery makes the material much funnier than it could have been, and the plot and a good cast add to the feeling of this being more than just a sketch stretched to several scenes.

Stan and Ollie, in their usually unemployed and semi-destitute state, are hired by a ship's captain (the frightening Walter Long) to shanghai sailors because no one wants to sail with him (they say he has a ghost ship). Unfortunately for them, they are knocked unconscious and end up with a crew that despises them. On board the ship is a drunk, played by Arthur Housman, who falls in a bucket of whitewash and is mistaken for a dead man. Stan and Ollie throw him overboard but he quickly makes it back on board. Of course, he is immediately mistaken for a ghost and Long is furious. The guys are under his protection, but all bets are suddenly off because he has no more use for them. Mae Busch is soon present as a doxie and a merry chase begins. Just another fine comedy from the amazing twosome.

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short. After helping a conniving captain kidnap seamen for his ship, Stan & Ollie end up shanghaied themselves. The trouble really starts, however, when the Boys accidentally `kill' one of their cabin mates. Dumping the body overboard, they are terrified to see THE LIVE GHOST stalking the decks.

Lots of laughs in this little film. Watching the Boys' reactions when they see the `ghost' is hilarious. That's Mae Busch as the captain's girlfriend.