For those of us who consider ourselves Laurel and Hardy aficionados, Hats Off is truly the Holy Grail of their lost films, as this title is often characterized. Not merely because it represents the only subject of theirs to be missing in its entirety, but because it represents, in a way, the very first official Laurel and Hardy film in which the die was cast as far as their costumes, manners, and even storyline go. The Second Hundred Years may have been made earlier, but the pacing and gags of that film could have been used by any number of lesser comics at the time and been perhaps equally as successful
Stan and Ollie's basic personas are not really integrated into the story and their standard costumes, accoutrements and distinctive hairstyles were not present. Hats Off is perhaps the first to exploit the chemistry between Stan and Ollie and create the successful alloy between them and their story--the confrontation with Fin, women, and inanimate objects; the slow burns and quiet despair and the final orgy of destruction as release. All these things would become trademarks of The Boys, coming to fruition in classics such as 'Big Business' and 'Two Tars', arguably the best of their silent films. It truly represents the Missing Link of their career, the bridge between their earliest incarnations as a team, where story and character were still searching for the perfect pas de duex, and their late silents, where perfect harmony of style, character and content reign.
