Laurel et Hardy en wagon-lit

Several published works on Laurel And Hardy seem to rate this as one of the boys' poorest shorts. How dare they! This is extremely funny - if not quite top drawer - Stan and Ollie. An early talkie, half the film is simply our two heroes trying to get undressed in the upper berth of a sleeper train, getting entangled in each others trousers, night-shirts etc. The boys have also inadvertently set the rest of the passengers against each other, via a method I won't spoil by revealing. It's simplicity itself, yet it works wonderfully well. When most comedies of the twenties and thirties have long been forgotten, the films of these two lovable characters continue to delight.

The real secret is surely in their universal humanity; there's a little bit of Stan and Ollie in all of us.

This was the only Laurel and Hardy short film that Lewis R. Foster directed, who later wrote the acclaimed film, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON.

Foster did a terrific job, possibly one of the team's best early sound films, from 1929.

Big vaudeville "stars" Stan and Ollie board a train for Pottsville --and the rest is comedy history. This short is chock full with running gags, and excellent timing. To further complicate matters, the boys have to drag along a cello (part of their act, naturally), which proves to be one pain in the XYZ. They also encounter jealous husband Charlie Hall who starts a clothes ripping fight among passengers, believing someone (guess who?) was snooping on his wife.

The boys end the insane day climbing into a tight as a drum sleeping car berth, and painstakingly remove their clothes --that only Laurel and Hardy can do. This hilarious sketch is one of their best, re-created many years later in THE BIG NOISE (1944). Some say you can hear the crew faintly laughing in the background, its that funny.

By the way, the clothes-ripping frenzy continues... and continues...

Without too much surprise, this story was written by comedy master Leo McCarey, who also worked on their silent short films. A labor of love.

Get the dvd box set of the team's legendary short films, especially for this one. By the way, the METV remastered print is absolutely beautiful.

For anyone who doesn't believe that train rides can be a total hassle, see this film, and your views will be sorely changed. Laural And Hardy, two vaudeville stars heading for Pottsville, take us on a 20 minute ride of their life (one most of us wish would never happen). This movie makes me laugh tears right from the opening scenes, as the boys even find boarding the train a hard thing to do (this is one of the best scenes in the short). Next we find them on the train, and they've apparently lost their music for their act, can things get worse? of course! stan, on the way to his berth, walks into a womans room, causing her husband to think someone was looking at her, and a free for all coat fight ensues! The next scenes are what tops the short off... Stan and Ollie spend the last 15 minutes just trying to get in the berth and get settled into it! These last scenes make this short a killer, one to be remembered forever, and even though i am only 18, i will make sure my grandkids watch this when they are my age. A truly great L&H short...for everyone

On a train to a musical performance, Stan and Ollie do what you might expect. The best part of "Berth Marks" is when they're in the compartment trying to go to bed. A notable piece of trivia about this short - their second talkie - is that it's the film debut of Paulette Goddard, Charlie Chaplin's wife from 1936-42 (and his co-star in "Modern Times" and "The Great Dictator").

It's not Laurel & Hardy's best movie, but still fun. There's now a movie about the comic duo, with Steve Coogan as Laurel and John C. Reilly as Hardy. I hope to see it. In the meantime, I recommend "Berth Marks". One can see how L&H influenced Gilligan and the Skipper.

Good one.

Laurel and Hardy are back again in this talkie train adventure. The duo have a gig and they take the train, unknowingly create mayhem, try to get some sleep but encounter some trouble with wardrobe and when they're finally ready, they reach their destination only to forget the cello in the train. It's got the usual slapstick element and again Hardy does more of the talking while Laurel remains quiet. It's a simple little film of the typical Laurel and Hardy humour (for which they are loved). It's finely executed and provides several laugh out loud moments such as the bed scene or the sequence where the passengers start ripping each others clothes off and this starts multiplying (till the point where the conductor's clothes are tattered). Paulette Goddard and Baldwin Cooke provide great support. I love most of the things this wonderful comedy duo have done and 'Berth Marks' ranks among my favourites.