Laurel et Hardy bonnes d'enfant

Their First Mistake is a short that really embodies the essence of what Laurel and Hardy were about as a comedic duo. Hal Roach, the famous producer of many of their shorts along with a barrage of other successful ones for the period, famously stated how Laurel and Hardy complimented each other with their slapstick and behavioral tendencies, but what always drove me to their shorts as a means for pleasant escapism besides their inherent humor was how both characters were loyal to one another. It was as if they were all each other had, and no matter how angry they got at each other, they had to stick together, for where else would they go?

When Laurel and Hardy decide to adopt a baby to prove to Hardy's wife (Mae Busch) that they are indeed responsible and trustworthy, they are all they have, and while the short is frequently funny, it also proves this point as it goes on. Notice how even through anger and hostility brew between one another, there both men are, quick to recoup and try to do the right thing, despite going about it in the wrong way. Furthermore, Laurel and Hardy are breathlessly funny, finding a plethora of ways to be entertaining as well as thoughtfully engaging.

Their First Mistake embodies precisely why their careers and shorts have a timeless longevity.

Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Mae Busch. Directed by: George Marshall.

In this talking Laurel & Hardy movie Hardy is married. Laurel is also unhappy. With these two statements the short movie starts. Hardy's wife thinks he does to much with Laurel, he likes Laurel more than he likes her. When Laurel calls if they will do something nice tonight Hardy pretends that he is talking to his new boss. When the wife finds out she gets very mad. Laurel thinks he has the solution. They need a baby, because that will draw all the attention of the wife and Hardy can do fun stuff with Laurel again. Hardy thinks it is a pretty good idea and they adopt a baby. When they enter Hardy's home again his wife is gone. A man arrives telling them both that Hardy is sued for divorce and Laurel is sued for the reason of alienation of Hardy from his wife. Now they are stuck with a baby, their first mistake.

This is a very nice short. Of course a baby is an inspiration for a lot of nice little gags. The bottle with milk has a main part for those gags and Laurel makes sure every single one of them works. The usual jokes with tripping over things also work most of the time, although they are very predictable. It is quite an accomplishment that those predictable moments also bring a smile to your face. Like with most Laurel & Hardy shorts you will have a pretty good time.

Mr Hardy is married, his wife disapproves of his friendship with Mr Laurel and sees neither of their lives going anywhere. When Hardy tries to sneak out with Laurel without letting her know she snaps and a large fight ensues. Laurel has the idea that a baby in the family will distract and placate Mrs Hardy and the pair go off to adopt. Returning home with the baby, Laurel and Hardy find that Mrs Hardy has left and is filing for divorce, leaving them, quite literally, holding the baby.

I love Laurel and Hardy. I found something wonderful about the fact that their shorts were made before even my parents were born but yet ¾ of a century later I'm still watching (and enjoying) their films. The fact that the humour is so universal is shown in the way they not only travel well but have transcended generations. Laugh for laugh this is not one of their best shorts, the reason being the lack of really strong routines.

The plot only allows for basic knockabout stuff and the final scene is not anywhere near strong enough to finish on. The only really strong bit is the `lights out' sequence but the rest is quite ordinary. Happily we have a talent like Hardy to lift things – for me he made this better than it was. His constant double-takes and looks of amazement to camera are worth the price of this film alone. Even lacking several strong physical scenes, he plays the dialogue for all it's worth and makes Laurel's clowning funnier than it is by complimenting it with double takes etc. That's not to say Laurel is lesser, but here he is much more clearly in a supporting role than in other films.

Overall this has some good moments and is carried through the rest by a well used and on-form Hardy, but it is not one of their better efforts – too much of it is ordinary and lacking their inspired wit.

An above-average Laurel and Hardy short feature, this two reel affair is directed by George Marshall (later at the helm of many top-flight comedy features) and is marked, specially so during its initial two-thirds, by a greater emphasis upon character development than upon physical humour, to the work's advantage. After Oliver and his wife Arabella (Laurel/Hardy regular Mae Busch) have a violent spat due to his expenditure of a majority of his free time with Stan, the latter suggests that Ollie adopt a baby with which to occupy Arabella's hours, freeing the two pals to enjoy themselves, and Ollie immediately does so (following an optical wipe), but too late because a process server (Billy Gilbert) presents him with divorce papers along with a similar document to Laurel for "alienation of Mr. Hardy's affections." This leads to one of the better developed scenes from the duo's films wherein Ollie pastiches the Abandoned Maiden genre after his buddy tries to leave him alone to care for his new infant, a very funny and original piece of cinematic business that, in addition to a poignant scene when the men revert to boyhood while lolling atop Stanley's bed in his adjacent apartment, make of this a better than standard effort of Laurel and Hardy.

Mae Busch, Oliver Hardy's wife, thinks he spends too much time with Stan Laurel. They decide that what she needs is a baby, so they go out and adopt one. When they return to the apartment, they find Mae is suing Ollie for divorce and Stan for alienation of affection. All well and good but what are the Boys going to do with a baby.

This is sometimes cited as the 'gayest' of the Laurel & Hardy shorts, and there;s something in that, but if so, it raises the implication only to make fun of it. Stan and Ollie are almost all the movie; the baby gets one close up to establish it as real, Miss Busch is gone after the first minute, Billy Gilbert plays a process server, and director George Marshall appears briefly as a neighbor.

THe gags are good, but there's no real ending. Apparently Stan and Ollie improvised so many gags, there wasn't time.