LEAVE THAT GOAT ALONE !! (Laurel & Hardy Volume 20 - More Brushes With The Law / Classic Shorts (DVD))

Member Name: Maximus-Qualitus

Product:	Laurel & Hardy Volume 20 - More Brushes With The Law / Classic Shorts (DVD)
Date:	20/03/09 (187 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: VERY VERY FUNNY

Disadvantages: NOTHING

Laurel & Hardy Volume 20 - More Brushes With the Law/Classic Shorts
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The Boys:
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Stan Laurel (June 16 1890 - February 23 1965).
Real name Arthur Stanley Jefferson.
Stan was born in Lancashire but toured with Charlie Chaplin and hence on one tour ended up in America. He had 'Arrived'

Oliver Hardy (January 18 1892 - August 7 1957).
Real name Norvell Hardy.
Ollie was born in Harlem, Georgia and his mother was apparently responsible for him going into theatre. Right from early childhood Ollie had a beautiful singing voice.
Soon the two would meet.
They first appeared together in a silent movie called 'Slipping Wives' in 1927.
The rest is history.

The Greatest comedy double acts EVER, no arguments please.

The magnificent Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy star in this wonderfully funny DVD.
A brief synopsis and a short opinion of each and then a summary at the end will follow.

So let me take you on a tour of these 8 !! Great films. More classic shorts with Stan and Ollie including:
Two 'Talkie' movies and 6 Silent films.

'Going Bye-Bye!' - (a restored black-and-white version).
'Going Bye-Bye!' - (a computer-colour version).
'The Midnight Patrol' - (a restored black-and-white version).
'The Midnight Patrol' - (a computer-colour version).

Six Black-and-white silent comedies with music.
'Do Detectives Think?'
'Habeas Corpus'
'Angora Love'
'Bacon Grabbers'
'Liberty'
'Wrong Again'


Going Bye-Bye!
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The boys have just testified against a killer and he swears to get even so the boys decide to leave town. They advertise for a travelling companion to share the expenses.
AND the murders girlfriend replies to the ad, she wants to get out of town also.
Butch the killer escapes by hiding in a trunk and the boys unsuspectingly help to free him fro the trunk before he suffocates. But when he gets out! Watch out he's sin a mean mood.
And then he spots his girlfriend with the boys!
A very, very good short, with laugh out loud one liners and the usual dead pan expressions from Stan.
Recommended
Made in1934
Runtime: 20 minutes

The Midnight Patrol.
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The boys are policemen? Go figure.
One night whilst sitting in their car they come across 2 thieves with no respect of for the law or there car. The crooks end up putting a brick through it.
And of course they have to have car 13 !!
They investigate a house breaking and come a across a jewel thief who they mistake for the occupier.
They end up clobbering the chief of police who really lives there.
There car has all its tyre stolen and it all end with Ollie's usual forlorn stare into the camera
A very good short with all their slapstick, ear wiggling and general mayhemic fun
Definitely worth a watch
Made in1933
Runtime: 20 minutes

Do Detectives Think?
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Laurel and Hardy play private eyes but they as you might expect are useless. They are hired to protect a judge from an escaped killer, who has vowed revenge upon the judge for sentencing him in the first place.
The killer does not stand a chance! The boys always have luck on their side and the killer ends up wishing he had never escaped.
Star James Finlayson as the judge.
A typical L&H farce which is wonderful to watch, a classic.
Made in1927
Runtime: 19 minutes

Habeas Corpus
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The boys are down on their luck but then get hired by a crazy professor who needs dead bodies with which to carry out his experiments.
They sneak around the cemetery at night which gives ample opportunity for gags and scary slapstick. Stan is EXTREMELY scared. However the police are onto the mad Prof and soon the police are chasing the professor, Stan and Ollie, but then something else gets up and is chasing them all.
A very a little known about film but it delivers classic Laurel and Hardy comedy. Very funny and not the least bit scary, go on let the kids watch it.
Made in1928
Runtime: 21 minutes

Angora Love
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This film was later remade as Laughing Gravy and that version featured a dog.
Here though the boys have a Goat following them and, of course, they take pity on it and take it back to the lodgings. However the landlord is an ogre and if he finds out all hell will let loose.
You can guess what happens; the goat is too noisy and very smelly. The boys end up battered and bruised but at least the Goat gets a good nights sleep.
Very funny short this one.
Made in1929
Runtime: 21 minutes

Bacon Grabbers
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Stan and Ollie are attached to the sheriff's office and go out to collect debts owed.
Mr Kennedy hasn't made a payment on his radio since 1921 and so they go out to collect it.
However they end up rowing with him, his garden gets dug up, then the house gets wrecked and finally the police get involved.
Not the funniest film they've made by a long way.
A real snap shot of the late twenties and thirties.
Made in 1929.
Run Time 19 Minutes.

Liberty
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A superbly funny short this one and very very funny throughout.
Stan and Ollie escape from prison, by pure luck and stupidity, and are then on the run. They swap clothes but end up with each others pant on. The entire rest of the movie is centred around them trying to swap their pants back. Ollie's are miles too tight and Stan can't let go of the waist in case his fall down, try doing that when you on the run.
A wonderfully funny film and the boys really are in their stride. Classic humour from them and still laughable today.
Made in1929
Runtime: 20 minutes

Wrong Again
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A very memorable and funny film.
Stan and Ollie mishear about a reward for the return of 'Blue boy' and take back a horse called blue boy to the rich man who is offering the reward. However he asks them to put Blue boy on top of the piano!. His blue boy ids a painting. So the boys, undaunted, try to get the horse atop the grand piano. Well you can see what mayhem and laughs are happening here. In the end the house is wrecked, the horse has the hump and the owner has a nervous breakdown.
A very funny short and a typical plot of theirs. Misunderstandings where a common theme of L & H.
Made in1929
Runtime: 20 minutes

Here we find their usual brand of 'Cartoon Humour' where no one actually gets hurt but it all looks very painful.
Various traits they would use would be to pick a fight with a 'stooge' or 'Neighbour' and then slowly escalate the fight. Each destroying something of the other persons and each time smashing something bigger and louder. Until finally it would end in either the police appearing or a huge brawl.
Such as ripping each others pants off or a huge chaotic cream pie fight.
Stan may appear at time to be getting picked on by Ollie but if Ollie took it too far Stan would snap and then Ollie had better look out.
The entire 8 movies are all excellent. Very often you find they slip in a few duds but here all are superb. The quality is good although a few 'scratches' of the talkies sound version.
No extras to speak of but you really only need Laurel and Hardy to have a good time.

DVD Info:
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Black & White and Colour
Language English
Available Audio Tracks: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital Mono
Region: Region 2
Number of discs: 1
Classification: U
Run Time: 200 minutes
ASIN: B0001K2KD4
Current Amazon price: £0.99

Greg.

Summary: WORTH EVERY PENNY