Pack up your troubles 1932 - Stan & Ollie and a little girl

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IMDB rating: 7,3

Director: George Marshall
Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Don Dillaway, Mary Carr, James Finlayson

"Drafted into the army during World War I, those muddled misfits Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy make a shambles of Training Camp before being shipped to France. When their best pal Eddie (Donald Dillaway) is killed in battle, Stan and Ollie vow to locate the grandparents of Eddie's orphaned little daughter (Jacquie Lyn). Unfortunately, the grandparents are named Smith - and they live in New York City. With only a city directory and phone book as their guide, Stan and Ollie undergo several chucklesome misadventures as they scour the canyons of Manhattan to find Mr. and Mrs. Smith. With the orphanage officials hot on their heels, the boys take drastic action to raise enough money to get out of town with the little girl. All turns out well when Eddie's grandfather makes an appearance under the least likely circumstances. But before Laurel & Hardy can enjoy their own happy ending, they cross the path of an old enemy from their army days: a knife-wielding chef with blood in his eye.
The second of Laurel & Hardy's feature-length films, Pack Up Your Troubles is infinitely more amusing than their first feature effort, 1931's Pardon Us. Best bit: An overtired Laurel, attempting to tell a bedtime story to the little girl, ends up snoozing away as the kid finishes the story. The powerhouse supporting cast includes such Laurel & Hardy regulars as James Finlayson, Billy Gilbert, Rychard Cramer, Charles Middleton and Charlie Hall. George Marshall, the film's director, proves a mirthsome menace in the small role of the vengeful chef." - www.allmovie.com

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Pardon us 1931 - Laurel and Hardy's first feature length comedy

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022251/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,1

Director: James Parrott
Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, June Marlowe, Wilfred Lucas, James Finlayson

"Laurel and Hardy's first feature-length comedy was apparently meant to be a two-reeler, and was only expanded because of a dispute between producer Hal Roach and MGM. Roach wanted to use the actual set from The Big House for his parody and the studio agreed - if Laurel and Hardy would do a film for them. Roach refused this condition (odd, since the duo had been loaned out before), and proceeded to build his own prison set. The extra cost this ensued made it necessary to draw the film out to feature length. While Pardon Us is a very funny film, it is clear that it is based on a two-reel idea. The fact that it works as well as it does is due to the strength of the gags (the raspberry sound made by Laurel's loose tooth never grows old), and some very entertaining, though extraneous scenes. The schoolroom scene featuring James Finlayson appears out of nowhere, but it's still hilarious, and the part of the film featuring Laurel and Hardy as prison escapees in blackface could have been drawn out even longer, there's so much richness to it (in fact, there was actually more to these scenes that was edited out). The duo's little act, where Ollie sings and Stan does one of his light-footed, eccentric dances, is charming; they're one of the few comic acts of their era that could pull off a song and dance number without driving interest to a grinding halt in the eyes of today's audiences. While Pardon Us began life as a parody, it's not at all necessary to have seen The Big House to appreciate it fully. Laurel and Hardy would make many better feature films, but that says more about the overall high quality of their work than about any lacks this picture may have." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/pardon-us-v37266/

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Block-heads 1938 - The last of Laurel & Hardy's genuine classics

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029923/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,7

Director: John G. Blystone
Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Patricia Ellis, Minna Gombell, Billy Gilbert

"As with most Laurel & Hardy outings, Block-Heads is essentially a string of gags assembled in some sort of a framework. In the case of Block-Heads, this is a very simple but sturdy framework, and that adds to the strength of the film; everything fits together, but the structure still allows the boys to wander a little outside the plot boundaries for a good gag. And there are plenty of good gags here, from the mountain of empty bean cans that mark the passage of time for Laurel to the surrealistically funny 'shadow shade' pulling. The attempt to climb 13 flights of stairs, which could become monotonous in other hands, is a delight here, as is Laurel's handmade (literally) pipe. Perhaps the most surprising sequence comes early on, when the duo meet after a 20 year absence and Hardy mistakenly believes his pal has lost his leg due to the war. It's hysterically funny, yet the 'darkness' of the situation makes it also a bit shocking - and all the more memorable therefore. (The original ending of the film - in which we see big game hunter Billy Gilbert, mad at the pair because he thinks they have been behaving improperly with his wife, at home with their heads mounted on his wall, prompting Hardy to give out with his traditional 'another fine mess' line - was apparently considered a little TOO dark and was cut before the film was released.) Block-Heads is a sheer delight, and an excellent introductory film for those who haven't been exposed to the hi-jinks of the legendary comedy duo." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/block-heads-v6071/

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Way out West 1937 - One of the funniest movies ever made

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029747/
IMDB rating: 7,8

Director: James W. Horne
Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sharon Lynn, James Finlayson, The Avalon Boys

"Way out West is a classic example of why the films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy have retained their popularity. Laurel & Hardy fans often enjoy debating whether Way out West or Sons of the desert is the pair's best feature film. Whichever you prefer, both are among the funniest films of their era. The plot deftly mocks many of the motifs of the Old West, centering on the efforts of crooks to gain the deed to a gold mine. In the middle of everything are the two stars, who each give delightfully amusing performances. Also of note are director James W. Horne's efficient pacing, and the Oscar-nominated original music score by Laurel & Hardy veteran Marvin Hatley.
Highlights include tickling and burglary scenes, Stan literally eating his hat after losing a bet, Ollie's perennial plunges into a pothole, and the boys' charming singing-and-dancing interludes. Also take note of the presence of a young, thin Chill Wills as one of 'The Avalon Boys'. Even if you're not a fan of The Thin One and The Fat One, you'll be limp with laughter at the end of Way out West." - www.allmovie.com

Our relations 1936 - What's better than Laurel and Hardy? Two of them!

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028070/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: Harry Lachman
Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Alan Hale, Sidney Toler

"Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are two solid citizens, happily married and highly respected in their community. One morning, Hardy receives a letter from his mother, containing an old photo of himself and Laurel with their twin brothers, Alf Laurel and Bert Hardy. Mamma also reveals that Alf and Bert turned out to be 'bad lads' and ran off to sea, and that reportedly they'd been hanged for taking part in a mutiny. 'Isn't that calamitous!' remarks Hardy, who conspires with Laurel to hide the facts about their no-good brothers from their wives. Meanwhile, in another part of town, the S.S. Periwinkle pulls into port. Among the crew members are the selfsame Alf and Bert, who have decided to entrust their pal Fin (James Finlayson) with their month's salary. Fin has promised to invest the dough so that the boys will become millionaires 'before you can say Jack Robinson'. Alf and Bert are then summoned to the cabin of their captain (Sidney Toler), who orders them to pick up a valuable package for him, then meet him later at Denker's Beer Garden. While waiting for the captain at Denker's, Alf and Bert are captivated by a pair of waterfront floozies, Alice (Iris Adrian) and Lily (Lona Andre). Talked into buying the girls a huge meal for which they haven't the necessary funds, Alf and Bert decide to go back to Fin and reclaim their money, leaving the contents of the captain's package-a valuable pearl ring-with tough waiter Joe Groagan (Alan Hale) as security. Later, Laurel and Hardy take their wives Betty (Betty Healy) and Daphne (Daphne Pollard) to lunch-and, inevitably, they end up at Denker's Beer Garden, where the equally inevitable mix-ups begin to occur. Things snowball from bad to worse before both sets of twins, an angry captain, a disgruntled Fin, the wives, the floozies, a genial drunk (Arthur Housman) and a brace of smooth gangsters (Ralf Harolde and Noel Madison) all converge at the upscale Pirate Club. Several slapstick complications later, Laurel and Hardy are captured by the gangsters, who threaten to dump the boys in the river with their feet encased in cement if they don't cough up the pearl ring. Alf and Bert come to the rescue, and all is well, at least until the film's boffo punchline." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/our-relations-v36771

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Sons of the desert 1933 - The best of Laurel & Hardy's feature films

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024601/
IMDB rating: 7,8

Director: William A. Seiter
Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase, Mae Busch

"Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made many successful comedies in the 1930s, but none was as big a hit or as well-realized a feature as the lunatic Sons of the Desert. Hands-down the best Laurel and Hardy feature, it's a complicated tale of two henpecked husbands who scheme to ditch their wives and attend a fraternal organization's festive meeting in Chicago. The sight gags, slapstick, and repartee are all top-notch. Written by Frank Craven and Byron Morgan and directed by William A. Seiter, Sons of the Desert shows how entertaining the fat-and-thin comedy team, who often weren't given much to work with, could be when they had rich material." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/sons-of-the-desert-v45690/

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