Printed in color on white paper, posters are organized by year of release. The official laurel and hardy appreciation society is known as the sons of the desert, after a fraternal society in their film of the same name. Jan 12, 2018 laurel and hardy shorts talking pictures tv. Laurel and hardy share no scenes together and the film is otherwise unremarkable, but the next film is a different story. In 1921, laurel went solo and was hired by broncho billy anderson to star in the first film of a projected series. The sound shorts 19291941 laurel and hardy had every right to be apprehensive about the talkies. Imagining the unhappy life of stan laurel the new york times. My top 10 laurel and hardy shorts films for generations, laurel and hardy has been entertaining the masses for decades. Most of the book is a chronological history of laurel s career, with an emphasis on his struggles to find a character for himself whereas hardy is presented as an actor with a gift for gags. Future installments will only appear in our printed laurel and hardy magazine. With their unforgettable catchphrases, unparalleled slapstick humour, and characters that will leave you laughing for the rest of the day, laurel and hardy never stop bringing in the fun. Classic laurel and hardy silent shorts music box theatre. Will have to wait and see what they look like on my bigger screen when i get home. Laurel and hardy in car smashers old short film silent.
Over the past 40 years there have been many books written about laurel and hardy. Laurel and hardy the sound shorts extract by russell. To mark the occasion, we contribute this post on the first leg of their career as a comedy team the silent period. Big business is considered by many laurel and hardy buffs and i have to admit im one to be their best silent film. Laurel and hardy thats my wife 1929 with greek subs duration. Hardy played a bit part as a crook who tries to rob laurel. These have proved to be a valuable source of information for those of us who want to find out more about,stan laurel and oliver hardy affectionately know as the boys. Since the books original release in 1987, it has been updated several times through the early 1990s.
Rounding out the collection are posters from two laurel and hardy compilation films from the boys silent comedy shorts. Laurel and hardy three shorts silent film festival. When all was said and done, laurel and hardy would appear together in an astonishing 106 films of varying length between 1921 and 1951. After stan laurel s death in 1965, there were two major motionpicture tributes. Their bestknown movies included sons of the desert and way out west. For the first time, all 99 laurel and hardy comedies, from early tworeelers through classic shorts and great features, are fully documented. Looked at one on my phone and it looks pretty good. Laurel often worked well into the night, writing and editing their films. Laurel and hardy fans are so devoted that they formed an appreciation society, named after the 1933 feature the sons of the desert. We have included all the books that we have access to at the moment. For the remaining eight years of his life, stan laurel refused to perform and even turned down stanley kramer s offer of a cameo in his landmark 1963 movie its a mad, mad, mad, mad world.
Dec 28, 2018 the bulk of their output came in the years 1927 to 1938 as they moved from silent shorts to talkie shorts to sound features. Stan often played sharpwitted types, and ollie heavies or villains often with comics billy west or. Stans garbled attempt to explain why they should cut out the middleman by catching their own fish exemplifies laurels later claim that the boys were two minds without a single thought. The first time stan laurel and oliver hardy both appear in a roachproduced film was in 45 minutes from hollywood 1926, a glenn tryon short subject. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. From their separate careers as comic actors in the early years of silent filmmaking. Its lavishly illustrated with highquality photos and film stills from many of their movies and shorts, as well as a synopsis of each. O ver the years many books have been published about. The titles that are links lead to feature pages on the actual film. This is truly the ultimate book about laurel and hardy and one of the greatest books on film comedy ever written.
Turner classic movies silent sunday showcase last night was a program of four laurel and hardy silent shorts, with host ben mankiewicz pointing out that unlike a lot of other silent era stars, laurel and hardy not only survived into the sound era but became more popular i suspect not only because their voices were incredibly right. Duck soup no relation to the marx brothers film, released in 1927, features laurel and hardy as two hobos on the run from the law who come upon a mansion that is temporarily unoccupied. Laurel and hardy s laughing 20s was robert youngsons compilation of the teams silent film highlights, and the great race was a largescale salute to slapstick that director blake edwards dedicated to mr. Also in the film are charley chase and charlie hall. They remained with the roach studio until 1940 and then appeared in eight b movie comedies for 20th century fox and metrogoldwynmayer from 1941 to 1945. Rather, they were film actors who just happened to appear in several films together. Mar 30, 2020 laurel and hardy, comedy team that is widely regarded as the greatest in film history.
High quality laurel and hardy inspired tshirts by independent artists and designers from around the world. How laurel and hardy filmed duck soup posted on april 12, 2020 by john bengtson although they had appeared onscreen together in the lucky dog 1921, the hal roach short duck soup 1927 marks the first time stan laurel and oliver hardy were paired as comedy leads. Together they appeared in 34 silent shorts, 45 sound shorts, and 27 fulllength sound feature films. April 2020 chaplinkeatonlloyd film locations and more. Oct 21, 2018 laurel and hardy, along with others, play escapees from an insane asylum who make his life hell. The lobby cards presents over 200 rare and vintage lobby cards from fiftythree of their classic films. Laurel and hardy restorations coming to blu ray and dvd.
Straddling the worlds of silent cinema, talkies, shorts, feature films and even cartoons, their. Dec 31, 2018 if youre a fan of laurel and hardy films, heres an inside look at some of the less known facts about the comedy duo. From autobiographys to the british tours, films, solo careers before the partnership and even advertising, every part of their life has been scrutinised. For many years, according to one report, it was one of the most popular silent shorts. Hats off was later remade as laurel and hardy s oscar winning comedy the music box 1932, one of their best known pictures. Laurel and hardy early silent classics volume 1 by stan laurel and oliver hardy. Laurel and hardy the boys as they are affectionately known are the most recognized comedy duo the cinema has produced.
Laurel and hardy encyclopedia book laurel and hardy the. The bulk of their output came in the years 1927 to 1938 as they moved from silent shorts to talkie shorts to sound features. That film, the lucky dog, was another landmark, the first time laurel and hardy appeared together on screen, although not as a team. In total, hardy starred or costarred in more than 250 silent shorts, of which roughly 150 have been lost. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Stan laurel and oliver hardy appeared together in 35 silent films, of which 33 were produced by the hal roach studios between the years 1926 and 1929. Before they became the comedy team known as laurel and hardy, stan laurel and oliver hardy each had worked in different capacities in vaudeville and the fledgling film industry for more than a decade. After all, in 1929, sound films were still considered a bit of a novelty by many, and the new technology had hastened the demise of many a silent actors career. Laurel and hardy is a 19661967 american animated television series and an updated version of stan laurel and oliver hardy s comedic acts by the animation studio hannabarbera and larry harmon productions.
They became well known during the late 1920s through the mid 1940s for their slapstick comedy with laurel playing the clumsy and childlike friend of the pompous hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner oliver hardy in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles laurel began his career in music hall, where he developed a number of his standard comic devices, including the. Packed with many original stills from the original hal roach films. John mccabe is an established writer on theater and the movies. Laurel and hardy, however, didnt start out their careers as a. B in addition to these, laurel and hardy appeared in at least 20 foreignlanguage versions of their films and a promotional film, galaxy of stars 1936, made for. Reilly also recreate a bit from the on the spot sketch. May 31, 2017 when they were teamed in 1927, each of the men had already been in films for years, hardy since 19, laurel since 1917. In the next part of trevors fascinating look at the lost films of laurel and hardy he looks at the silent films released in 1927. Laurel and hardy s laughing 20s 1965 and the further perils of laurel and hardy 1967. Laurel and hardy a collection of character dolls modelled as stan laurel and oliver hardy, comprising. Feb 27, 2014 the film, a reworking of elements from the laurel and hardy shorts we faw down 1928 and unaccustomed as we are 1929, was roachs final film for mgm, and is remembered as one of laurel and. Laurel and hardy, along with others, play escapees from an insane asylum who make his life hell. I love looking at the photoseven in film stills, they make me laugh.
This book entitles you to 6 months free membership of the. The nearly 800 page book contains thousands of entries that span the last century of filmed entertainmentsfrom silent film shorts originally released into theaters to contemporary sitcoms and primetime dramas. Stan laurel and oliver hardy made more than 100 comedies together, laurel playing the bumbling and innocent foil to the pompous hardy. Before that, stan laurel from england and oliver hardy from america had long solo careers, as this collection of rare and hilarious comedies shows. Laurel and hardy were a motion picture comedy team whose official filmography consists of 106 films released from 1921 and 1951.
In addition to these, laurel and hardy appeared in at least 20. Harmon had been developing the series since 1961, while stan laurel was still alive, although laurel had very little involvement. He would take kidding about his size but only up to a certain point. You can use this as a guide to building up your collection. Laurel and hardy officially became a team in 1927 when they appeared together in the silent short film putting pants on philip. You can find the titles on said dvdseries and then search vhs. The magic behind the movies posted this on his facebook page yesterday. Even if they had never been paired, each of them would most certainly have rated inclusion in this book on his own merits. Together they appeared in 34 silent shorts, a 45 sound shorts, and 27 fulllength sound feature films. Stan laurel, oliver hardy one of the greatest comedy teams of all time, stan laurel and oliver hardy appeared in hundreds of shorts before starring as a pair of hoboes in the 1927 short duck soup no relation to the marx brothers movie. Material used in this book was drawn from private collections.
Composed of thin englishman stan laurel 18901965 and heavy american oliver hardy 18921957 they became well known during the late 1920s to the mid1940s for their slapstick comedy, with laurel playing the. This book was the first one i turned to, and lets just say for better or for worse that i wont need to go any further. As a team they appeared in 106 films with the pair starring in 34 short silent films, 45. This is a must for anyone who loves laurel and hardy. An american book salesman lloyd is persuaded to go to the kingdom of.
Theyre listed as being from a company named cineamerica. Laurel and hardy silent films in order doug rivera. Or, if the book is for you, you can even get 2 of the titles for halfprice as long as you dont mind some superficial marks on the cover. What resulted remains one of the most consistently amusing shorts in the entire laurel and hardy canon. The silent shorts stan and ollie is due to have its world premiere tonight at the bfi film festival. At last count, there are 220 chaptersnamed tentsaround the world, including the midnight patrol tent in san jose and the call of the cuckoos tent in san francisco. Moreover, it includes things not on the uk discs, and is generally superior in every other way. The bulk of their output came in the years 1927 to 1938 as. Laurel and hardy were a comedy duo act during the early classical hollywood era of american. Youre making the worst mistake of your life if you think the silent work is. Hardcover, fullcolour book with over 160 glossy pages.
The magic behind the movies is generally acknowledged as the gold standard in writing about the work of stan laurel and oliver hardy. Their films produced by hal roach during the 20s and 30s defined their legacy, and are now available for the first time in a one comprehensive 10disc collection. Thelma was the curvy, urban, platinumblonde headturner, vivacious but also streetwise smart. It took the freedom offered by producer hal roach to foster their collaborative.
Book depository books with free delivery worldwide. They were not an established team with a vaudeville background, in the manner of most comedy teams of the day. The film that introduced them as the stan and ollie characters we know so well today was 1927s do detectives think. One day, out of curiosity he looked in the phone book and discovered the home number for stan laurel, who invited him. The silent shorts, the sound shorts, and the features. Jan 04, 2019 the laurel and hardy films have never been treated with the same reverence as the films made by chaplin and keaton because, in part, much of their best work was in the short subjects they made. Whenever oliver hardy was asked a question about a gag, story idea, or plot line, he always pointed to laurel and said, ask stan. As in most of their films from this period, neither laurel nor hardy is playing. Liberty mgm, 1929, 20m we faw down mgm, 1928, 21m a lucky dog sunlitemetro, 1922, silent, 24m love em and weep pathe exchange, 1927. While rarely credited as a writer or director, he was the driving creative force behind the team of laurel and hardy. They made dozens of silent film shorts in the late 1920s. Hats off was later remade as laurel and hardys oscar winning comedy the music box 1932, one of their best known pictures. Randy skretvedt has done an amazing job researching and writing this. Following hardys death, laurel and hardys films were returned to movie theaters as clips of their work were featured in robert youngsons silentfilm compilation the golden age of comedy.
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