Customer Reviews

Best of Laurel & Hardy [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was a big disappointment. It certainly did not have the best of their comedies by a long shot. I was expecting several of their short subject movies. There was a lot of repetition of scenes.

After a long search for Laurel & Hardy video's I finally found and ordered it from Amazon.com, but what a disappointment.... tape 2 (Saps at Sea) had 58 minutes but the story was incomplete... I am writing to Amazon and BRENTWOOD home video regarding this... until then I recommend you don't purchase this item.

Not worth the money. 2 tapes. Tape one is not comedy at all, rather it is a recap of their careers. Tape 2 might be good if it were complete (which it is not)

Skip this one

Beware! This is not the James Wolcott "Best of L&H" movie!

This is a set of two tapes:
The first tape is A 30 mins. documentary on L&H;
The second tape would be the feature "Saps At Sea", but... there is NO FINAL on it...

If you are searching the James Wolcott movie, this is the WRONG SET TAPE!

The Best of Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, BC 4353, ISBN 0-7378-0137-9. Two-tape set. Tape 1: BC 4353-1, Hollywood Hall of Fame Documentary (30 min, B&W); Tape 2: BC 4353-2, Saps at Sea. (60 min, B&W)

My advice is to watch "Saps at Sea" first; the documentary is analytical and will take the fun out of seeing the boys' gags with a fresh mind. The synopsis of "Saps" printed on the video box is inexplicably wrong; the writer obviously did not view the film first-hand. "Saps at Sea," released 5-3-1940, is really a historic film because it marks a turning point in Stan and Ollie's career and should be in every serious fan's collection. In 1940 Stan and Ollie did not renew their contracts with legendary producer Hal Roach. Instead, they formed their own company, Laurel and Hardy Feature Productions, and began doing films for MGM, 20th Century-Fox, and others. "Saps at Sea" was their last film with Hal Roach, and most film reviewers pronounced their films after "Saps" as artistic disgraces because the boys had no say in content. Their last film in 1950, Atoll K, was their worst; they retired after that, except for live appearances in British music halls. Ollie died in 1957; Stan in 1965. In "Saps at Sea," Ollie needs a rest after his work in a car-horn factory gives him a nervous breakdown, diagnosed by Dr. James Finlayson. The doctor recommends an ocean voyage for Ollie, but the boys decide to rent a boat for Ollie's rest. They intend to remain tied to the dock. Gags are creative. The engine falls out of their car when Stan taps the stuck horn; he puts the engine on the back seat, starts the engine, and drives away to the amazement of passersby. Stan lights their kitchen gas stove, which explodes and blows up their apartment. Ollie falls out of their apartment's third-floor window, dropping to the sidewalk before Stan can cushion his fall with a mattress. An escaped fugitive sneaks on board, Ollie's goat chews through the dock line, setting the boat adrift, and the boys at the mercy of the bad guy and his gun, "Nick Jr." Ollie beats up Nick when Stan blows his trombone because he knows horn noise makes Ollie become fighting mad. They would have been given award money for having captured Nick, but in the final scenes Stan blows his trombone again, causing Ollie to attack their rescuer, the harbor patrol captain - who puts the boys in the same cell as Nick's. "Saps at Sea." is the last Laurel & Hardy film for James Finlayson, master of the double-take. He had roles in 33 L&H films. This was also Charlie Hall's last of 47 films with the boys.

The documentary, with clips from the Library of Congress and the National Archives, is a good orientation for newcomers to and veterans of Laurel & Hardy films. The commentator points out the boys' theatrical inventions such as Ollie's slow burn, tie flip, the camera look and Stan's crying and head scratching. Scenes are shown from the boys' later films such as "Flying Deuces," "Saps at Sea," "Atoll K," and from some of their 1927-29 films such as "The Second Hundred Years," "You're Darn Tootin'," "Should Married Men Go Home?" "Two Tars," "Habeas Corpus," "Double Whoopee," and "Berth Marks." The theme common to the excerpts of these early films is Stan and Ollie's ability to cause a mêlée; they could provoke a crowd to throw pies, kick shins, pull pants off, throw mud pies, and destroy cars.

What is wrong with these companies putting out inferior dvd's for us fans?? Laurel and Hardy fans deserve better than putting out the same old stuff that we already have,right?? The only companies that have done it right is Kino on Video and Hallmark.Why not give us something like a box set that Kino did on Buster Keaton a few years back? Why not give us every sound short they did,their features,like Saps at Sea,Chump at Oxford,Our Relations;etc. and plus,foreign versions of their sound shorts??Is that too much to ask?? I didn't think that making available every thing L&H ever did would be so much trouble! Abbott and Costello,Martin and Lewis and The Three Stooges all have their work on dvd,but why not the greatest comedy team that ever lived get the same treatment and respect???We deserve better!

I love this movie. It is some of their best comedy. If you're a Laurel and Hardy fan, you must have this. The movie is hilarious, and the documentary is very interesting. The only drawback is that it is cut off by about half a minute at the end I'm guessing. But you still get the idea at the end, believe me.

Good material to get an idea on their type of comedy, but definately not their best stuff.

I love this movie. It is some of their best comedy. If you're a Laurel and Hardy fan, you must have this. The movie is hilarious, and the documentary is very interesting.