Customer Reviews

Blockheads [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hardy brings forgotten soldier Laurel home for dinner, and that's the entire plot. This very funny comedy has some great visual humor that can be enjoyed again and again. An excellent choice for first-time Laurel & Hardy viewers, and confirmed Laurel & Hardy fanatics will love this.

Why have the classic L&H features not come out on DVD? In any case, if you haven't seen Blockheads, you haven't lived.

"Block-Heads" (1938) finds Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy at the peak of their comic art. Running a brisk 57 minutes, there is little plot - only the simple pleasure of being in The Boys' company as they deliver one classic routine after another. If producer Hal Roach had utilized Laurel's original "black" ending (with Stan and Ollie's heads mounted on the wall of game hunter Billy Gilbert), the overall feature would rank alongside "Sons of the Desert" and "Way Out West." Instead, "Block-Heads" clumsily reprises the final gag from "We Faw Down" (1928). Despite this unfortunate lapse, the film remains among Laurel and Hardy's best. Composer Marvin Hatley earned an Oscar nomination for his delightful score.

This is one of the better Laurel & Hardy works, in the likes of "Sons Of The Desert" & "Flying Deuces". This movie has some very funny scenes in it. The movie begins as Stanley is left behind to fight a war and 20 years later he gets told that the war ended. On Ollie's first Wedding anniversary he sees the news that is pal was found and goes to the Soldier's home and gets him to come back to stay with him...Ollie's wife gets infuriated expecting a gift but instead she gets Stan. There are many good moments in this film. An above par Laurel & Hardy film, not quite as good as "Way Out West" but certainly worth a look.

Any fan of Stan and Ollie will love this video. There's plenty of inventiveness, and the teamwork is as hilarious as ever. Add a cameo from Jimmy Finlayson and you've got all you could ask for.

A classic L&H theme (Ollie brings Stan home to meet the wife, who is less than pleased),
stretched into a feature length story. Not non-stop laughs like some of their shorts, but
well worth your time.

Block-Heads (John G. Blystone, 1938)

When you start collecting all the thousand-best-movies-ever lists and correlating them, you find some interesting stuff. I've never been a big fan of Laurel and Hardy's shorts, but I'd never seen any of their full-length features. Since Block-Heads is on one of those lists (Scaruffi's, if anyone but me is keeping track), and since it happened to show up on turner Classic Movies last night, I figured I'd give it a whirl and see. And I did find it quite enjoyable, if not side-splittingly funny; physical comedy has never been my thing.

In any case, the scenario: a GI (Laurel) is left behind by his company for twenty years, guarding a secluded base. When he's discovered and brought home, his old friend (Hardy) swoops down and rescues him from the Old Soldier's Home on his (Hardy's) first wedding anniversary, inviting him home for a steak. Mrs. Hardy, of course, is nonplussed. Adding to the trouble is the gorgeous neighbor from across the hall, Mrs. Gilbert (Patricia Ellis), who through various misadventures finds herself in dutch with her husband, who believes Hardy's wooing her. Needless to say, anything that can go wrong does, not just for Laurel and Hardy, but for everyone around them.

Very amusing, and worth your time, even if you're not a physical comedy fan. ***

"BlockHeads"is among the funnier Laurel & Hardy feature films.Classic laughs.Actress Mina Gombell's role of Mrs.Hardy is quite reminescent of Australian actress Mae Busch,who had played the same role in a number of the boys'films.Most memorabley in their 1933 feature"Sons Of The Desert".

"The Music Box"is probably considered Stan and Ollie's best short subject.This film won an award for best comedy of 1932.It is my friend's favourite L&H film.

The computer colorization of both films takes getting used to.I like it and I don't.Though it does add colour to both films.Especially"The Music Box".But it also takes away the nostalgia.Especially with the updated background music added to"The Music Box".