Product Details

• Actors: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Charlie Hall, Retta Palmer
• Directors: James W. Horne, Leo McCarey
• Writers: Leo McCarey, H.M. Walker
• Producers: Hal Roach
• Format: Black & White, Silent, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: December 15, 1998
• Run Time: 19 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000I214
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,533 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The funniest silent ever!, December 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Laurel & Hardy: Big Business [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I would have to rate this as the funniest silent movie ever made. Yes, I put it ahead of Chaplin's "Gold Rush" and Keaton's "The General." This is Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (not to mention arch-rival James Finlayson) at their very best.

The plot is simple. Stan and Ollie are trying to sell Christmas trees in sunny California. They knock on the door of the grumpy Finlayson, who is in no mood to be bothered by pesky salesmen. From this modest start, the movie builds perfectly. Small misunderstandings grow to total war.

I could go on...but why try to describe it? You really have to see this one for yourself.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Stan and Ollie's finest, December 3, 1999

By 

Joe Libby - See all my reviews

This review is from: Laurel & Hardy: Big Business [VHS] (VHS Tape)

BIG BUSINESS is arguably Laurel and Hardy's finest silent film. It's also one of their best, period. Not exactly what you'd call a "Christmas movie," this is still the film you'll want to watch after you've had your fill of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and the umpteenth remake of A CHRISTMAS CAROL.The boys are door-to-door Christmas tree salemen who accidentally run afoul of frequent foil Jimmy Finlayson. The reciprocal destruction battle that ensues is so beautifully paced and inventive that the film holds an honored place on the Library of Congress' list of 100 American cinema classics.The film looks great in this video transfer (a couple of shots are a trifle dark), and the music track is well done.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Considered by many their TOP silent film, August 28, 2001

By 

Joel L. Gandelman (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Laurel & Hardy: Big Business [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Big Business is considered by many Laurel and Hardy buffs (and I have to admit I'm one) to be their BEST silent film. In his book The Films of Laurel & Hardy William Everson writes that "one could not imprudently label (this film) the funniest two reels on film." For many years, according to one report, it was one of the most popular silent shorts. The premise is shockingly simple: "the boys" are going door-to-door selling Christmas tress in California. They have no luck (and get some bumps on the head) and then have the misfortune of knocking on the door of James Finlayson. For younger audiences, Finlayson is the bald-headed, moustachioed originator of the "DOOH!" on film later uttered and made popular at the end of the 20th century by Homer Simpson. But this is a silent flick, beautifully transferred onto video with a nice score. So what's so funny? It's a film of comic retaliation and escalation. Each time Finlayson does something, Laurel and Hardy respond. He watches, sometimes steaming but not moving, other times grimacing. Then he responds and they watch. It escalates in silliness until we see Laurel & Hardy destroying his home by playing baseball with car parts (from his car) batting them through his window, while Finlayson wrestles on the ground in anger with a Christmas tree (which seems to be winning the match). All the while a stunned cop watches on. It's all in the TIMING of these comic bits, the reactions, and the cast's chemistry. There's a flow to the whole piece -- starting slow, and building with laugh after laugh. You can see why Jerry Seinfeld and others have sited Laurel and Hardy as just plain funny and inspirational. According to legend, when Roach studios filmed this they went to the wrong house and destoyed it by mistake. There are conflicting reports on this. But some years ago during one of the Laurel and Hardy club Sons of the Desert get togethers in L.A. members jumped on a bus and visited this and other houses used in their films. The Big Business house has hardly changed -- although it is better shape today than at the end of this priceless, laugh-crammed film. Big Business is worth seeing -- and owning.