Customer Reviews

Laurel & Hardy: Habeas Corpus [VHS]

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

 

 

This film is one of my favorite Laurel and Hardy silent films. It begins with Laurel and Hardy being hired to steal bodies from a cemetary for crazy scientist Richard Carle. After the boys leave, the scientist is taken away by the police. When Laurel and Hardy finally reach the cemetary little do they know that they are being followed by a detective who is trying to scare them off... and scare them he does-in many hilaious ways. I would highly recommend this film to any Laurel and Hardy fan. It is also interesting to know that this film was directed by the legendary Leo McCarey while he was just getting his start in films at the Hal Roach studios

"Habeas Corpus" is one of the best Laurel & Hardy two-reelers, the first of three directed by the great Leo McCarey for Hal Roach-MGM. Oddly enough, none of the three would be considered "typical" of either McCarey or the boys. The set up this time around is simple enough: mad scientist Richard Carle has hired to the boys to steal bodies from a cemetery for his experiments. The end result is much more slapstick than we usually fine with Stan and Ollie. My favorite is when the body in the bag is still alive and starts walking on its own. Almost as funny as the McCarey directed short "Liberty," but not quite. Still a first-rate two-reeler from the boys.

Tonight, it was proven - comedy never dies. Nearly 81 years ago a comedy duo by the name of Laurel and Hardy broke through the sound barrier (quite literally) to bring humor, a dazzling array of both slapstick and intelligent, to the masses. Could today's audiences still laugh at what simple jokes these two men brought to the screen? With a group of friends we put that theory to the ground, and surprisingly our level of entertainment combined with humor was not disappointed. After aging gracefully over eight decades, Laurel and Hardy continue to combine random, interesting scenarios with engaging, well-planned humor. Add to this the fact that "Habeas Corpus" was their first sound film; i.e. sound effects not speaking - yet continued to make our audience laugh hysterically. Their ability to take small gestures, and expand them into laugh-out-loud situations, using merely their facial expressions and their body language would put some modern comedians to shame. Yet, their style didn't seem dated. In one scene in "Habeas Corpus", our duo watches as a man puts his ashes from his cigarette into his pocket. Each time he does this, the camera pans to Laurel and Hardy, as they make these exclusive expressions of confusion. Through just their eyes, they are able to convey this level of humor which had our virgin Laurel and Hardy group in stitches.

For 20 minutes, this short film kept us entertained. The level of the humor, the fact that what they were doing seemed original for the time made us question what modern comedians are doing today. Laurel and Hardy are still present in today's group of comedians. See John Candy or Chris Farley within Hardy, or even Rowan Atkinson's work influenced from Laurel. These guys were at the top of their game in the late 20s and beyond, and what makes this impressive is that they have not fallen from their trade. "Habeas Corpus" is a prime example of this. Their first sound film, it pits the two as guys who need to dig up a body for a scientist for money. As they attempt to get the body, everything imaginable occurs. The body is second nature to actually getting to the grave site. Everything they do, from jumping up poles, to continually trying to get over a troublesome wall, to fighting Laurel's fears of turtles. Everything will make you laugh out loud, like it was 1928.

FILM: After 80+ years this film still stands on its two feet. These two were the Kings of Comedy for the time, and after watching this - one could question if they truly were ever dethroned.

VISUAL: This was a VHS transfer. It seemed cleaner in the filmed parts than the word-cards that came up, which were at times unaligned. Albeit a VHS, it still looked good for the age.

SOUND: Rumor has it that the actual sound for this film ultimately lost via the studio many many years ago, but whatever they chose to put on this VHS worked. Sure, it didn't quite sound authentic (not sure the "boing" noise when they were trying to jump over the wall was time-sensitive), but I could hear the music behind and it set the tone for each scene.

EXTRAS: Film, and nothing but the film - so help me VHS.

Overall, I loved this short. This reviewer could have watched another hour and half of Laurel and Hardy's shenanigans with this mad scientist, but twenty minutes was perfect. It left you wanting more and a strong desire to have multiple repeat viewings. It ended on such a high note that the laughter filled the room with a group of friends. This was a delight - a pure joy to experience. A modern day "Tom and Jerry" for a more intelligent and mature audience.

Grade: ***** out of *****

Professor Padilla is the stereotypical mad scientist, and he feels that his latest theory, if proved, will revolutionise the scientific and medical world. He believes that the human brain has a level surface, and that some are even completely flat. When Stan and Ollie show up at his door, he recruits them to dig up two bodies from a local graveyard for his experiment. They go off willingly, since $500 will be theirs if they succeed. However, a police officer who has been tipped off to what the mad professor is up to goes to the graveyard before they get there and hides, trying everything he can to spook them away before they manage to dig up any bodies. On their way to the graveyard, Ollie climbs a post to see the street sign at the top, and once at the top also discovers that he just climbed up a lot of wet paint. This gag was later redone in their 1944 feature 'The Big Noise.' Once at the graveyard, the boys don't have much luck, since the officer is constantly spooking them away, and since he locks the gates after Stan runs away in terror the first time, they now have to get in by climbing over a wall. Most of the second reel consists of just this, and the rather hokey ways in which the cop frightens them. A lot of these gags just feel belabored, and I personally just don't find it too memorable or top-notch. The ending also seems kind of inconclusive, though some of their other films and shorts also kind of ended in the middle of things or before the story was wrapped up in the way the viewer might have been expecting. However, this is far from their worst film; it does have a number of funny moments in it.

I had high hopes when I receivede this Laurel & Hardy classic: Finally I would get to hear the original music and sound effects. I am sorry to say that this video company has once again told us a pretty story on the back cover of the tape. Sure, the music and effects track was found on Vitaphone records, only they did not use it when they made this tape. I have compared it to other copies, and it is the same - no new materials is found on this version. So why are they telling that there are?!