Customer Reviews

Laurel & Hardy: Liberty [VHS]

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

 

 

I consider this to be one of L&H's funniest films. Liberty and most other L&H short films are easily worth buying at the same price you would normally pay for a full-length film, because there are more laughs in 20 minutes than there are in most full-length comedies.

The plot has L&H escaping from prison, and they quickly change out of their striped prison uniforms and into their regular clothes while being chased by police. In their haste, each one accidentally puts on the other's pants. They look for a place to change their pants, while inadvertently being caught repeatedly with their pants down in public places.

One of several places they duck into to change is the elevator to a building under construction, where Stan accidentally hits the lever, bringing them up to the top floor.

There are very few comedy films of any era that can compare to those of Laurel and Hardy, and this is one of their best.

This is the best silent comedy classic I have ever seen. Hal Roach Productions really knew what they were doing when they made this short. I was on the edge of my seat when I first saw this film. I now own 6 silents of the boys and definatly continuing my collection.

The boys have just escaped from the big house. In their mad rush to escape the long arm of the law they find theirselves at the
top of a building under construction with very funny results.
This is one of their early silent films and is about 20 minutes long. And while it`s not one of their very best silent comedies,
you will still be amazed at how many laughs can be packed into a short film like this one. L&H could produce more laughs in a
15 or 20 short film than most could in an hour and a half.
The humor is almost entirely sight gags that require no explaination, dialog or even sound effects. Like Charlie Chaplin and
Red Skelton the boys were masters of visual comedy. They could make you laugh until your sides hurt without so much as making
a sound.

This was the first L&H silent which I ever saw, though since I was so used to seeing and reacting to them in sound films it took me longer than I'd like to admit to get used to and to react to them in the same way in their silents. This might not be their best silent to introduce a new fan to, but it is pretty good, even though I personally don't think it's one of their top greatest silents like many other fans do. The boys are running from a police officer, having just escaped from prison, and take a detour through the woods. Once they get inside their waiting ride, one of the men in the front seat throws them back a bag containing the clothes from their apartment. They change out of their prison uniforms into their street clothes in the back seat, but being the blockheads they are, they don't realise till they've gotten out of the car that they put the wrong pants on. That doesn't deter them; they decide they've got to switch pants, but every time and place they try to do just that, someone sees them and they have to move away. (It was probably considered rather eyebrow-raising at the time, the fact that they keep dropping their pants in very public places and then promptly get caught by people who wonder what in the world they're doing.) At one point during these failed attempts to switch pants, Stan manages to get a live crab into his. Along the way they get into a fight with shop keeper Jimmy Finlayson. They finally manage to switch pants in an elevator in a high-rise building in the process of being constructed. Ollie accidentally throws the switch when he leans back, and they don't realise till they reach the top story and get out just where they are. (And they still haven't managed to ditch the crab!) The rest of the short consists of them walking terrified among the building frame ten stories above the busy downtown area, constantly facing brushes with falling. Much of this time the police officer is standing below and getting hit over the head with falling objects. They finally manage to make their way back into the elevator when it comes up again, and are in such a hurry to get back on solid ground that they don't even notice that the cop is standing right in the elevator shaft. The film ends with a somewhat disturbing and un-PC sight gag.

If you have acrophobia be careful when you watch this Harold Lloyd type film. Laurel and Hardy performing nail biting antics on a real steel girder set built for this film. I'll never know why the producer would (seemingly) risk life and limb of these new stars in making such a film.