Laurel & Hardy in "Big Quizness" [Paperback]

Robert McFerren (Author), Tracie McFerren (Author), JoAnn Jones (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0966032306 | ISBN-13: 978-0966032307 | Publication Date: 1997 | Edition: 1st

The most beloved comedy team of all time, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, is back in business in Laurel and Hardy in 'Big Quizness'. Stan and Ollie (and all their co-stars) are back, with over 80 categories, 400 pages of TOTAL fun based on their 106 films together. The book includes 100 pages of trivia and answers and even gives career-total statistics on such topics as the number of tie-twiddles Ollie did, or the number of head-scratches for Stan. If you like the Boys, you are going to love Big Quizness. So, put on your thinking caps and begin. And if you cheat and peek at the answers, it's okay. Nobody will be any the wiser.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert McFerren and Tracie McFerren

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Plumtree Pub; 1st edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966032306
• ISBN-13: 978-0966032307
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,036,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Laurel & Hardy Trivia Book Is Essential, November 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Laurel & Hardy in "Big Quizness" (Paperback)

A year ago, we learned about a LaureI & Hardy trivia book which was in the works. Frankly, we weren't expecting much, since most such books are - well, trivial. So, we were very happily surprised with Laurel & Hardy in "Big Quizness". Written by siblings Robert and Tracie McFerren and copiously illustrated by Robert, the book is an entertaining parade of unusual aspects of the L&H Þlms. Only the Þrst third of the book is the expected Trivia Contest. Questions are posed about almost every L&H Þlm, going chronologically from the Þrst (Lucky Dog) to last (Atoll K). Some of the questions are fairly easy for L&H buffs (in Come Clean, which þavors is ice-cream vendor Charlie Hall out of? Orange, gooseberry and chocolate!), while others are head-scratchers even for longtime aÞcionados (in what month does Way Out West take place?). The authors are kind enough to refrain from asking about the lost L&H Þlms Hats Off - a vitally important but long-gone 1927 two- reeler - and The Rogue Song, a 1930 Technicolor musical starring Lawrence Tibbett with Stan and Ollie in support. However, in one of the most valuable portions of the book, these two lost gems are recreated in detailed descriptions of each Þlm's action. Chapters four through ten are probably the most enjoyable, focusing on unusual facts about the Þlms. Films with "Weird or Uncontrollable Laughter" are listed, along with the perpetrator; all of the gags involving feet are described; all of the scenes in which the telephone is used for laughs are summarized. We found only a couple of mistakes (Pardon Us at its original 56 minutes is the boys' shortest feature, not the 58- minute Block-Heads; Roy Seawright did not win four Oscars for special effects in L&H movies) and a few omissions (Stan sings - brieþy - in Busy Bodies as well as the eight listed Þlms; the most outrageous double-entendre in an L&H Þlm is delivered by Ollie to Mae Busch during Tit For Tat, not listed in the "Read Between the Lines" section). Sections about the Boys' characteristics are quite interesting; we learn that Stan scratched his head 256 times, doing it Þrst in 1928's From Soup to Nuts, and most frequently - 15 times - in 1935's Bonnie Scotland. Stan's greatest quotes, collected here, are as funny as ever. A chronology of the boys' lives will prove useful to the more scholarly L&H admirers, as will a lengthy listing of non-L&H Þlm appearances made by the supporting players. Not only are regulars such as Charlie Hall thus documented; even Fred "Snowþake" Toones - who appears in just one brief shot of Way Out West - gets a listing of notable Þlms. Although there are a few stills and bits of memorabilia reproduced, most of the illustrations are charming drawings by Robert McFerren. This book is obviously a labor of love by two devoted L&H fans. It's an entertaining, amusing and enlightening read that any devotee of Stan and Ollie should own, and it's certainly going to enliven future meetings of the Sons of the Desert (The Laurel & Hardy Appreciation Society). This review previously appeared the nostalgia entertainment newsletter Past Times (Managing Editor Randy Skretvedt) and is reprinted with permission.

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun book, January 9, 2010

By 

M. Shepherd "Midwest" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Laurel & Hardy in "Big Quizness" (Paperback)

The title "Big Quizness" is a take off on the L&H silent short "Big Business". And that gives a fair idea of what the book is like.
It`s basicly a trivia book. Lots of fun trivia questions that will test your knowlage of L&H, their films, supporting characters,
ect.
The questions range from easy to those that will stump even die hard fans of the boys.
The book is about 400 pages of fun facts and trivia. Not ment to be a history or anything like that, just a fun book for anyone
who likes Stan and Ollie.

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any fan!, December 19, 2002

By 

Jon Everett (Orlando, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Laurel & Hardy in "Big Quizness" (Paperback)

I have every Laurel and Hardy book there is, but this is one of my favorites. It is fun reading, enjoyable and enlightening. If you are a fan, this is a must. Everything from trivia to costars and everything in between. It is hard to find and out-of-print, so if you come across one, grab it!