Synopsis
Laurel and Hardy’s career highs were all at Hal Roach Studios, and these three films are from their Fox period, in the twilight of their filmography. It is hard to call any of these classics, but there is still some very worthwhile comedy.
Best of the bunch is Jitterbugs (1943), where are duo hook up with con man Robert Bailey, and decide to pull a sting on the grifters who robbed Vivian Blaine’s mother of her savings. As is the case with the other two films, the trademarked…L&H destruction is kept to a minimum (though there is a nice bit of business involving a steamship at the climax). Stan Laurel’s turn in drag makes up for this – the oldest gag in the book is still gold when in the hands of a master.
By contrast, The Big Noise (1944) is widely considered to be the worst film of the duo’s career. Much was made in the promo material at the time of the care being taken not to waste material with too much wanton destruction (there was a war on, and all that), but the result was a very tired tale of two janitors pretending to be detectives and then getting caught up in a plot to steal a super-bomb.
Falling somewhere in between the two is Great Guns (1941). Their first film for Fox, this sees the two friends as chauffeur and gardener to a rich young man. When their employer is drafted, they enlist as well, with the inevitable results. Classic L&H? No, but not terrible, and historically interesting for the shift it marks both for their career and in their appearance on film (toned down).
Audio
You have your usual choice of mono and stereo remixes in this set. The latter, rather predictably, indiscriminate, pumping any and all sounds through all speakers, and this includes dialogue. The result is a bit happier with the score, fleshing it out somewhat. Jitterbugs has the weakest track, with an overall sound quality that is noticeably old (older sounding than many other releases from the same era), rather thin and constricted. There is no static, at least, but there is some sibilance.
Video
Variable. The image is pretty sharp, and there grain is minimal. The blacks are good, but the grey tones are very variable. At times, there is a fair amount of harsh, bleaching contrasts – the sort of thing one associates with low-end transfers of movies ten years older. This isn’t a constant problem (Jitterbugs, for instance, starts off rather rough and then improves, while The Big Noise gets things right immediately). There are also scenes with character sporting massive halos over their heads.
Special Features
If the movies aren’t stellar, the accompanying extras are very solid, especially for the film history buffs. Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretveldt provides commentary on all three discs. His discourse is lively and extremely informative. Sylvia Stoddard supplements things with good liner notes. Each disc also has a still gallery, the theatrical trailer, and a Movietone newsreel clip (minus narration). The Big Noise also has a documentary: “The Revenge of the Sons of the Desert,” a rather irreverent look at the L&H appreciation society (how it is “not a fan club” escapes me). The menus are basic.
Closing Thoughts
The quality of the extras makes this a package worth picking up by fans of the duo, helping to balance out the fact that the movies are never better than okay.
Special Features List
- Audio Commentary
- “Revenge of the Sons of the Desert” Documentary
- Liner Notes
- Still Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer
- Movietone Newsreel
05/02/2006 @ 6:39 pm
Sylvia Stoddard’s liner note commentaries are completely idiotic. It’s one thing to put a positive spin on the nightmare that was Stan and Ollie’s 20th Century Fox experience (and the character stereotypes they were forced to devolve into), it’s quite another to revise history. Truth be told, Fox wanted nothing more than for the Stan and Ollie to rehash old gags practically verbatim, and the duo’s (esp. Stan’s) lack of enhusiasm is apparent. These were cheap films rushed through the Fox mill. Stan’s creative genius was the guiding force of Laurel and Hardy. He was made impotent at Fox by producers and directors who were clueless as to what made Laurel and Hardy’s comedy work. I find it truly sad that Stoddard’s commentary reads as if she knows what she’s talking about. Terrible scripts by hacks(which Stoddard praises) are what ruined Laurel and Hardy’s style and timing and made these Fox films so awful. Amazing that Stoddard is ignorant enough about her subject to state that Laurel and Hardy were falling into B-movie status at Hal Roach Studios (not to mention putting them in the same category as the Keystone Cops!). Nothing could be further from the truth. Fox blew it the first time when they ruined Laurel and Hardy by assuming to know their comedy better than they did (and treating their legend stars VERY POORLY, and now they add insult to injury by rereleasing them with these absurd comments by Stoddard to an unknowing public. For those who don’t know, Stan wished these films were never made, he was embarassed by them, but he had signed a contract and was forced to endure the Fox incompetence. I’m, thankfully, unfamiliar with Stoddard’s other work, but I assume that, like her Fox predecessors, she is also an incompetent hack at her chosen profession.