Review of Double Whoopee

9/10
Both silent and sound versions of Laurel & Hardy's Double Whoopee are hilarious to me
12 August 2011
I just rewatched two versions of this Laurel & Hardy comedy short: the original silent one on YouTube with an organ score and the sound-dubbed one on VHS with Chuck McCann providing the voices from a script (of which one of the lines is perhaps one of the earliest instances of Ollie saying "Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into") by Al Kilgore mostly matching the lip movements of the players and music provided by Miles Kreuger (with of course Marvin Hatley's L & H theme of "The Cuckoo Song" mixed in). Both are pretty hilarious whichever version you watch especially when the tit-for-tat shenanigans come in. And what a great scene when the about-to-become-legendary star Jean Harlow makes her appearance and then has her dignity almost shattered! Actually, her first take was supposedly even more revealing but I've yet to see any evidence of that. Oh well! Unlike later entries when Stan usually accepts some of Ollie's abuse, he gives it as well here which is often refreshing to see. Also providing a good turn is usual L & H nemesis Charlie Hall as a taxi driver who gets more than enough of Ollie's whistle. I also liked Tiny Sandford as a policeman and especially Captain John Peters as the von Stroheim-like Prince who was actually his double in his movies. About the voices: Chuck got Mr. Laurel's right but is a bit off concerning both Mr. Hall's and Mr. Hardy's, especially concerning the latter's laugh. Still, like I said, both versions of Double Whoopee is highly recommended.
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