Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.
Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' is nearly one of the best and funniest Laurel and Hardy short films up to this point of their output, one of their best from their overall early work and very nearly one of my personal favourites of theirs. Their filmography, apart from a few bumps along the way, was getting better and better and 'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' exemplifies this.
It does though have the odd sluggish moment but the only real fault here for me was the ending which like others have said felt very tacked on.
'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' is non-stop funniness all the way, with one of the better first halves for any Laurel and Hardy effort at this point of their output. There is insane craziness that doesn't get too silly, a wackiness that rarely loses its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be massively innovative but how it's executed actually feels fresh and it doesn't get repetitive. On top of the comic touches, there is genuine spookiness and suspense as well as a great Gothic atmosphere.
Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but from that point and in 'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' we are far from robbed of that.
'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' looks good visually with some nice Gothic touches, has energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid.
Concluding, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' is nearly one of the best and funniest Laurel and Hardy short films up to this point of their output, one of their best from their overall early work and very nearly one of my personal favourites of theirs. Their filmography, apart from a few bumps along the way, was getting better and better and 'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' exemplifies this.
It does though have the odd sluggish moment but the only real fault here for me was the ending which like others have said felt very tacked on.
'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' is non-stop funniness all the way, with one of the better first halves for any Laurel and Hardy effort at this point of their output. There is insane craziness that doesn't get too silly, a wackiness that rarely loses its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be massively innovative but how it's executed actually feels fresh and it doesn't get repetitive. On top of the comic touches, there is genuine spookiness and suspense as well as a great Gothic atmosphere.
Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but from that point and in 'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' we are far from robbed of that.
'The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case' looks good visually with some nice Gothic touches, has energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid.
Concluding, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox