Jackson Booth-Millard
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. Ollie is recovering from a broken leg in hospital, and with nothing else to do, Stan decides to visit him, and take him some boiled eggs and nuts, instead of candy. Chaos begins with Stan curiously pulling Ollie's leg cast string, and manages to push The Doctor (Billy Gilbert) out the window, clinging on to it, getting Ollie strung up to the ceiling. When the situation calms down, Stan gets Ollie's clothes, as the Doctor wants them both to leave, and he also manages to sit on a syringe, accidentally left by the nurse, filled with a sleeping drug, which comes into effect while he is driving (which you can tell is done with a car in front of a large screen. Filled with some likable slapstick and not too bad (although repetitive and a little predictable) classic comedy, it isn't great, but it's a black and white film worth looking at. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Okay!
naseby
This short shows the confined area to which it was, namely that poor Ollie actually enjoys the peace and quiet, never mind his broken foot, in his bed of pain at the County Hospital. Stan 'decides' to visit him,as 'he's nothing better to do!' That's the sarcastic line Ollie gives back to him, after he leaves Ollie's peace in tatters, assaults the doctor's dignity and almost kills him, cuts up another patient's trousers and brings Ollie 'hard boiled eggs and nuts' instead of candy or fruit etc. "You didn't pay me for the last box I brought you." says Stan after Ollie's enquiry why he didn't bring the candy!Altogether,it was one of their shorts that had a thin-ish outline, but was filled fairly well considering. It had the odd finale of Stan sitting on a syringe/sedative intended for another patient. The nurses casually mention to themselves in fits of laughter, that Stan will sleep for a month. Strangely not telling him in Hollywood licence style - so of course, when Ollie is prematurely struck off (Because Stan has wrecked the place) the latter drives him home, well almost - sleeping at the wheel, swerving and near-missing everything. It ends with their car bent round in a semi-circle shape, as a policeman tells them to pull over. They can't as because of the shape of the car, it drives around in a circle!As I say, a shallow type of tale, with Stan visiting Ollie in hospital, but nonetheless, it delivers the calamitous Stan in the style we knew was coming Ollie's way!
Snow Leopard
This is one of the Laurel & Hardy comedies that show how resourceful they could be in getting the most out of the limited resources within a confined setting. Most of the gags work well, and only a somewhat uneven finale keeps it from being among the better of their two-reel comedies.The simple story setup has Oliver in the "County Hospital" as a patient in traction, with Stanley stopping by to visit. You would hardly expect that anyone could get into so much trouble in a confined space, but they come up with a lot of comedy ideas, from hard-boiled eggs to the traction equipment, and more, with a couple of particularly good ones.The climactic sequence is a bit hard to figure, because the back projection so obviously does not match the main footage. It's so much out of sync that you almost wonder whether it was done deliberately for the sake of comic effect, or whether it had to be left that way due to limits on time or money. In any case, this is a funny comedy with a few bits that are quite good.
bob the moo
With Hardy laid up in hospital with a broken leg, Laurel decides to pay him a visit, brining with him a gift of nuts and hard boiled eggs. He finds a relaxed and worry free Hardy, however the chaos the unwitting Laurel unleashes unto an unprepared hospital threatens to change all that.The feeling of being a bit forced prevents this short from being considered Laurel and Hardy at their best. An example of what I mean is evident in the first few moments, Laurel finding Hardy's room gives rise to a little confusion but Laurel overplays his normal/confused/normal expression switches and for no real reason. Likewise many of the jokes are things they know work, but have to force to fit. There are some funny bits that are both subtle (Laurel eating the egg) or physical (hanging out the window) or climactic (the drive home) and most of them are good but it doesn't feel as fresh and lively as it often has.Laurel overplays but Hardy is as good as ever. He is given less to do than he should have been and the film is allowed to rest too heavily on Laurel, but both still do pretty well. Overall this is an enjoyable short but feels like they are were lacking ideas and were treading water a tad for this one. That said, Laurel and Hardy treading water is often still better than many modern comedians who struggle to have an output of 1 or 2 films a year, never mind L&H's output!
AD
