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 and Stan are professional finishers who pull up outside an unfinished wood house. After stopping the truck from rolling away, the Owner (Sam Lufkin) says he'll pay $500 to finish the house by noon Monday, Ollie says they can finish by noon that day. They begin, and Stan causes Ollie to fall down a gap which would have had a walking board/plank across, and he snaps it when it's put back. While Ollie is chasing Stan, a Nurse (Dorothy Coburn) in the near hospital asks a Policeman (Edgar 'Ed' Kennedy) to stop the noise, which he does, but this quiet won't last for long. Ollie walks across a new bridge made by Stan, which snaps and he falls with his head going through the door he is carrying. The policeman is still there, and a long board appears in front of him, and at the eventually end is Stan, and when his takes this long board back, the policeman jumps seeing him again at the other end. Inside the house Ollie steps on a pile of nails, getting some in his shoe, so Stan comes in to clear them up, getting the bucket handle caught on the end of his shovel. Ollie treads on the nails again trying to help, and he throws his spare bucket out the window, hitting the policeman over. The nurse comes in to punch in the face to stop the noise, and she gets hit stepping over an angled plank, thinking it's Ollie she punches him in the stomach, making his hat spin, and Stan smiling gets it too, with his hat flying off. The nurse leaves before grabbing a hammer when Stan rips a bit of paper when she bends over, she obviously thinks it's her dress. So then they continue working, with Ollie putting a pile of nails in his mouth to use, swallowing it when he trips over with no step, and again when Stan tries to put up a window frame, the previous one fell apart. After kicking Stan, Ollie tries the step and it collapses on him, and the policeman's still snooping around, getting a punch in the face by the nurse still wanting quiet and respect. Ollie puts a walking plank on a window sill to walk on to reach the roof, and swallows yet another pile of nails in his mouth banging his head. Stan starts sawing this walking plank for a measurement, using a saw that keeps bending, and when it saws through and Ollie falls, so too does a glue can and pile of planks, all landing onto the policeman. Finally a strong walking plank is found to walk onto the porch, Ollie manages to walk on it safely, but the porch itself collapses. Eventually the house is finished, just in time for the Owner, but a bird lands on the chimney making it collapse, with a podium and two windows. They all quickly get squabbling for the money meant for payment, with glue and paint being used too, also for the policeman nurse too. The squabble leads to Stan and Ollie grabbing the large rock holding their truck, and it rolls into the house causing it to collapse. Filled with wonderful slapstick and all classic comedy you could want from a black and white silent film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Very good!

gkrupa73 There is little I can add to the comments offered by the other posters. However, when viewing this film I do see Stan and Babe working on becoming the masterful Babes in the Woods characters we have come to know them. Their timing and interaction is never less than astounding and their fearlessly effective telegraphing of a gag reveals a mastery of their craft that I would argue no other comics have. There was one event that startled me about this film and helped me to appreciate it more. I have been informed by a reliable source that this film is used as a training film at the United States Department of Labor!!!!!!!!!!! What is it used to train people about? The common mistakes that ordinary people make in construction sites or similar situations that place themselves in danger. When film scholars label Stan and Babe as the perfect masters of Reducio ad Absurdum comedy, as they do, perhaps the use this early Stan and Babe effort found itself put to helps prove the point.

Michael_Elliott Finishing Touch, The (1928) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Laurel and Hardy play finishers who are offered an extra $500 if they can finish a house in one day. The boys set out to make the extra money but soon a nurse (Dorothy Coburn) and a cop (Edgar Kennedy) start getting in their way. This silent short is a rather mixed bag as it features a lot of funny moments but the comedy isn't really ever hysterical but instead just mild laughs. The majority of the film goes for slapstick comedy, which includes Hardy stepping on nails, Laurel tripping over boards and that type of stuff. The cop of course plays the rival to the boys who keeps getting caught up in their madness and taking most of the abuse. Kennedy is quite good in his role but it's actually Coburn who steals the film when she decides to beat up the boys because of how much noise they're making.

The Big Combo In 'The Finishing Touch', directed by a master of slapstick (Clyde Bruckman) and supervised by a pillar of American comedy (Leo McCarey), Laurel and Hardy have fully developed their film personalities. The plot, that reminds Keaton's `One Week' and The Three Stooges `The sitter-downers', is merely an excuse for bringing up the best of the duo's explosive chemistry. The power of their humor relies not in the impact or unawareness of a gag, but in a skillful preparation of the comic situation. Laurel and Hardy's best trick is the anticipation of an effect and the audience's involvement in its prediction. Repetition is fundamental and the pace and timing of the build-up a hard to match one.