Laurel and Hardy

The Golden Miller

Obviously two of the funniest men to ever exist. Nearly 100 years later and they are still genuinely hilarious. There hasn't been many comedy acts, if any, to top them. I grew up with their repeats on the BBC in the 90's. Used to always pretend that I was sick in school so I could get home to watch them at 2 o'clock on BBC 2 during weekdays. Were on Saturday mornings along with Charlie Chaplin too.

But they haven't been on TV on any channel for nearly 15 years at this stage. What's going on? They just suddenly disappeared from mainstream TV. They'll be forgotten about in a generation at this rate. Anytime I've asked a younger person did they ever see them their response is usually that they haven't even heard of them, which I find baffling. These were MASSIVE household names. They still are for anyone born before 1990, but for anyone born after they don't seem to have a clue who they are. The reason being, they simply aren't on TV anymore. But why? Black and white TV can be hard to watch for some, myself included, but Laurel and Hardy were always an exception to this and young kids who are exposed to them really do love watching them.

Just about every successful comedy act to this day cites them as a major influence. They are simply too funny and pivotal for their legacy to be forgotten, but sadly this seems to be the case with the current generation and will continue to happen until they are put back on TV. I was always moreso a fan of their talkies but this silent was brilliant:

A talkie this time. Not their best by any means but the first one to pop up on youtube. Another fine muddle they are in:

jimmycrackcorm

Back in their days, it would have been utterly scandalous to get lost in a lingerie section.

Lemsiper

I dunno, but paragraphs.

JupiterKid

Yep, Laurel and Hardy were hilarious. "That's another fine mess you've gotten us into" as Ollie Hardy used to say. They must have been groundbreaking in their heyday back in the '30s.

I'd love to see them on the box again.

The Golden Miller

Lemsiper wrote: »

I dunno, but paragraphs.

Happy now?

Muirshin Durkin

Never got into them growing up in the 90s, i preferred X-Men, Biker Mice From Mars and that.

Hate slapstick, but they were good at it.

The guy from Only Fools and Horses fell through a bar hatch and people tell me it's funny, so you'd think there'd still be a market for it...

Montgolfier

You can buy the dvd collection I bought it for the auld fella.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Laurel-Hardy-The-Collection-21-disc/dp/B0001K2KE8

uck51js9zml2yt

Abbott and Costello were another great duo.

speedboatchase

The majority of people aren't interested in that kind of comedy anymore. The Three Stooges movie a few years ago died at the box office and got terrible reviews. And personally, I find Laurel and Hardy's stuff irritating. I probably would've enjoyed it at the time, but it hasn't aged very well.

murpho999

speedboatchase wrote: »

The majority of people aren't interested in that kind of comedy anymore. The Three Stooges movie a few years ago died at the box office and got terrible reviews. And personally, I find Laurel and Hardy's stuff irritating. I probably would've enjoyed it at the time, but it hasn't aged very well.

Disagree with everything on this.

The Three Stooges movie recently was just a bad film, full stop, nothing to do with the genre.

Of course its from a different era but if you look at their films now, they are still funny.
Often find myself watching them and still laughing, also introducing them to my 12 year old nephew and he loves them too.

Their comedy was more than slapstick too, good characters and good scripts.

I find them funnier than Will Ferrel, that's for sure.

iDave

Better than that Mrs Browns Boys amirite!

Menas

They were a rich mans Harold Lloyd.

Conall Cernach

Ah boys, even to mention the likes of Abbot and Costello and the Three Stooges in the same thread as the magnificent Laurel and Hardy is doing them a huge disservice. They were fantastic and much more than the usual run of the mill slapstick.

Here are some of my favourite moments from them:

Duggy747

Yea loved watching them, Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry growing up. Haven't watched an episode in a long time but I remember some of their special effects would end up looking really creepy like Laurel pulling on Hardy's head and ending up stretching his neck to a horrible length :pac:

Steve F

In England there is a group of enthusiasts that have got together and persuaded cinemas to start showing L&H films again.I see their posts on Twitter a lot.The showings have large attendances.It all came about after they asked the BBC to start showing them again and nothing happened

The Golden Miller

speedboatchase wrote: »

The majority of people aren't interested in that kind of comedy anymore. The Three Stooges movie a few years ago died at the box office and got terrible reviews. And personally, I find Laurel and Hardy's stuff irritating. I probably would've enjoyed it at the time, but it hasn't aged very well.

Still no reason not to have it on during the days at 1 or 2. It can work as kids TV too, as they find the slapstick and their expressions funny and it means another generation will grow up with them

SEPT 23 1989

their movies are available in Power City for a fiver

The Golden Miller

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

their movies are available in Power City for a fiver

Ye I know you can get them on DVD, but the only people who buy them DVD's are people who already know them, and even then DVD's don't sell well anymore.

fiachr_a

I used to think Laurel and Hardy made great films until I got the WC Fields DVD box set. He was the best screen comedian of the 1930s.

Grandeeod

Apparently the BBC said if the petition gets 20,000 signatures they will listen to the pitch to screen Laurel and Hardy films again.

Around 1990 or so a lot of their films were reissued on VHS, including colourized versions and they weren't cheap either. Around the same period, there was a decline in the amount of their films being screened on TV. I assumed this was a decision by the distributor in order to drive sales of the VHS collection.

I'm not completely convinced that todays generation wouldn't find them funny. They were pioneers in film comedy and have indeed inspired a lot of comedy writers/performers.

During the Seventies, Laurel and Hardy short films were still regularly shown on BBC2 (usually at 6pm) and the comedians they inspired make an impressive roll call. Matt Lucas ("I always thought of them as friends"), John Cleese ("they're wonderfully, wonderfully funny"), Steve Martin ("they are hard to top"), Steve Coogan ("they were geniuses of comedy") and Stephen Fry ("a constant joy") are among the Laurel and Hardy devotees. Graham Linehan, who co-wrote Father Ted, said: "Ardal O Hanlon partly based Dougal on Stan Laurel."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/comedians/laurel-and-hardy-its-still-comedy-genius/

Gwynplaine

iDave wrote: »

Better than that Mrs Browns Boys amirite!

Oireachtas Report is better than that tripe.

WoollyRedHat

Are they doing a new series? Got to stay relevant

Yamanoto

My Dad recalls being completely star-struck as a kid, on spotting Stan & Ollie strolling along on O'Connell St. during their long visit to Dublin in the early 1950's.

Bit of background here:

http://www.broadsheet.ie/tag/laurel-and-hardy/

The Golden Miller

Yamanoto wrote: »

My Dad recalls being completely star-struck as a kid, on spotting Stan & Ollie strolling along on O'Connell St. during their long visit to Dublin in the early 1950's.

Bit of background here:

http://www.broadsheet.ie/tag/laurel-and-hardy/

That's quite interesting. Apparently in Cork thousands lined out to meet them one year and there was massive hysteria

The Golden Miller

Grandeeod wrote: »

Apparently the BBC said if the petition gets 20,000 signatures they will listen to the pitch to screen Laurel and Hardy films again.

Around 1990 or so a lot of their films were reissued on VHS, including colourized versions and they weren't cheap either. Around the same period, there was a decline in the amount of their films being screened on TV. I assumed this was a decision by the distributor in order to drive sales of the VHS collection.

I'm not completely convinced that todays generation wouldn't find them funny. They were pioneers in film comedy and have indeed inspired a lot of comedy writers/performers.



Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/comedians/laurel-and-hardy-its-still-comedy-genius/

You'd wonder why they took them off for good to begin with when you consider some of the other sh1te they play. I can't speak for anyone else, but as a kid I found Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin silents far funnier than anything else on. As you point out, I don't see why it would be any different for young kids today, and indeed even adults

Yamanoto

The Golden Miller wrote: »

That's quite interesting. Apparently in Cork thousands lined out to meet them one year and there was massive hysteria

Yeah, it was on the same visit - they arrived in Cobh by ship and apparently were hugely moved not only by the fact crowds turned out in such numbers to greet them, but also by the carillon in St. Colman's cathedral sounding out their theme tune all across the town.

mickrock

Laurel and Hardy dance to "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qgoWYUS4eM

Riddle101

When I was a kid my granddad had old videos like the Carry On Movies, Benny Hill, and Monty Python, but he also had Laurel and Hardy videos as well. I remember I borrowed them once and enjoyed watching them as a kid. But I don't think I would enjoy them now tbh. I guess it's a matter of taste really. I would like something like that as a kid, like I would enjoy Carry On movies, but not anymore. Not that i'm saying you have to be a kid to enjoy them, but as I got older my taste changed.

I wondered a couple of years ago if there's some kind of dispute going on with whoever holds the rights because I must've been 8 last time I saw any of them on telly outside of clips from a certain Paul Merton show. Same with Chaplin.

More or less all on youtube though. It's one of those things that I'd say you should watch on your own without people around and see if you don't laugh/smile at it. They were brilliant at what they did.

AllGunsBlazing

Faye Ripe Stork wrote: »

Abbott and Costello were another great duo.

My own personal favourite.

Sunnyisland

Laurel and Hardy were a comedy double act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. The team was composed of thin Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and heavyset American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). They became well known during the late 1920s through the mid-1940s for their slapstick comedy with Laurel playing the clumsy and childlike friend of the pompous Hardy.[1][2] The duo's signature tune, which is known variously as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku" or "The Dance of the Cuckoos", was played over the opening credits of their films and has become as emblematic of the duo as their bowler hats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_and_Hardy

MonsterCookie

thanks for reminding of Laurel and Hardy OP. I used to watch them a lot as a kid and loved them. Since seeing your post, I've introduced my kids (9, 9, & 7) to them and they love it.

Liberty had them in stitches.

Filmer Paradise

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Are they doing a new series? Got to stay relevant

They're making a comeback. Only 3 feet to go!

Filmer Paradise

The Golden Miller wrote: »

You'd wonder why they took them off for good to begin with when you consider some of the other sh1te they play. I can't speak for anyone else, but as a kid I found Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin silents far funnier than anything else on. As you point out, I don't see why it would be any different for young kids today, and indeed even adults

Loved Laurel & Hardy, Harold Lloyd & the 3 Stooges. Charlie Chaplin no. Couldn't see why he was seen as such a genius. Totally lost on me.

All this stuff was on TV when I was a kid ('70s/'80s). I never saw it as dated really. Just good entertainment.

I'm glad this thread was started. I must find some DVDs & play them for my own kids.

Can't be any worse than the gunge they watch on TV now.

Wibbs

Filmer Paradise wrote: »

Loved Laurel & Hardy, Harold Lloyd & the 3 Stooges. Charlie Chaplin no. Couldn't see why he was seen as such a genius. Totally lost on me.

+1. Could never get the whole Chaplin thing at all TBH.

Filmer Paradise

Faye Ripe Stork wrote: »

Abbott and Costello were another great duo.

Aye, but to the 10 year old me they seemed like a Yellow Pack version of Laurel & Hardy.

Get you out in a tight spot 'till you had the brads for the real thing.:D

The Golden Miller

MonsterCookie wrote: »

thanks for reminding of Laurel and Hardy OP. I used to watch them a lot as a kid and loved them. Since seeing your post, I've introduced my kids (9, 9, & 7) to them and they love it.

Filmer Paradise wrote: »

I'm glad this thread was started. I must find some DVDs & play them for my own kids.

Glad to hear that you's are exposing the next generation to them. Liberty is brilliant too, was nearly going to post it instead of "the Finishing Touch" which just shades it for me. Couldn't believe that there was never a dedicated Laurel and Hardy thread created on boards.ie before this considering it's been around for years and the wealth of topics covered.

As for the Chaplin thing, I found his silents funny as a kid but not really anymore since I've gotten older. In comparison I still find the Laurel and Hardy talkies brilliant. Silents are a bit dated for the older generation alright, but the L&H talkies aren't in my opinion. Still as good as anything around now, if not better in most cases

Zaph

Filmer Paradise wrote: »

Loved Laurel & Hardy, Harold Lloyd & the 3 Stooges. Charlie Chaplin no. Couldn't see why he was seen as such a genius. Totally lost on me.

Agree with you on Charlie Chaplin, just not funny at all. Wasn't a lover of The 3 Stooges either, but I loved Buster Keaton as well as the others you mentioned. Some of the stunts were just incredible.

Pinch Flat

That's another fine mess you've gotten me into, op

Owldshtok

While were on vintage comedy don't forget the Marx Brothers - the best!
And Norman Wisdom.

Filmer Paradise

Zaph wrote: »

Agree with you on Charlie Chaplin, just not funny at all. Wasn't a lover of The 3 Stooges either, but I loved Buster Keaton as well as the others you mentioned. Some of the stunts were just incredible.

Yeah. Charlie just didn't cut for me at all. Didn't seem to be much going on there, just lots of quick walking & 'pathos'. (Whatever:rolleyes:). The 3 Stooges was funny to me cos of their absolute violence to each other. Myself & my siblings used to be like that to each other & thought it perfectly normal behaviour.

I'm sure the few visitors we had to our house were shocked at the casual violence we as a family showed to each other.:eek:

Having said that, I recently saw the remake of the 3 Stooges & thought it was great. Tears of laughter stuff! But that's just my taste.

Filmer Paradise

Owldshtok wrote: »

While were on vintage comedy don't forget the Marx Brothers - the best!
And Norman Wisdom.

The Marx Bros. They were OK in my mind. Groucho's patter went over my 10 year old head & then there was that blondie lad who couldn't speak. Just honked a Car Horn & played a harp sometimes. Lame.

Norman Wisdom used to turn up regularly on those 'Matinee' things on RTE when I was a kid. I liked him.

Iron Curtain countries, as a rule didn't show Western films years ago. However in Romania, Chauchecu their Iron Fist leader loved Norman & allowed his films to be shown there.

Norman is still a cultural icon there I hear.

murpho999

Filmer Paradise wrote: »

The Marx Bros. They were OK in my mind. Groucho's patter went over my 10 year old head & then there was that blondie lad who couldn't speak. Just honked a Car Horn & played a harp sometimes. Lame.

Norman Wisdom used to turn up regularly on those 'Matinee' things on RTE when I was a kid. I liked him.

Iron Curtain countries, as a rule didn't show Western films years ago. However in Romania, Chauchecu their Iron Fist leader loved Norman & allowed his films to be shown there.

Norman is still a cultural icon there I hear.

Sorry to correct you but it was Enver Hoxha in Albania and not Ceaușescu in Romania.

Zaph

Filmer Paradise wrote: »

Iron Curtain countries, as a rule didn't show Western films years ago. However in Romania, Chauchecu their Iron Fist leader loved Norman & allowed his films to be shown there.

Norman is still a cultural icon there I hear.

Actually it was Albania that he was big in. Enver Hoxha reckoned that Wisdom's proletariat worker standing up to his capitalist boss in most of his films was similar to the class war that the communists had fought.

whisky_galore

Zaph wrote: »

Agree with you on Charlie Chaplin, just not funny at all. Wasn't a lover of The 3 Stooges either, but I loved Buster Keaton as well as the others you mentioned. Some of the stunts were just incredible.

Buster Keaton's ones were potentially life threatening...sitting up on a moving steam locomotive connecting rod in The General, if it ever slipped he would have 'bought it' and Harold Lloyd got a finger and thumb blown off by a bomb, it was assumed to be fake but got mixed up with a real explosive used for special effects.

The Master

In the words of Blackadder

Chaplin is a genius.
He certainly is a genius, George.
He invented a way of getting paid a million dollars a year for wearing a pair of stupid trousers.

wexandproud

mickrock wrote: »

Laurel and Hardy dance to "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qgoWYUS4eM

fcuk me , who comes up with stuff , nearly wet myself laughing ,pure class. I can still remember my first time at the pictures in the early seventies , double bill of john wayne and l & h

LDN_Irish

Sure they're only copying the Chuckle Brothers. No originality at all at all.

OU812

New biopic just after being green lit starting Steve Coogan & John C Rielly, doc using on their UK tour.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/berlin-eone-jumps-aboard-steve-866616?mobile_redirect=false

bodhrandude

Someone mentioned Tom and Jerry earlier, this is my favourite of theirs. Tom's photo finish.

http://onlineplayer.eu/Tom-and-Jerry/toms-photo-finish-109.html