New Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations Blu-ray set review
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Hello,
Do we have any Laurel and Hardy fans here on the site? If so, what's your favorite L & H fmovie? Paul's a fan, and in the 90's, he said he enjoyed their film "The Music Box."
A new Blu-ray set of restored films from the duo is out now in the U.S. titled Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations. It's an excellent set. A review/web article I wrote about it was published online last night. The link to the review is below.
Thanks,
Marshall
https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Laurel-Hardy-The-Definite-Restorations-Blu-ray-Review
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It's been some years since I've seen any Laurel and Hardy, but always loved them as a kid, when their movies still showed up pretty regularly on TV.
And for any Laurel and Hardy fans out there, there was a lovely and charming film a couple years ago about their later years, "Stan and Ollie," which I highly, highly recommend.
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Bruce M. wrote:
It's been some years since I've seen any Laurel and Hardy, but always loved them as a kid, when their movies still showed up pretty regularly on TV.
And for any Laurel and Hardy fans out there, there was a lovely and charming film a couple years ago about their later years, "Stan and Ollie," which I highly, highly recommend.
I saw that - it was good! I used to watch them too as a kid. I was more into the Little Rascals and the Three Stooges though!
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Nancy R wrote:
Bruce M. wrote:
It's been some years since I've seen any Laurel and Hardy, but always loved them as a kid, when their movies still showed up pretty regularly on TV.
And for any Laurel and Hardy fans out there, there was a lovely and charming film a couple years ago about their later years, "Stan and Ollie," which I highly, highly recommend.
I saw that - it was good! I used to watch them too as a kid. I was more into the Little Rascals and the Three Stooges though
Nancy R and Bruce M.
Great to hear from you both about Laurel and Hardy. I know the Stan and Ollie movie, starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly, received pretty good reviews when it was released in 2018. And Nancy, I'm a fan of The Little Rascals an Three Stooges, too.
Marshall
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I loved 'Stan and Ollie' - I know one of Steve Coogan's brothers very well, and when the film came out I overheard him receiving congratulations on his brother's film. I enjoy a lot of Steve's work including Alan Partridge, The Trip, and Philomena (another great film with Judi Dench).
My L & H favourites are the one about delivering the piano (is that the Music Box?) and one about selling Christmas trees. Actually they're all very good except for the postwar period which 'Stan and Ollie' deals with. My wife and I visited Ulverston in the Lake District where Stan was born - when you see it, you wonder why anyone would want to leave such a beautiful place !
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dirkmcquickly wrote:
I loved 'Stan and Ollie' - I know one of Steve Coogan's brothers very well, and when the film came out I overheard him receiving congratulations on his brother's film. I enjoy a lot of Steve's work including Alan Partridge, The Trip, and Philomena (another great film with Judi Dench).
My L & H favourites are the one about delivering the piano (is that the Music Box?) and one about selling Christmas trees. Actually they're all very good except for the postwar period which 'Stan and Ollie' deals with. My wife and I visited Ulverston in the Lake District where Stan was born - when you see it, you wonder why anyone would want to leave such a beautiful place !
I went on a coach tour of England, Wales and Scotland with my mom in 1980 and we visited the Lake District. It was quite beautiful. I loved all of the U.K.! Can't wait to be able to go back - hopefully Aug/Sept 2021! (will be my 6th trip)
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A new Blu-ray set of restored films from the duo is out now in the U.S. titled Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations. It's an excellent set. A review/web article I wrote about it was published online last night.
Excellent review, very comprehensive.
So many L&H films to choose from but two of my favourites are Below Zero and Tit For Tat.
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My favorite Laurel and Hardy films are "The Music Box" and a silent film short they did called "Two Tars" which is on YouTube at
I also liked their film"The Devil's Brother" (aka Fra Diavolo) with Thelma Todd, which was a musical.
Have loved Laurel & Hardy since I was a small girl and our family would watch their films every Sunday night (after the Ed Sullivan Show) on a super 8mm projector. My Dad borrowed the films from his boss who was a L & H collector.
This is off topic but Harold Lloyd is another great silent era comedian who isn't talked about much anymore. When our family used to watch his films (in the 1960s & '70s) we would clutch our sides non stop in laughter, and not many comedians can make you laugh non stop. Check out his films "Hot Water" "Safety Last" and his greatest talkie "Feet First" which is on YouTube at
Should add that one reason why his films probably aren't shown much today is because he always featured an african american character actor named Stepin Fetchit (or another actor with similar image), who would be considered an unwelcome stereotype today. Harold Lloyd's comedic skills would be the only reason to view his films. He was a daredevil who didn't use stuntmen when he climbed the sides of tall story buildings, or stood on the edge of the top of a building and wobbled to pretend he was about to fall back over the edge, but somehow straightened himself up and never did.Have always felt an affinity with silent films and silent era film stars, my mom's aunt was a maid at the home of Richard Arlen & his wife actress Jobyna Ralston (they starred in "Wings" with Charles Buddy Rogers). She (my great-aunt) would tell me all kinds of stories when I was growing up about the stars she'd seen and what life was like in Hollywood then. I wish I would have gotten to keep her photos after she passed away, that she had shown me.
Back to topic... saw "Stan and Ollie" that was released a few years ago, and thought it was a wonderful tribute to Laurel & Hardy, and have it on DVD.
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Agreed on Harold Lloyd - those people really took risks for their art in those days ! Buster Keaton also - there's a sequence where the side of a house falls around him and he is saved by the gap where a window should have been. He had to stay absolutely still in the mathematically precise spot, any slight movement would mean disaster. No 'health and safety' at that time !
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dirkmcquickly wrote:
Agreed on Harold Lloyd - those people really took risks for their art in those days ! Buster Keaton also - there's a sequence where the side of a house falls around him and he is saved by the gap where a window should have been. He had to stay absolutely still in the mathematically precise spot, any slight movement would mean disaster. No 'health and safety' at that time !
Yes, Buster Keaton should be remembered too. It's amazing how Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy were able to do their own stunts, and be mathematically precise as to where a wall or side of a building would fall, etc. All of that would be done with special effects now, but back then they did everything as it appeared!
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Kestrel wrote:
A new Blu-ray set of restored films from the duo is out now in the U.S. titled Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations. It's an excellent set. A review/web article I wrote about it was published online last night.
Excellent review, very comprehensive.
So many L&H films to choose from but two of my favourites are Below Zero and Tit For Tat.
Thanks for the kind words, Kestrel. Two good picks in Below Zero and Tit For Tat. When I was a teenager, I checked out the Tit For Tat Super 8 Sound film (that's how long ago it was!)from the library a couple of times. That's one of the many films in the 2011 U.S. Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection box set. Actually, Tit For Tat is available on DVD from Amazon.co.uk for 2.90. It looks like it might just the one film, though.
Marshall
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LadyLeslie wrote:
My favorite Laurel and Hardy films are "The Music Box" and a silent film short they did called "Two Tars" which is on YouTube at
I also liked their film"The Devil's Brother" (aka Fra Diavolo) with Thelma Todd, which was a musical.
Have loved Laurel & Hardy since I was a small girl and our family would watch their films every Sunday night (after the Ed Sullivan Show) on a super 8mm projector. My Dad borrowed the films from his boss who was a L & H collector.
This is off topic but Harold Lloyd is another great silent era comedian who isn't talked about much anymore. When our family used to watch his films (in the 1960s & '70s) we would clutch our sides non stop in laughter, and not many comedians can make you laugh non stop. Check out his films "Hot Water" "Safety Last" and his greatest talkie "Feet First" which is on YouTube at
Should add that one reason why his films probably aren't shown much today is because he always featured an african american character actor named Stepin Fetchit (or another actor with similar image), who would be considered an unwelcome stereotype today. Harold Lloyd's comedic skills would be the only reason to view his films. He was a daredevil who didn't use stuntmen when he climbed the sides of tall story buildings, or stood on the edge of the top of a building and wobbled to pretend he was about to fall back over the edge, but somehow straightened himself up and never did.Have always felt an affinity with silent films and silent era film stars, my mom's aunt was a maid at the home of Richard Arlen & his wife actress Jobyna Ralston (they starred in "Wings" with Charles Buddy Rogers). She (my great-aunt) would tell me all kinds of stories when I was growing up about the stars she'd seen and what life was like in Hollywood then. I wish I would have gotten to keep her photos after she passed away, that she had shown me.
Back to topic... saw "Stan and Ollie" that was released a few years ago, and thought it was a wonderful tribute to Laurel & Hardy, and have it on DVD.
LadyLeslie,
Thanks for the nice message. The Music Box is a classic, and those steps are still around today (88 years later) in the Silver Lake area of L.A. Two Tars, I remember seeing as a youngster with my family. It was one of the Pops musical nights where I'm from (San Francisco Bay Area), and they played The Two Tars film on a big screen while an orchestra played.
Thanks for the YouTube links to Two Tars and Harold Lloyd's Feet First. I'm glad you like the Stan and Ollie film, too.
Marshall
P.S. I like that avatar you have of Paul and Martha!
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dirkmcquickly wrote:
I loved 'Stan and Ollie' - I know one of Steve Coogan's brothers very well, and when the film came out I overheard him receiving congratulations on his brother's film. I enjoy a lot of Steve's work including Alan Partridge, The Trip, and Philomena (another great film with Judi Dench).
My L & H favourites are the one about delivering the piano (is that the Music Box?) and one about selling Christmas trees. Actually they're all very good except for the postwar period which 'Stan and Ollie' deals with. My wife and I visited Ulverston in the Lake District where Stan was born - when you see it, you wonder why anyone would want to leave such a beautiful place !
Thanks for the response dirkmcquickly. Another Fan of The Music Box
The christmas tree salesman film is called Big Business.Marshall
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BTW, Oliver Hardy is mentioned in the lyrics of Junior's Farm-"Ollie Hardy should have had more sense..." And Laurel and Hardy are among the figures pictured on the Sgt. Pepper album.
Marshall
My review/web article on the Flaming Pie Archive Collection Deluxe Edition box set:
https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Paul-McCartney-Flaming-Pie-Archive-Deluxe-Edition-Box-Set-Review
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Marshall wrote:
BTW, Oliver Hardy is mentioned in the lyrics of Junior's Farm-"Ollie Hardy should have had more sense..." And Laurel and Hardy are among the figures pictured on the Sgt. Pepper album.
Marshall
My review/web article on the Flaming Pie Archive Collection Deluxe Edition box set:
https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Paul-McCartney-Flaming-Pie-Archive-Deluxe-Edition-Box-Set-Review
I had to Google what a "gee-gee" is - a horse!
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Stan and Ollie was excellent!
Watched them as a child, along with the 3 Stooges and The Little Rascals. The only episode that I can specifically remember is the one at the Haunted House, it must have scared me...
Nice to hear about the Blu Ray would like to get that, along with Stan and Ollie
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Marshall wrote:
LadyLeslie wrote:
My favorite Laurel and Hardy films are "The Music Box" and a silent film short they did called "Two Tars" which is on YouTube at
I also liked their film"The Devil's Brother" (aka Fra Diavolo) with Thelma Todd, which was a musical.
Have loved Laurel & Hardy since I was a small girl and our family would watch their films every Sunday night (after the Ed Sullivan Show) on a super 8mm projector. My Dad borrowed the films from his boss who was a L & H collector.
This is off topic but Harold Lloyd is another great silent era comedian who isn't talked about much anymore. When our family used to watch his films (in the 1960s & '70s) we would clutch our sides non stop in laughter, and not many comedians can make you laugh non stop. Check out his films "Hot Water" "Safety Last" and his greatest talkie "Feet First" which is on YouTube at
Should add that one reason why his films probably aren't shown much today is because he always featured an african american character actor named Stepin Fetchit (or another actor with similar image), who would be considered an unwelcome stereotype today. Harold Lloyd's comedic skills would be the only reason to view his films. He was a daredevil who didn't use stuntmen when he climbed the sides of tall story buildings, or stood on the edge of the top of a building and wobbled to pretend he was about to fall back over the edge, but somehow straightened himself up and never did.Have always felt an affinity with silent films and silent era film stars, my mom's aunt was a maid at the home of Richard Arlen & his wife actress Jobyna Ralston (they starred in "Wings" with Charles Buddy Rogers). She (my great-aunt) would tell me all kinds of stories when I was growing up about the stars she'd seen and what life was like in Hollywood then. I wish I would have gotten to keep her photos after she passed away, that she had shown me.
Back to topic... saw "Stan and Ollie" that was released a few years ago, and thought it was a wonderful tribute to Laurel & Hardy, and have it on DVD.
LadyLeslie,
Thanks for the nice message. The Music Box is a classic, and those steps are still around today (88 years later) in the Silver Lake area of L.A. Two Tars, I remember seeing as a youngster with my family. It was one of the Pops musical nights where I'm from (San Francisco Bay Area), and they played The Two Tars film on a big screen while an orchestra played.
Thanks for the YouTube links to Two Tars and Harold Lloyd's Feet First. I'm glad you like the Stan and Ollie film, too.
Marshall
P.S. I like that avatar you have of Paul and Martha!
You're welcome, Marshall! That is a nice avatar of Paul and Martha, I remember reading that Paul was really upset (naturally) when she passed away in 1982, she was a member of the family.
I'm glad you like "Two Tars" and "Feet First". That's great you got to see Two Tars on a large screen, with an orchestra!
Another film of L & H that should be mentioned is "Babes in Toyland" (aka "March of the Wooden Soldiers"). Love the part where Stan pretends to be Bo-Peep at the wedding, and wears the heavy veil. (Bo-Peep had to marry the evil Silas Barnaby or he would evict her old mother-- The Widow Peep--out onto the street. But 0llie found a way to trick him.
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Nancy R wrote:
Marshall wrote:
BTW, Oliver Hardy is mentioned in the lyrics of Junior's Farm-"Ollie Hardy should have had more sense..." And Laurel and Hardy are among the figures pictured on the Sgt. Pepper album.
Marshall
My review/web article on the Flaming Pie Archive Collection Deluxe Edition box set:
https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Paul-McCartney-Flaming-Pie-Archive-Deluxe-Edition-Box-Set-Review
I had to Google what a "gee-gee" is - a horse!
NancyR,
I'm the same as you. I had to Google what a "gee-gee" is, too. Actually, I didn't know Paul was singing about Ollie Hardy in Junior's Farm until recently. I misheard the name as Holly
.Marshall
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love2travel wrote:
Stan and Ollie was excellent!
Watched them as a child, along with the 3 Stooges and The Little Rascals. The only episode that I can specifically remember is the one at the Haunted House, it must have scared me...
Nice to hear about the Blu Ray would like to get that, along with Stan and Ollie
Hi love2travel,
As mentioned earlier in the thread, I'm the same as you. I watched Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, and The Little Rascals/Our Gang as a child, too. I think the Laurel and Hardy Haunted House film is The Laurel and Hardy Murder Case.
Marshall
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LadyLeslie wrote:
Marshall wrote:
LadyLeslie wrote:
My favorite Laurel and Hardy films are "The Music Box" and a silent film short they did called "Two Tars" which is on YouTube at
I also liked their film"The Devil's Brother" (aka Fra Diavolo) with Thelma Todd, which was a musical.
Have loved Laurel & Hardy since I was a small girl and our family would watch their films every Sunday night (after the Ed Sullivan Show) on a super 8mm projector. My Dad borrowed the films from his boss who was a L & H collector.
This is off topic but Harold Lloyd is another great silent era comedian who isn't talked about much anymore. When our family used to watch his films (in the 1960s & '70s) we would clutch our sides non stop in laughter, and not many comedians can make you laugh non stop. Check out his films "Hot Water" "Safety Last" and his greatest talkie "Feet First" which is on YouTube at
Should add that one reason why his films probably aren't shown much today is because he always featured an african american character actor named Stepin Fetchit (or another actor with similar image), who would be considered an unwelcome stereotype today. Harold Lloyd's comedic skills would be the only reason to view his films. He was a daredevil who didn't use stuntmen when he climbed the sides of tall story buildings, or stood on the edge of the top of a building and wobbled to pretend he was about to fall back over the edge, but somehow straightened himself up and never did.Have always felt an affinity with silent films and silent era film stars, my mom's aunt was a maid at the home of Richard Arlen & his wife actress Jobyna Ralston (they starred in "Wings" with Charles Buddy Rogers). She (my great-aunt) would tell me all kinds of stories when I was growing up about the stars she'd seen and what life was like in Hollywood then. I wish I would have gotten to keep her photos after she passed away, that she had shown me.
Back to topic... saw "Stan and Ollie" that was released a few years ago, and thought it was a wonderful tribute to Laurel & Hardy, and have it on DVD.
LadyLeslie,
Thanks for the nice message. The Music Box is a classic, and those steps are still around today (88 years later) in the Silver Lake area of L.A. Two Tars, I remember seeing as a youngster with my family. It was one of the Pops musical nights where I'm from (San Francisco Bay Area), and they played The Two Tars film on a big screen while an orchestra played.
Thanks for the YouTube links to Two Tars and Harold Lloyd's Feet First. I'm glad you like the Stan and Ollie film, too.
Marshall
P.S. I like that avatar you have of Paul and Martha!
You're welcome, Marshall! That is a nice avatar of Paul and Martha, I remember reading that Paul was really upset (naturally) when she passed away in 1982, she was a member of the family.
I'm glad you like "Two Tars" and "Feet First". That's great you got to see Two Tars on a large screen, with an orchestra!
Another film of L & H that should be mentioned is "Babes in Toyland" (aka "March of the Wooden Soldiers"). Love the part where Stan pretends to be Bo-Peep at the wedding, and wears the heavy veil. (Bo-Peep had to marry the evil Silas Barnaby or he would evict her old mother-- The Widow Peep--out onto the street. But 0llie found a way to trick him.
)Hi again LadyLeslie,
Babes in Toyland (March of the Wooden Soldiers) is one of those Laurel and Hardy films I remember being played on local TV when I was a child. I definitely recall the wedding scene where Stan pretends to be Bo-Peep at the wedding.
It's true, pets really are members of the family
. Also, I remember reading how on the cover of the Paul Is Live album, Paul is walking Arrow (one of Martha's grand-dogs) across the Abbey Road crosswalk.Marshall
https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Paul-McCartney-Flaming-Pie-Archive-Deluxe-Edition-Box-Set-Review
