Dirty Work (1933)

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland














Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Extremely funny Laurel and Hardy short.

This short film is very simple, but that is just where so much of its humor comes from. This is just down and dirty (often literally in this film) slapstick at its best. The jokes we have seen before but Laurel and Hardy bring so much to them that so many other comedians couldn't. These characters are so likable and different from any other comedy characters that it doesn't matter who else has done these jokes. As absurd as this comedy is the characters make us believe every second of it.

Many of the jokes involve Stan and Ollie cleaning a chimney. This is what the two comedians are best at doing, making such a simple task look so complicated and milking it for every joke possible. Like many of the best slapstick comedies this film gives us the jokes we were completely excepting and then when we think the joke is done, we get another payoff. This is done so perfectly and flawlessly that you really are surprised when the joke continues and it makes you laugh even louder. The timing is also done perfectly here as it gives you just enough time to think that joke is over and then wham. Speaking of timing you never realize just how well timed these films are until you see them with an audience. Just when the audience stops laughing at one joke the film gives them just enough time to breathe and then wham another joke. The audience's laughter never interrupts a joke. Also adding to the comedy is some very funny lines given to actor Samuel Adams that he delivers perfectly (SOMEwhere - an ELECTRIC CHAIR is WAITING!).


Ollie may have nothing to say, but I can't praise this film enough.

-Michael J. Ruhland

    

The Freshman (1925)

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland.



















Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Incredible film, silent comedy doesn't come any better than this.

Harold Lloyd liked to say he made two types of pictures, gag films, and character films. While both are easily defined as comedies and all full of gags, the difference is in what propels the story. In a gag film the story is propelled by the gags. In a character film the story is propelled by the characters and so are the gags. The Freshman is tied for Harold's best character film with The Kid Brother. Everything is done near perfectly here. There is no possible way you could not grow to love this character. Harold Lamb feels s real in a way many other silent comedy characters don't. We see how devoted this guy is and how much he truly believes that he can do, Because of this we want this character to wind up on top we fully wish for it. It is often brought up that a scene in The Max Brother's A Night At the Opera in which the villain attacks Harpo with a bullwhip makes us like Harpo and hate the villain. This is done to a much more extreme extant here as we see poor Harold suffer ridicule after ridicule. However it is never done to an extant that makes it feel silly or overdone. This always feels real, because Harold Lamb is so real to us.

However with all this going on the film still manages to be very funny. The dance scene, the tackle scene and the climatic football game are all amazing comedic set pieces that I can't see how anyone couldn't laugh at. In fact the football game was so funny that in the feature film Horsefeathers, the Marx Brothers repeated some of the gags and it was still really funny there. Similarly the Three Stooges would repeat some of the dance scenes jokes, and they were still really funny there too. These scenes are so perfectly thought out as one small mishap leads to a bigger one and a bigger one and a bigger one, and they each get bigger and bigger laughs. These scenes by the way are funny enough when you watch the film on DVD by yourself or with a small group, however watching them with a decent size audience these scenes come off as even funnier (and that is quite amazing). Also really funny is this movie are some intertitles by Thomas J. Gray. Some of these include " The Dean of the College - he was so dignified he never married for fear his wife would call him by his first name." and "Tate University - A large football stadium, with a college attached." These got huge laughs at the theater I saw it at (Old Town Music Hall) and I can't see how they would ever fail on that regard.

I've said this before but I can't say it enough. To see silent films with live musical accompaniment (especially with a musician as talented as organ player Bill Fields, who played along with the movie here) and a great audience, can make the film seem like a whole new experience. I have seen this movie countless times on DVD and TCM, but watching it here the way it was meant to be watched made it feel like a whole different movie to me and an even better one (which is saying a lot with how much I enjoyed this film in the first place).

-Michael J. Ruhland
 

Old Town Music Hall: Laurel and Hardy Festival

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland














Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: This weekend the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, California there was a Laurel and Hardy film festival. The place does this multiple times each year. However this time was even more special because it was hosted by historian Randy Skrevedt, who shared many great stories about the making of these films. For instance he talked about how Antia Garvin's very short appearance in The Battle of the Century was simply a favor she did for Stan and she was never actually paid for it, but she would state that that seemed to be all people knew her for. He also told a story about how Laughing Gravy (a dog in the film of the same name) was actually a female and how despite how Charlie Hall despite playing a character who hated the dog, in real life ended up adopting one of her puppies.  

Like most shows at the Old Town Music Hall, this begin with some organ playing by a very talented musician named Bill Field. We then had a sing along as Bill Field played such classic songs as Mairsy Dotes and Dosey Dotes, Oh Suzanna and My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. This was all of course great fun.

Next we got our first two films (after introductions by Randy), these were two silent classics, You're Darn Tooting and The Battle of the Century (which includes the funniest pie fight in the history of movies). While these classic shorts were playing Bill Field accompanied them on his organ. If you have not seen silent films with live music, you have not really seen them. This creates a completely new experience much different than watching them on TV or YouTube. The films themselves were extremely funny.

After an intermission we got our sound portion of the festival. This started with the classic Laughing Gravy, a downright hilarious film. Then came two of Laurel and Hardy's greatest films, Helpmates and The Music Box.

Every short shown here I have thought funny enough watching by myself on DVD, but they are much funnier watching them with an audience. Just the fact that you are enjoying these films on the same level as everybody else there and sharing a laugh with them, just makes the shorts all the funnier. You also realize just how perfectly timed they are, because just as soon as the audience stops laughing at one joke the next one happens.

They do these festivals multiple times each year, if you love Laurel and Hardy like I do, you need to go.

-Michael J. Ruhland