The Laurel Or Hardy
Collection (Passport)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: D Shorts: B
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are an immortal comedy team,
but they did plenty of work before they joined forces and hit the jackpot. Passport has assembled the 5 DVD Laurel Or
Hardy Collection to offer the best treasury to date of these
works. The 32 shorts are as follows:
1)
The Hobo (1917)
2)
Just Rambling Along (1918)
3)
The Rogue (1918)
4)
Frauds & Frenzies (1918)
5)
Mixed Nuts (1922)
6)
Her Near Sighted Father (aka Maid To Order) (1920)
7)
White Wings (1923)
8)
The Bakery (1921)
9)
Golf (1922)
10)
The Sawmill (1922)
11)
Kid Speed (1924)
12)
Her
Boyfriend (1924)
13)
The Bellhop (1921)
14)
Mud &
Sand (1922)
15)
Smithy (1924)
16)
Pick &
Shovel (aka The Miner) (1923)
17)
The Soilers (1923)
18)
West Of Hot
Dog (1924)
19)
Kill Or
Cure? (1923)
20)
Hop To It
Bellhop (aka Hop To It) (1925)
21)
Stick
Around (1925)
22)
Crazy Like
A Fox (1926)
23)
Long Fliv
The King (1926)
24)
Should
Sailors Marry (1925)
25)
Isn’t Life
Terrible? (1925)
26)
The Sleuth (1925)
27)
Thundering
Pass (1926)
28)
Dr. Pyckle &
Mr. Pride (1925)
29)
Chasing The
Chaser (1925)
30)
Wandering
Papas (1926)
31)
Crazy To
Act (1927)
32)
Forty-Five
Minutes From Hollywood (1926)
Of course, the sound era really helped the duo become the
legends they became, but they had their silent shorts that were also strong
(see their work elsewhere on this site) and Smithy was remade four years
later with the duo as The Finishing Touch. A paper insert inside the DVD case even shows the various lengths
of each short, running from as little as 9 to almost 40 minutes each. Some books on the duo do not even cover
these works and one claimed it was too difficult to research them. Fortunately, this set helps to correct that.
The 1.33 X 1 image varies wildly throughout, especially
since it is amazing some of these shorts survived at all. Some are in terrible shape, others fare a
bit better than expected, but all are at least here to see for better or
worse. The same song is played on every
silent short, with so-so Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo throughout. There are no extras, but fans who are
curious and anyone who would like to see what they were like on their own now
have a big chance to do so here.
- Nicholas Sheffo
