Leave 'Em Laughing (1928)

A Brilliant Conflict

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.While not classic Laurel and Hardy, later films, short and feature, had stronger chemistry when fully formed and used their considerable talents better, 'Leave Em Laughing' is a lot of fun. Before, Laurel was much funnier and more interesting while Hardy in most of the previous outings had too little to do. 'Leave Em Laughing' is one of their first very good efforts, to me it's easily one of their best at this point of their careers and one of the first to feel like a Laurel and Hardy short rather than a short featuring them.'Leave Em Laughing' does take a little too long to get going, coming to life when at the dentist. Also found that the ending went on longer than it should have done.Laurel however is very funny, and sometimes hilarious. It is wonderful seeing Hardy having more to do and he is on Laurel's level and actually even funnier. The chemistry is certainly much more here than in previous outings of theirs, namely because there's more of them together and it was starting to feel like a partnership. Support is nice. A good deal of the humour, particularly when at the dentist and the effects of the laughing gas, is well timed, hugely energetic and very funny (hilarious at its best), with everything going at a lively pace and there is a lot of charm and good nature to keep one going. 'Leave Em Laughing' looks quite good still.In summary, a lot of fun. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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. Stan is suffering a toothache, wearing a bandage that has the knots acting like bunny ears when Ollie touches his jaw. Ollie goes to get him a water bottle, getting a pin in his foot (twice), but then Stan wants him to help pull the hurting tooth out, so it is tied to the blind, and the door (twice). The Lodger (Charlie Hall) comes in complaining about the noise, getting a kick from Stan, and a little fight of kicks and punches happens, before they go back to the bed, which breaks. Next day, they are at the dentist, Stan is scared (especially after hearing about dentist breaking jaw, and seeing covered body taken out), and Ollie has to carry him in after he faints. After Stan's waking and panicking, the doctor goes to the next room, while Ollie tries to show Stan how easy the chair procedure is, little realising the fellow doctor will be knocking him unconscious and taking out a tooth. In a little squabble, both Stan and Ollie inhale the mask's gas, the nurse recognises it as laughing gas, so the two guys can't stop laughing while going outside, getting into the car, bumping it into others, and being told off by the cop (Perfect Day's Edgar Kennedy). The film ends with the cop driving the car, and ignoring the road, they drive into a closed part of the road, and as result end up sinking into the large puddle (possibly wet tarmac), just like the end of Perfect Day. 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!

Leave 'Em Laughing (1928) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Laurel is suffering from a toothache so Hardy takes him to the dentist who accidentally fills them with laughing gas. The early gags of Hardy trying to pull the tooth are funny but the ending with the cars goes on a bit too long and gets rather tiresome.They Go Boom! (1929) *** (out of 4) Hardy has a cold so it's up to Laurel to try and find a cure so that they can get a good night's sleep. Highlights include the mustard bath and the exploding mattress.One Good Turn (1931) ** 1/2 (out of 4)L&H set out to raise $100 when they overhear an elderly woman say she's going to be evicted. Not too many laughs in this one outside the opening sequence in the woods. Thicker Than Water (1935) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Laurel and Hardy waste $300 on a grandfather clock so Hardy's wife hits him with a frying pan and sends him to the hospital. Again, not too funny and the worst part is the ending where the two change personalities. This here should have been a lot funnier than it turned out.

The final shot of this Laurel & Hardy two-reeler has been excerpted and used in several silent comedy compilations: Stan and Ollie laugh uproariously in their car as bemused cop Edgar Kennedy glares at them . . . while in the meantime, the car and all three occupants sink into a deep, dirty mud hole. That shot neatly captures the antic spirit of silent comedy. Leave 'Em Laughing itself is an early L&H comedy, made while they were still finding their style, but there are several funny moments en route to that memorably muddy finale.The film consists of three sequences: 1) the boys in their apartment, contending with Stan's toothache and angry landlord Charlie Hall; 2) a trip to the dentist's office, where they are overcome with laughing gas; and 3) the finale, as they try to deal with traffic -- and Officer Kennedy -- while helpless with laughter. I like the third part best, myself, but perhaps that's because I'm discomfited by the tooth pain element of the earlier scenes. In watching the film again recently I notice gags in the first two sequences that are rather cartoon-y, and not in keeping with what the guys would do in their prime. For instance: early on, Stan has a handkerchief around his jaw, tied in two knots atop his head like rabbit ears, and at one point the pain he feels is indicated by the "ears" twisting themselves in circles. Similarly, in the dentist's waiting room, surprise is indicated through Stan's hat flying up into the air. This kind of shtick seems more typical of the Mack Sennett Studio, whereas the best comedians on the Hal Roach lot (L&H, Our Gang, Charley Chase, etc.) tended to favor a more naturalistic style with less straining for laughs. It's interesting to compare these gags to the later 'Magic Stan' bits, such as the hat-eating in Way Out West or the thumb-smoking in Block-Heads; those routines are certainly unreal, but they feel intrinsic to Stan's oddness and somehow perfectly natural, not standard shtick which any other comic could do, like the rabbit ear hankie or the flying hat bit.At any rate, the finale is great fun. I once saw this film at a museum screening, and despite the lack of sound the boys' unstoppable laughter during the final sequence succeeded in getting the audience going, too. That could also be a matter of context: Stan and Ollie are creating a traffic jam, but instead of reacting fearfully they're laughing in the face of the unsmiling cop who doggedly tries to make them follow the rules. It's a rare sequence where Stan and Ollie are openly subversive and don't give a damn about the consequences, and it's downright liberating.