Un homme à boue

Laurel and Hardy's screen characters were still taking shape when this silent comedy was made, and the framework of their relationship wasn't yet complete. They are friends in this one, but Stan's a friend that Ollie would rather avoid, and they haven't yet adopted the trademark bowler hats and slightly shoddy suits. Ollie pretends he's not home when Stan comes calling, but manages to mess that up so that he and his wife are forced to let him in the house. Wifey is so incensed by Stan's antics that she sends the boys off to play golf, which leads to further typical chaos.

This isn't one of the duo's best shorts but it has a few decent moments. I liked the way Ollie's gramophone player fell apart when he attempted to play it the 'wrong way,' and this film shows the first example of the boys using their routine about not having enough money to pay for soda with their girlfriends which they re-worked in a later film. It's perhaps true that the introduction of sound is what transformed Laurel & Hardy into a truly first class comedy act, which is why this short isn't quite up to the standard of their later work.

Now, I was not familiar with this 1928 short silent comedy movie titled "Should Married Men Go Home?" starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy prior to sitting down here in 2025 to watch it for the first time.

Writers Leo McCarey, James Parrott, H. M. Walker, Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel put together a funny and entertaining script and storyline. It starts out innocently, but once Stan and Oliver hits the golf course, chaos ensures. And it was a wonderful slapstick comedy.

Of course you know what you are getting with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the leading roles.

"Should Married Men Go Home?" is a genuinely funny movie and well-worth watching especially if you enjoy the good old comedy from this timeless comedy duo.

My rating of directors James Parrott and Leo McCarey's 1928 "Should Married Men Go Home?" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Having just watched and reviewed The Finishing Touch, the next short on my Laurel & Hardy chronological list should be From Soup to Nuts, but since I already reviewed that-as well as the next two after that, You're Darn Tootin' and Their Purple Moment, under my previous username tavm, I'm now commenting on Should Married Men Go Home? In this one, Ollie and his wife are having a nice Sunday rest when Stan comes by. Hoping to avoid him, they try to not make any noise but the jig is up. The two men then go for a round of golf and encounter a couple of ladies who they pair with since only foursomes are allowed on this day. Also along is Edgar Kennedy who tries to stay calm but around those boys, you know that won't last long, that's for sure! I'll stop there and just say this was one of the funniest of the silent L & H shorts. I especially liked that early example of a "short on money, one should refuse" bit that was later also done in the talkie Men O'War. And the end tops it all! So that's a high recommendation of Should Married Men Go Home?

This was a rather disappointing silent comedy short from Laurel & Hardy. It by no means is a horrible or bad movie but the movie is too simple constructed and lacks some true creativity or humor to consider this an above average Laurel & Hardy short.

The movie starts of really slow and only really begins to take pace from the moment the boys enter the golf course. However also in that part of the movie it keeps lacking in some true creativity or remarkable comedy moments. The movie doesn't have any real laughs in it, although it's still perfectly fun to watch all of course. Laurel's & Hardy's antics never get boring to watch.

The only thing that makes this movie stand it is the end sequence which basically consists out of one big mud fight, involving the boys, their lady friends, their rival and a whole bunch of innocent bystanders. It's always fun to see a good old fashioned mud fight. It's simple, it's corny but it just never gets tiresome or unfunny to watch.

It's interesting to see Laurel & Hardy in one of the early teaming-ups and how the characters developed throughout the years. There also are a bunch of other regular Laurel & Hardy actors present in this movie such as; Dorothy Coburn, Jack Hill and Edgar Kennedy, who normally mainly plays cop roles.

This movie as a whole doesn't stand out as the best, most original or enjoyable Laurel & Hardy silent comedy shorts, although it still is a certainly watchable one.

6/10

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In 'Should Married Man Go Home?' Oliver Hardy is married and he is about to spend the first Sunday in weeks alone with his wife. They hope Stan will not come along but of course he does. After Stan has caused some trouble the wife tells Oliver to go play some golf with Stan. At the golf club you can only play with parties of four so they hook up with two ladies, pretending to be bankers. With the ladies they have money problems in a bar, trouble with another golfer outside and a hilarious fight that involves a lot of mud.

The parts with the wife are not that funny although they are not boring either. There are some good gags. The sequence in the bar is a terrific one, especially the moments with Stan ordering a drink. Stan is also very funny during the golf game and the big fight that ends the short plays the way it should play. Although this is not one of their best the bar sequence and the mud fight near the end are entertaining enough to enjoy this silent comedy short.