Drôles de bottes

Not the finest moment for the duo, particularly on a technical level. The direction and editing are all over the place (often using long shots for reactions) and even in the newly restored version the sound quality is muddy.

Basic plot seems to read as a try-out for Sons of the Desert, with Stan and Ollie duping their wives so they can go to a stag party. Though in the case of this short they never quite make it there. Most of the slapstick sequences feel oddly laboured and contrived (Ollie at one point taking over twelve minutes trying to get a boot off), not least because they're all backed up by an overstated musical score.

I've got a new theory: the funniness of Laurel and Hardy is directly proportional to the length of Stan's hair. In the amusing Chickens Come Home-, made the same year, he sports a large quiff, yet here it's just medium length and not as extreme.

Not awful, but Be Big! feels more like a formula filler rather than any great step forward in their career.