Oliver the Eighth

I absolute adore this movie. It's quite a dark comical one but still features all of the typical humor and slapstick moments.

Finally the boys meet some persons who are even crazier than they are. Mae Busch as the widow and Jack Barty as Jitters are some real good crazy and scary persons. They give the boys a hard time and the movie does actually succeed in making the movie tense and unpredictable. Normally it aren't the supporting actors who make a Laurel & Hardy short to be a classic and comical one but this movie is truly an exception to that.

Honestly there isn't a thing that I dislike about this movie so that is why I regarded as the most perfect Laurel & Hardy short. A must-see!

10/10

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When Oliver Hardy reads a newspaper advertisement about a young, wealthy widow who's looking for a husband, he applies. Stan wanders along. Little do they know until it's too late, that the young widow has married and killed seven husbands named Oliver already and that, even worse, its Mae Busch.

Miss Busch was born in Australia, moved with her parents to America as a child, and went on stage. By 1912, she had made her first movie. By the end of the decade, known as 'the Versatile Vamp' and prized by comedy directors for her aim with crockery, she was starring in dramas and comedies. She is best remembered, however, for her 15 appearances with Laurel and Hardy, from 1927 through 1936. She died in 1946 at age 54.

In this episode they play barbershop owners who write to a rich widow. But Stan's letter is rejected, and still wants to tag along with Ollie. Then, in a dream, they go to her mansion and encounter a kooky butler and Ollie becomes engaged to the widow only to find out later on that she's a homicidal maniac who's killed seven other Olivers and plans to make Ollie her eighth victim!

The funniest scenes were when Stan and Jitters were playing with invisible cards and doing that 'pick a card' trick! And the dinner scene with invisible food was another one of L&H's comical moments! And Jack Barty was hilarious as the crazed Jitters and Mae Busch was totally impeccable as the widow and other characters she played in L&H films, too!

This episode is for any L&H fan to see! I give it 4 stars!

You can never go wrong when you throw in some mystery or a haunted house, especially with Laurel and Hardy. And don't forget legendary Mae Busch. A silly takeoff (in name only) to THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY THE EIGHTH, released the same year.

Hardy gets mixed up with murderess Mae, whose last seven husbands were all named "Oliver." Only he doesn't know it --YET. Jack Barty, who worked with Stan Laurel in silent films, appears as Mae's eccentric butler, playing with an invisible deck of cards? There's also a funny scene with the boys being served dinner with empty glasses and plates, pretending to enjoy a hearty meal. Their next stop is to sleep in a creepy bedroom --waiting for Mae to enter to cut Ollie's throat!

Best bit is a "technical" gag scene where Hardy has to keep Stan awake. It involves a burning candle, a brick and a string. Where Hardy got the brick remains a mystery. Ollie rolls the string around the brick and hooks it above the candle. Next, Stan has to keep moving the string -- or else the string will burn and the brick will hit him on the head. Get it? Of course, Ollie gets whacked. His facial expressions throughout this film are priceless, let alone his moans and groans after nearly being shot.

On a sad note, Stan's brother, nicknamed "Teddy," died suddenly during filming. Teddy worked briefly as a film actor in the 1920s, but gave it up. In a bizarre accident, he died of a heart attack at the dentists office while being given laughing gas.

This film was co-written by Jack Barty, who also added dialogue to Laurel and Hardy's previous film, SONS OF THE DESERT.

Remastered dvd box set, both in black and white and in color. Thanks much to METV Plus for running these golden oldies every day. Also MOVIES Net on Saturday mornings.

Jack Barty is hilarious and performs one of the best pantomime scenes I have ever seen.

Stan, Ollie and Mae Busch all join in to create an incredible pantomime dinner party.

Stan and Ollie are with perfect partners in this film.

The interaction between all the characters is perfect. Barty's speaking voice is also hysterical. It has a bit of English sound, mixed with a deep rasp. His enunciation is sublime.

Sublety abounds. "Madame" (Mae Busch) is perfect as she slides in and out of a sort of schizo-dementia.

You will be glad to see this masterwork and to have in your collection when you need a lift. What great great actors.