Chickens Come Home

For my money this is probably my favorite of the L&H shorts (except, maybe for "Two Tars," or perhaps "County Hospital," or maybe "Helpmates," or "Another Fine Mess," or could be "Them Thar Hills"... oh well; you get the point). It's a hoot to see grandly pompous Ollie, in his run for mayor, brought low by the machinations of a former paramour from his "primrose days." Mae Busch, a stalwart regular in the L&H flicks, is wickedly wonderful as the old girlfriend. Ollie's sub rosa business with his knowing butler, good old Jimmy Finlayson, is a delight, and the comic high point - a thoroughly discomfited Ollie warbling "Somebody's Coming to My House" for his dinner guests, accompanied by his wife - as disaster approaches, is a treasure. The Boys will always live in the memory of their devoted fans, to whom they brought so much joy.

"Chickens Come Home" truly is among the best of the Laurel & Hardy shorts. The story is very simple but gives the boys lots of opportunity to show their silly antics. The end result is a simple but very hilarious movie.

The movie is filled with many humorous moments. Especially the ending is an hilarious, as well as a memorable one. It's a very consistent, constantly funny comedy short in which Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are at their best and in the prime of their careers.

Lot's of Laurel & Hardy regulars also show up again in this movie. Especially notable is James Finlayson as Oliver's butler. He is fantastic and absolutely hilarious in his role. As always, he doesn't try to steal the show but he unwillingly still does so. Other notable regulars in the movie are; Mae Busch and Baldwin Cooke, among others.

Among their very best work and therefor also simply a must-see for the Laurel & Hardy fans!

8/10

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The great thing about Laurel and Hardy's movies is that they were so simple, but so damn hilarious! In "Chickens Come Home", Oliver is running for mayor, when a woman (Mae Busch) from his past shows up to blackmail him. She threatens to interrupt a party at his house. When Oliver gets Stanley to stop her...well, let's just say that it's not that easy! You can just imagine how the people behind the camera must have been cracking up watching L&H do these things right in front of them, especially the scene where they carry her (you'll see what I mean; it must have been a risqué scene for that time). A comedy classic.

Many years ago, someone once told me that I shouldn't watch "Chickens Come Home" as it isn't one of Laurel and Hardy's best. Well, after seeing this film I 100% disagree. There are some great laughs as Ollie's campaign in becoming mayor of the city is in jeopardy. The reason for this, is that an old flame threatens to reveal Ollie's rather colourful past. The former girlfriend is played by the indomitable Mae Busch. She was rock solid support for Laurel and Hardy and a powerful actress. Stan is sent to stop the blackmailing and to save Ollie's political career! I enjoyed the scenes at Hardy's home the most as he struggles to entertain some rather influential friends. Thelma Todd is very good as Mrs. Hardy as she easily suspects her husband has something to hide...... The look on the face of Ollie as he nervously sings for his guests at home, can speak a dozen words! Sheer fright and panic! James Finlayson appears as the household butler. It didn't immediately occur to me but Laurel and Hardy don't have screen time together, apart from the opening scene and the climax. A very funny short and a three reel one - 28 minutes.

It's not often I feel I have to defend something on this site but after seeing CHICKENS COME HOME a few days ago I must say I'm slightly puzzled as to why some people think it's not as good as made out . I remember seeing this as a young child and enjoying it immensely and after seeing it again as an adult it's - Unlike a few other L&H shorts - just as enjoyable now

Yeah the flaws with this short are the same with any other one in that the performances are very stagy with lots of shouting and over emphatic mannerisms but no one ever complains about that in other short films featuring Stan and Ollie and unlike a lot of the other shorts CHICKENS COME HOME does feature a coherent plot instead of a lot of episodic incidents

Some people have moaned that the duo are kept apart from each other hence this is somehow less of a success but that's all down to opinion because I was very impressed with the fact Stan and Ollie were both funny on their own throughout the running time with Ollie getting the lion's share of laughs . Come on anyone with a pulse and a sadistic sense of humour will wet themselves as Mr Hardy sings " Somebody's coming to my house " or screams when he sees an indiscreetly placed photograph but the best moments are the ones featuring Ollie and his Butler who knows too much . If I remember correctly there was a situation comedy from over 20 years ago featuring Keith Barron and Carlos Douglas called DUTY FREE with a very similar premise