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.
Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first great one with close to flawless execution. 'Habeas Corpus' is not quite as good, but is still among their best and funniest early efforts. Their filmography, apart from a few bumps along the way, was getting better and better and 'Two Tars' and 'Habeas Corpus' exemplifies this.
It may not be "new" material as such and the first part takes a little bit of time to get going.
When 'Habeas Corpus' does get going, which it does do very quickly, it is non-stop fun, not always hilarious but never less than very amusing. There is insane craziness that doesn't get too silly, a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit emerges here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually feels fresh and it doesn't get repetitive. The spookiness is also effective.
Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'Habeas Corpus' we are far from robbed of that.
'Habeas Corpus' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid.
Overall, very good. Not essential or classic Laurel and Hardy, but a good representation of them. 8/10 Bethany Cox
