Sossega Leão

This and its companion were the only projects the boys ever said they didn't like. And it has fallen to the bottom of the listings, in part because of limited availability.

But I like it because I am particularly attuned to self-referential films. Explicit self reference (outside of shows about shows) was already becoming a fashionable idea in Hollywood. In this case, we have a plot taken from Shakespeare and characters (as always) inspired by Longfellow.

So a running joke, repeated 6 or seven times, has (at key points) one of them saying "Shakespeare" and the other responding "Longfellow." Also, there's a developing joke from Lewis Carroll about what goes up a chimney? Developing jokes depend on the thing being said differently each time. (The play is on flew/flue.)

I consider this their second best because there's more effort than just the stock physical comedy.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Is this the most violent Laurel and Hardy film ever made? Surprisingly, while Stan and Ollie's twin brothers – Bert and Alf – are described as "bad lads", it's the originals that are the most malicious, in this sadistic – yet very funny all the same – Laurel and Hardy showcase. Stan gets to headbutt a barman and set fire to another man's chest hair, while Ollie, for his part, sticks a lightbulb in a man's mouth (James Finlayson, a regular stooge for the boys in 35 movies) then punches him in the face so he swallows the broken glass. Their supposedly rogue twins, meanwhile, merely try to save money and treat some ladies to a meal. In order to distinguish between the twins (other than the level of violence they display), musical cues are used – a sea shanty for the sailors Bert and Alf, and the Laurel and Hardy theme for Stan and Ollie.

There are lots of great sustained jokes in this movie, such as Ollie's broken spectacles, and the ultimate in a sustained gag is the mistaken identities between the sets of twins. This joke is taken so far towards its logical conclusion that the duos don't discover each other's existence until the final ninety seconds of film. This causes the plot to be far more imaginative, whereas a lesser film would have had greater reliance on the two pairs meeting. Arthur Housman is also good as the drunk, a role he seemed to make a career out of playing in many of his 159 film roles. It was a also a role he reprised with Laurel and Hardy, having played both "drunk" and "drunk sailor" in Scram!, The Live Ghost and The Fixer Uppers.

The direction by Harry Lachman is well above average for the pair. Some scenes are shot through a fish tank or the back of a bed's headrail, and there are lots of aerial shots. The split screen technology, while used sparingly, was extremely proficient for the time. One thing of note is that a couple of the sequences, such as the crushed in the telephone box scene, are slightly similar to sight gags in the Marx Brothers film of the previous year, A Night At The Opera. It's not that obvious, and may just be coincidence, but I'd rather hoped that Laurel and Hardy had inspired the Marx Brothers, and not the other way around. But it's probably funnier here anyway, particularly poor old Stan with a boot on his neck. Finally, one of the concluding scenes – Stan crying hysterically as he rolls around on concrete boots – is a real winner.

Stan's and Oliver's long lost twin brothers, sailors Alf Laurel and Bert Hardy are on shore.Lots of misunderstandings happen, when there are two Laurels and two Hardies in town.Our Relations is a classic L&H film with many funny scenes in it.Many scenes that make you laugh at loud.The movie offers you many funny situations from the beginning to the end.A must see for Stan and Ollie fans.It offers you double fun with the boys.

This film has an unusually complex plot for a Laurel and Hardy film. It is reminiscent of A Comedy Of Errors. In addition to playing Stanley and Oliver, the pair also play their long lost brothers Alf and Bert. The comedy fizzes along nicely although the film overall is lacking in classic moments. The main problem is that the characters of the two pairs of brother are not sufficiently differentiated so the viewer is often as confused as the characters in the film between Stanley and Oliver and Alf and Bert. The new print is generally excellent, although there are a few lapses of continuity.

This is another take on the plot of a couple of men having long lost twin brothers. Stan and Ollie have Bert and Al who they know are bad news. Well, those two are working on a ship and are on shore leave as our heroes take their wives out for dinner. This is a series of mistaken identity things where the good guys appear to be crooked and vice versa. Even the wives are confronted by a couple of sailors on the make. Meanwhile, Stan and Ollie are seen to be jewel thieves. Jimmy Finlayson is superb as the long suffering ship's captain. This, of course, is a take on the Shakespeare play, "A Comedy of Errors." There is great fun and some of the encounters are wonderful. One of the best things is the boys got to be "bad" once in a while. One of their better efforts.