The Second 100 Years

Second Hundred Years, The (1927)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Laurel and Hardy play convicts who make an escape but they find themselves in a more dangerous place than prison. There's small laughs scattered throughout this short but in the end the only real highlight is seeing boys with shaved heads.

Call of the Cuckoo (1927)

** (out of 4)

A man (Max Davidson) swaps houses, sight unseen, due to his wacko neighbors. When he moves into the new house it turns out the thing is falling apart in every way possible. The only real highlight is the few scenes with the neighbors who are played by Laurel, Hardy and Charley Chase.

Originally advertised as the first 'official' Laurel & Hardy film (although still part of the Hal Roach 'All-Star' films - designed to feature old stars of the Roach 'stable' on the downgrade, and showcase those whom Roach hoped would be future stars - in which Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had been appearing since the previous year; the first film in the 'Laurel & Hardy' series would be SHOULD MARRIED MEN GO HOME?, released in 1928), this is a mildly amusing little comedy, with Stan ('Little Goofy') and Oliver teamed as convicts who escape from prison and assume different disguises. Part of the interest surrounding this film stems not only from the fact that it is the first 'official' Laurel & Hardy film, but also from it being the film that led Stan Laurel to acquire his famous spiky hair that became a part of his screen image. Both Stan and Oliver had their heads shaved for this film, and later, as his hair was growing back, Stan noticed that his constant attempts to keep his hair under control were causing the crew and other people on the Hal Roach lot to laugh. So Stan, the greatest gag inventor (and gag executor) that ever lived, decided to keep his hair spiked in his films, due to its usefulness as a laugh-getter. Stan and Oliver's shaved heads can also be seen in the next film they made together, a cameo in the Max Davidson comedy, CALL OF THE CUCKOOS.

This film can be enjoyed to a greater extent (as can all the silent films) with the addition of wonderful recreations of the Shields and Hatley tunes by the Beau Hunks orchestra - those who own a copy of THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS on VVL as I do are fortunate enough to have these marvellous little melodies playing in the background; if you don't, buy the CDs and play them while you're watching.

'The Second 100 Years' is a nice silent comedy from Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, but it is only nice, nothing more. The short start in jail where the two share a cell. They are about to escape through a tunnel. Their plan fails so they have to come up with something else. They pretend to be painters to get out of jail. After that, to escape a police officer they steal clothes from two French prison inspectors. Of course the inspectors were on their way to the prison Laurel and Hardy just escaped from.

The first part of this short has some laughs. The funny thing here is that not Laurel and Hardy are that funny, but the written words on screen between scenes. The middle part, when they are painters, is the best. While the police officer is following them they paint everything white on their way, including a certain person that could be offensive to some. Unfortunately it ends with a sequence that plays too long and therefore becomes dull.

I guess this could be a nice comedy short for fans of silent films or simply Laurel and Hardy comedies. I liked it up to a point, but compared to most other films I have seen from the two comedians this was a little disappointing.

THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS

Aspect ratio: 1.33:1

Sound format: Silent

(Black and white - Short film)

Two jail birds (Laurel and Hardy) escape from custody and assume the identities of French dignitaries who turn out to be prison inspectors (Otto Fries and Bob O'Conor) on their way to the very jail from which L&H have just escaped! Havoc ensues.

One of the best of L&H's silent comedies, and certainly their best collaboration with director Fred Guiol. This one features a full range of amusing set-pieces, including an inspired sequence in which The Boys elude a nosey cop by pretending to be painters (only to end up painting everything in sight, including someone's car!), and the lengthy scene in which they're mistaken for visiting VIP's and received at the prison as guests of honor by warden James Finlayson, only to cause chaos at the dinner table. The escalation of comic incidents is entirely believable throughout. However, the film also contains an offensive sight gag, when L&H accidentally slap white paint all over the face of an African-American passer-by.

There are some good sight gags in this silent Laurel & Hardy comedy, but there's very little plot to speak of. The boys sport shaven heads as they play a pair of convicts attempting to escape from prison and the film follows their various doomed attempts. They dig a tunnel only to strike a water pipe and end up surfacing in the warden's office. Sent to the exercise yard, they're forced to perform exercises. They eventually escape disguised as painters but are followed by a cop and end up painting half the town in their attempts to shake him off. They find themselves back in prison when they hijack the car of a pair of French dignitaries visiting the prison.

Most of Laurel & Hardy's silent films lose some of the boy's inimitable character simply because we can't hear their voices, and this one's no exception. There are a few funny moments – when the pair instantly assume the marching position, hand on the shoulder of the man in front, when the dinner gong sounds as they're pretending to be the French dignitaries, for example, but you can't help feeling it would be more enjoyable if you could just hear them speak. When Ollie can't voice his frustration and Stan can't squeakily express his distress we only really have half the act.