They Go Boom!

"They Go Boom" is a typical example of how Laurel and Hardy could achieve comedy gold via the most simple means. They never needed extravagant production values or generous filming schedules in order to be very funny. The comedy flowed very naturally and resulting from needing a few simple props and basic sets. "They Go Boom" is one of them. The laughs come so thick and fast, I have to hold my sides together! The setting is a rooming house and the comedy all takes place in one room - ideal. Ollie is in bed with the flu and as if that isn't bad enough, Stan attempts to cure him...... Poor Ollie is sneezing away as Stan creates so much havoc in his sincere efforts to help his friend. Charlie Hall plays the rather surly landlord (who else?) and soon makes his feelings known after being awoken in the night. Don't miss this classic!

Ollie has a late night cold and Stan tries to help him get over it, much to the annoyance of the irritable landlord.

I am endeavoring to work my way through the new release of "The Essential Laurel & Hardy" which finally gives the boys the DVD treatment they deserve in the United States. I have seen all of their films many times over the years, but now I have the opportunity to finally watch them in chronological order. That, perhaps, was not a wise choice. I always found a number of their early talkies weak, and I regret having to report that here in my reviews. "They Go Boom" is another example. The staging of the film feels claustrophobic, and the situation simply doesn't offer enough opportunities for comic inventiveness. There are some good moments scattered throughout, but it overall concept is better executed later in the film "Laughing Gravy."

Not a classic. For fans only.

Laurel and Hardy made a ton of comedy shorts so it was inevitable that they'd have a few disappointments. While this film is watchable and mildly amusing in spots, it is certainly not a very good film by their standards. The problem was the script. It was incredibly mundane and unexciting and was later remade in much funnier ways. For example, the same basic plot and landlord (Charlie Hall) return for LAUGHING GRAVY. It wasn't a huge improvement, but adding the dog and allowing some of the action to take place outside really helped to pick up the pace. But with THEY GO BOOM!, it's all contained in their small apartment and the entire movie revolves around two unfunny gags--Ollie overreacting after he gets a cold and Stan mucking up the attempts to alleviate Ollie's sneezing as well as a rather lame joke about over-inflating the air mattress. It's worth seeing, but there are so many better Laurel and Hardy films I recommend this one to devoted fans only.

Sometimes the simplest of situation comedies work the best, and so it proves with THEY GO BOOM! Essentially, Ollie's suffering from the sniffles and Stan tries to cure him, and that's all there is to it. But what a journey unfolds over the 20 minute running time here! The gags start out on familiar ground before becoming more and more elaborate as they go on, and each of the boys seems to be subjected to endless injury and physical peril. Of course, it all builds to an explosive scenario at the climax that the title hints at, and as usual the sheer amount of stunts, physical destruction and sight gags make it a delight.

Laurel and Hardy are simply trying to get a good nice sleep but Mr Hardy has a really bad case of the sniffles and can't get off easily. Laurel just wants to help and tries various remedies including a bath of hot water, a mustard plaster and a water bed. But try as he might things don't seem to be getting any better for Hardy.

A oft repeated theme is used to good effect here – Laurel is simply trying to help Hardy but yet he only manages to make things worse in one way or another. In this film Hardy is a little full of the cold so Laurel tries to help. The routines are pretty funny – my favourite gags are the little running ones rather than the bigger set ups. So, for example, I loved the bath of water constantly getting in the way or the fat that Hardy kept getting hit in the head. The self contained nature of the film and the fact that the plot isn't something that needs a great deal of setting up works in it's favour.

Laurel does well in his wide eyed innocent role but as always Hardy has to carry the majority of the prat falls and does it very well indeed. The support cast have a very small contribution to make and it shows their class that Laurel and Hardy carry almost 100% of the screen time here.

Overall an enjoyable little short that is self contained and all the better for it.