Stan & Ollie (5 Stars)

This is a film I've wanted to see ever since it was first announced. Of the early comedians, from the end of the silent film era to the beginning of the sound era, Laurel and Hardy were my favourites. I liked them more than their contemporaries Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. They were often shown on the television when I was a child, and I still have their antics and mannerisms imprinted on my memory.

The two performers, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, began their careers separately. Before they made their first film together in 1921, Stan made 50 films and Oliver made 250 films. If those numbers seem unnaturally high, remember that in the early years of cinema short films of 10 to 20 minutes were more common than full length feature films. Together they made 106 films (79 short films and 27 full length films). Their fans consider their short films to be superior to their full length films. I can't judge this. It's been many, many years since I last watched any of their films.

The main focus of the biopic that I watched today is Laurel and Hardie's tour of the United Kingdom in 1953, but it starts in 1937. This was the peak of their success. Stan Laurel is disgruntled, because he thinks that they're being underpaid in comparison with other comedians. He's at the end of his contract, so he wants to negotiate a higher salary with his producer, Hal Roach. He wants Oliver Hardy to support him, but Ollie is still in the middle of his contract. This is because they were originally hired separately, and it was Hal Roach who united them as a team. In theory, the pair could have used their market success as leverage to renegotiate Ollie's contract, but Ollie didn't want to take a risk because he was in financial difficulties, caused by gambling and women.

This led to the two of them splitting up, and Ollie made the elephant film "Zenobia" without Stan. The film doesn't tell us how the two reunited, but in 1953 they're back together, and Stan is still angry with Ollie for deserting him after all these years.

It's a tough tour. Due to bad promotion the first venues are practically empty. Things improve over the next two months, but finally the tour has to be interrupted because of Ollie's bad health. Stan doesn't desert him. He's given another comedian to continue the tour without Ollie, but at the last minute he says No.

The two actors, Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly, look and act uncannily like Laurel and Hardy. I know that's intentional, but it succeeds more than I would ever have expected. It's a very emotional film. The two men were friends who loved each other, even if they still argued about the elephant film.

I need to watch some of the old Laurel and Hardy films, preferably in chronological order. I wonder how many of them are easily available.