Laurel & Hardy

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rogruth
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Laurel & Hardy

Postby rogruth » Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:09 pm

It has been a while since I have watched a Laurel & Hardy movie. They were supposed to be a comedy team.
I still find the Marx Brothers to be funny but I have now watched @ 50 minutes of a L & H movie, Saps at Sea, and have chuckled once.
Have I become too old?
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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby chuck » Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:51 pm

Have I become too old?


No. It's a matter of acquired tastes. Some people like them and some people not so much. Same for Abbot and Costello and the Three Stooges. Different styles. Marx Brothers is a combination of fast patter with an ironic twist and then some physical comedy. Three Stooges are anything but subtle. Abbot and Costello are more like the Marx Brothers with fast and often absurd verbal play and some physical comedy. Laurel and Hardy have some nice "bits" but I too find them to be too slow in development to hold my attention. It may be in part that they started in the silent era?
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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby E7 » Mon Dec 28, 2020 11:26 pm

All of what Chuck says.....and then, maybe your comment is accurate!

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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby rogruth » Mon Dec 28, 2020 11:34 pm

E7 wrote:All of what Chuck says.....and then, maybe your comment is accurate!

OK. I recall seeing L & H earlierand at that time found them to get some laughs from me.
Don't remember what.
I stillaugh at W.C. Fields.
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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby E7 » Tue Dec 29, 2020 12:10 am

Probably depends on ones "frame of mind" at any given moment, and obviously, our opinions on things change with age and experience.

You might want to check out "Fawlty Towers" (BBC Comedy written by John Cleese and Connie Booth) if you've not seen it. You can find it on You Tube. There were two seoarate seasons, and it is widely acclaimed to be the best BBC comedy ever. There is also a documentary on the series that is well worth a look.

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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby MurphOnMillerAve » Tue Dec 29, 2020 1:41 am

Considering such things as being a "matter of acquired tastes," I never thought Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners were funny - don't think I ever laughed once, as a boy, but everybody watched them when they were scheduled. I felt the same about "I Love Lucy." She seemed like a simple loudmouth and not much more, but it seemed America loved that show. The chocolates assembly-line certainly became an instant icon.

Mae West had quite a following, too, but perhaps not so much as humor. To me, she was simply her own pimp, as she plowed her way through moviedom, thinking herself to be terribly clever and amusing. I just found her to be cheap, overly painted and be-glittered, and a fat-ass.

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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby E7 » Tue Dec 29, 2020 2:18 am

MurphOnMillerAve wrote:Considering such things as being a "matter of acquired tastes," I never thought Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners were funny - don't think I ever laughed once, as a boy.


Ever consider they might have been over your head at that age? Some of the humor was subtle. There are reruns on You Tube.....maybe you ought to check them out and reevaluate. Can't guarantee you will be rolling on the floor, but you may find them amusing.

As for Mae West, she never did much for me either, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby healey36 » Tue Dec 29, 2020 6:12 am

I watched that last night too (Saps at Sea), and thought it was hilarious. Maybe my sense of humor borders on infantile, but any scene involving Stan Laurel and natural gas I find terrifically funny. I believe the intro said S@S was the last film they made for Hal Roach; after that they made movies for MGM. A lot of the physical humor went out of it in these last few films. Also, S@S was Ben Turpin’s last film...he played L&H’s arch-nemesis for the better part of two decades. Yeah, S@S was a watershed movie for them in many ways.

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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby MurphOnMillerAve » Tue Dec 29, 2020 7:17 am

E7 wrote:
MurphOnMillerAve wrote:Considering such things as being a "matter of acquired tastes," I never thought Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners were funny - don't think I ever laughed once, as a boy.


Ever consider they might have been over your head at that age? Some of the humor was subtle. There are reruns on You Tube.....maybe you ought to check them out and reevaluate. Can't guarantee you will be rolling on the floor, but you may find ...

I've watched numerous reruns and they often bring smiles to my face . The ensemble cast is clearly having a good time of it, especially Jackie, and I enjoy the way Trixie handles him and his foibles.

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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby Rufus T. Firefly » Tue Dec 29, 2020 8:59 am

Fold in Harold Lloyd and and Buster Keaton, and not forget Chaplin.
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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby chuck » Tue Dec 29, 2020 9:05 am

Good comedy/humor is really hard to pull off. The "fight scene" on the studio lot in Blazing Saddles is a great example of combining almost all of the elements (physical humor, snappy dialog, absurd situations, ...) to produce a sustained comedic ensemble that I have never seen matched.

Two level humor is even more difficult (aka kids and adults). Jay Ward's masterpiece Rocky and Bullwinkle is really incredible. The art work is pretty primitive yet the writing staff pitched jokes at multiple levels where the little kids AND their parents were entertained at the same time. The last attempt at a remake was pretty lame. I had high hopes for the effort based on the preview clips yet I struggled through 2 1/2 episodes before giving up.
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Once I built a railroad, now it's done --
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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby Rufus T. Firefly » Tue Dec 29, 2020 9:10 am

Two level humor is even more difficult (aka kids and adults). Jay Ward's masterpiece Rocky and Bullwinkle is really incredible.


The Tick
Animaniacs
Pinky & The Brain
Rick & Morty
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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby chuck » Tue Dec 29, 2020 9:20 am

Animaniacs, Pinky & The Brain


Yes. I could watch those with my kids when they were growing up. Those are worthy successors to R&B. All of these were exceptions rather than the rule. Most of the cartoons on Saturday Morning were pretty dreadful/forgettable. I did like Rug Rats.
Once I built a railroad, I made it run,
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it's done --
Brother, can you spare a dime?

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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby Rufus T. Firefly » Tue Dec 29, 2020 9:35 am

chuck wrote:All of these were exceptions rather than the rule.


Exactly. And then there's Robot Chicken, :wink: :wink:
Conservatism: The intense fear that somewhere, somehow, someone you think is inferior is being treated as your equal.

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Re: Laurel & Hardy

Postby up148 » Tue Dec 29, 2020 9:50 am

Can't forget the Roadrunner cartoons. My Grandkids love this series. We grew up on them at the drive-in theater in the 60's. :D

Gleason did too much yelling for me in the "Honeymooners", as I grew up in a verbally abusive household and didn't need to watch it on TV.

Didn't appreciate the Marx Bros until I was older as I missed the innuendos and subtle humor as a child. Maybe the best comedy team ever.


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