Becoming Mr. Laurel
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:00 am
What a clever title………….this should be used for a DVD release or something….
There has been so much "Atoll K' talk on all of these threads I thought it would be nice to drop in on The Boys during their salad days since that particular film makes me sad beyond belief and quite depressed to the point that I am only able to revisit it every 20 years or so.
One of the joys of constantly re-watching the films of the great comedians are the historical and biographical clues that appear in their works that helped shape their comic visions. The movies of Keaton, Fields, and the Marx Bros are rife with glimpses into their vaudeville days as they re-enact bits on film. Chaplin loved to fill his films with references to his idealized but emotionally stunting Victorian childhood.
And then there are Laurel & Hardy. On the surface it would seem that their gag-ridden, slapstick strewn, wife-hating comedies wouldn’t tell us an awful lot about the team (well…..except maybe the wife-hating part). All that they offer are gags.....very funny gags. And those gags are in full flower in the 80 some silent shorts made by Laurel as both a solo performer and a writer/director before teaming with Babe. Since Laurel was the unofficial official driving force behind the team’s success it is in those gags that we can chart the pre-history of Laurel & Hardy and along the way observe a comic genius in search of a comic personae.
Laurel's earliest film appearances show a definite comic influence by his English Music Hall training with the Fred Karno Troupe and by their most famous alumni - Charles Chaplin. Even though Laurel's earliest success on the American vaudeville stage was as an outright Chaplin imitator he is too cagey to make his film debut as such. Alright, we don't exactly know how he looked in his film debut since that film is now lost but in all of his existing films he is always dressed in the style of the day, albeit in a shabby comic style. His hats would vary from film to film, sometimes a straw hat, sometimes a derby. He was always clean shaven. But even though he didn't copy Chaplin's look there were still certain mannerism that looked awfully familiar. Such as the crocodile smile Laurel employed where the upper lip was raised and he gave off a look as if he had just smelled a bad piece of Roquefort, or his early inclination to break into dances or silly body movements whenever he is confronted by a higher authority. "Just Rambling Along" (18) features a funny scene as Stan enters a cafeteria with only a dime on him but nonetheless grabs a tray and goes through the buffet trying to decide what he should purchase. With the assist from a very overly helpful line cook Stan begins sampling what is being offered to him and after scarfing down half of every portion he fastidiously checks his palate, pauses and then shakes his head, "No thank you. That didn't agree with me.", and then moves down to the next entree. By the time he gets to the end of the line he so full all he has room for is a cup of coffee. The whole routine is played very Chaplin-like with all of the humour emitting from Stan's facial expressions.
There are more overt examples such as "Hustling For Health" (19) when Stan must replace a missing mule and pull a cart full of luggage and a couple of riders which is a direct steal from Chaplin's "Work" (15) including the signature shot of pulling the cart up a ninety degrees incline, or when Stan and Larry Semon challenge each other in "Frauds and Frenzies" (18) and Stan stretches his arms and legs out like a sumo wrestler with his palms level and face up just as Chaplin did in "The Cure" (17) but as a rule Laurel's aping of his one-time roommate is mostly in body control and not in actual gags. Stan's character in "The Noon Whistle" (23) is a brainless goof who for some reason wears a sailors cap and appears to exist just to make James Finlayson's life miserable in the lumber yard he works at. In between the chases and repetitive conks on the head with boards of two by fours Stan takes a moment out to measure some plywood - Look! He's actually doing his job! As he measures out a section of the board he marks it with a pencil and as he does so his rear end shakes and poses in a cocked angle. He then moves down to the next section and repeats the same ritual. It's a small moment but with all of these little quirks and tics it seems Laurel was trying to create a character of attitude. That character already existed. Chaplin's Tramp was renown for being playful and impish and making a game out of ordinary mundane work. Laurel had no such character as yet so all of these mannerisms merely look like mimicking. Or am I being too hard on Laurel? Maybe these 'mannerisms' were part of the training everyone received at Karno and Laurel had just as much right to them as Chaplin or Billie Ritchie or Syd Chaplin? Either way Laurel would abandon these sorts of traits once he settled on the 'Stanlie' character since they wouldn't fit in as well with the slow-witted fella.
Another interesting phase was the three films he made with star comedian Larry Semon early in his career. It has been noted that in each subsequent film Laurel was given more and more to do on screen and because of that his first appearance in a Semon film is generally dismissed as typical Semon with no opportunities for Laurel. It is this very reason that I find "Huns and Hyphens" (18) so interesting. All of the action takes place at a seedy cafe where waiter Larry battles German spies trying to steal war plans from his sweetie's father. Stan is cast as one of a myriad of henchmen after Larry. Stan wears a tall bulky-looking derby and chomps on an ever present cigar. He is very stoic - almost Keaton-like. He is given a couple of comic scenes with Larry before all hell breaks loose, one involving eggs that Stan hides in his pants as Larry watches (shades of "Hollywood Party" (34)) and the other with a seltzer bottle that Larry absently keeps leaning on soaking Stan. But for me the pivotal scene is when the villain, Frank Alexander, is grilling the captive heroine and her father surrounded by his entire gang. Stan stands over the left of Alexander's shoulder and while everyone else grimaces and threatens and mugs Stan stands stoically doing.......nothing. He is practically expressionless except for when Frank pulls out a new cigar as he continues his threats. Stan’s eyes go directly to the cigar and never leaves it. I kept waiting for him to pull some slight of hand and purloin the new stogie but all he does is stare. Was this his attempt at creating something different in basically a nondescript role? Because once the action picks up Stan draws his gun on Larry just like everyone else but as the cast frantically runs from room to room and begin toppling over walls and such Stan is always a half-beat off from the crowd. What ever his mindset was I found his acting choice charmingly surreal.
By the time he made “Fraud and Frenzies” (18) with Semon he had definitely earned his stripes as Laurel is elevated to Larry’s co-star in it. The film is funny and enjoyable as the pair play a couple of rock pile convicts who eventually escape only to go home with the warden’s daughter. The by play between the two is a series of clever little choreographed dances that makes one wonder if Stan was allowed to contribute gags and ideas. Since Semon had a reputation of being generous with screen time it seems quite plausible. But the film is also a fascinating hybrid of different gag styles. There are gags involving large hollow logs that roll down the hill that are certainly part of Semon’s joke book. The two perform a hat switching routine similar to what Chaplin and Arbuckle executed together in “The Rounders” (14) and then there is the visual showing all of the convicts being lined up, one hand on the shoulder of the prisoner ahead of them, and everyone marching in lockstep. Now I have no evidence that this was Laurel’s idea but it is a funny image and would appear repeatedly in all of L&H’s prison comedies, most notably in “The Second Hundred Years” (27) where the Boys would march away from the guards still in their lockstep formation just as Larry & Stan do here. To drive the point home even more after the boys escape a title card transitions us with a jaw opening statement, “Two Souls With But A Single Thought.” Now I know Laurel didn’t contribute by writing the title cards but it must had caught his fancy later on. Finally there is the moment when they don civilian clothes and Larry is directing Stan in what direction to head by placing his hand on Stan’s shoulder. Stan instantly stretches out his arm and begins marching in lockstep. Absentmindedness seems to of struck early in Mr. Laurel’s brains.
Gary J.
There has been so much "Atoll K' talk on all of these threads I thought it would be nice to drop in on The Boys during their salad days since that particular film makes me sad beyond belief and quite depressed to the point that I am only able to revisit it every 20 years or so.
One of the joys of constantly re-watching the films of the great comedians are the historical and biographical clues that appear in their works that helped shape their comic visions. The movies of Keaton, Fields, and the Marx Bros are rife with glimpses into their vaudeville days as they re-enact bits on film. Chaplin loved to fill his films with references to his idealized but emotionally stunting Victorian childhood.
And then there are Laurel & Hardy. On the surface it would seem that their gag-ridden, slapstick strewn, wife-hating comedies wouldn’t tell us an awful lot about the team (well…..except maybe the wife-hating part). All that they offer are gags.....very funny gags. And those gags are in full flower in the 80 some silent shorts made by Laurel as both a solo performer and a writer/director before teaming with Babe. Since Laurel was the unofficial official driving force behind the team’s success it is in those gags that we can chart the pre-history of Laurel & Hardy and along the way observe a comic genius in search of a comic personae.
Laurel's earliest film appearances show a definite comic influence by his English Music Hall training with the Fred Karno Troupe and by their most famous alumni - Charles Chaplin. Even though Laurel's earliest success on the American vaudeville stage was as an outright Chaplin imitator he is too cagey to make his film debut as such. Alright, we don't exactly know how he looked in his film debut since that film is now lost but in all of his existing films he is always dressed in the style of the day, albeit in a shabby comic style. His hats would vary from film to film, sometimes a straw hat, sometimes a derby. He was always clean shaven. But even though he didn't copy Chaplin's look there were still certain mannerism that looked awfully familiar. Such as the crocodile smile Laurel employed where the upper lip was raised and he gave off a look as if he had just smelled a bad piece of Roquefort, or his early inclination to break into dances or silly body movements whenever he is confronted by a higher authority. "Just Rambling Along" (18) features a funny scene as Stan enters a cafeteria with only a dime on him but nonetheless grabs a tray and goes through the buffet trying to decide what he should purchase. With the assist from a very overly helpful line cook Stan begins sampling what is being offered to him and after scarfing down half of every portion he fastidiously checks his palate, pauses and then shakes his head, "No thank you. That didn't agree with me.", and then moves down to the next entree. By the time he gets to the end of the line he so full all he has room for is a cup of coffee. The whole routine is played very Chaplin-like with all of the humour emitting from Stan's facial expressions.
There are more overt examples such as "Hustling For Health" (19) when Stan must replace a missing mule and pull a cart full of luggage and a couple of riders which is a direct steal from Chaplin's "Work" (15) including the signature shot of pulling the cart up a ninety degrees incline, or when Stan and Larry Semon challenge each other in "Frauds and Frenzies" (18) and Stan stretches his arms and legs out like a sumo wrestler with his palms level and face up just as Chaplin did in "The Cure" (17) but as a rule Laurel's aping of his one-time roommate is mostly in body control and not in actual gags. Stan's character in "The Noon Whistle" (23) is a brainless goof who for some reason wears a sailors cap and appears to exist just to make James Finlayson's life miserable in the lumber yard he works at. In between the chases and repetitive conks on the head with boards of two by fours Stan takes a moment out to measure some plywood - Look! He's actually doing his job! As he measures out a section of the board he marks it with a pencil and as he does so his rear end shakes and poses in a cocked angle. He then moves down to the next section and repeats the same ritual. It's a small moment but with all of these little quirks and tics it seems Laurel was trying to create a character of attitude. That character already existed. Chaplin's Tramp was renown for being playful and impish and making a game out of ordinary mundane work. Laurel had no such character as yet so all of these mannerisms merely look like mimicking. Or am I being too hard on Laurel? Maybe these 'mannerisms' were part of the training everyone received at Karno and Laurel had just as much right to them as Chaplin or Billie Ritchie or Syd Chaplin? Either way Laurel would abandon these sorts of traits once he settled on the 'Stanlie' character since they wouldn't fit in as well with the slow-witted fella.
Another interesting phase was the three films he made with star comedian Larry Semon early in his career. It has been noted that in each subsequent film Laurel was given more and more to do on screen and because of that his first appearance in a Semon film is generally dismissed as typical Semon with no opportunities for Laurel. It is this very reason that I find "Huns and Hyphens" (18) so interesting. All of the action takes place at a seedy cafe where waiter Larry battles German spies trying to steal war plans from his sweetie's father. Stan is cast as one of a myriad of henchmen after Larry. Stan wears a tall bulky-looking derby and chomps on an ever present cigar. He is very stoic - almost Keaton-like. He is given a couple of comic scenes with Larry before all hell breaks loose, one involving eggs that Stan hides in his pants as Larry watches (shades of "Hollywood Party" (34)) and the other with a seltzer bottle that Larry absently keeps leaning on soaking Stan. But for me the pivotal scene is when the villain, Frank Alexander, is grilling the captive heroine and her father surrounded by his entire gang. Stan stands over the left of Alexander's shoulder and while everyone else grimaces and threatens and mugs Stan stands stoically doing.......nothing. He is practically expressionless except for when Frank pulls out a new cigar as he continues his threats. Stan’s eyes go directly to the cigar and never leaves it. I kept waiting for him to pull some slight of hand and purloin the new stogie but all he does is stare. Was this his attempt at creating something different in basically a nondescript role? Because once the action picks up Stan draws his gun on Larry just like everyone else but as the cast frantically runs from room to room and begin toppling over walls and such Stan is always a half-beat off from the crowd. What ever his mindset was I found his acting choice charmingly surreal.
By the time he made “Fraud and Frenzies” (18) with Semon he had definitely earned his stripes as Laurel is elevated to Larry’s co-star in it. The film is funny and enjoyable as the pair play a couple of rock pile convicts who eventually escape only to go home with the warden’s daughter. The by play between the two is a series of clever little choreographed dances that makes one wonder if Stan was allowed to contribute gags and ideas. Since Semon had a reputation of being generous with screen time it seems quite plausible. But the film is also a fascinating hybrid of different gag styles. There are gags involving large hollow logs that roll down the hill that are certainly part of Semon’s joke book. The two perform a hat switching routine similar to what Chaplin and Arbuckle executed together in “The Rounders” (14) and then there is the visual showing all of the convicts being lined up, one hand on the shoulder of the prisoner ahead of them, and everyone marching in lockstep. Now I have no evidence that this was Laurel’s idea but it is a funny image and would appear repeatedly in all of L&H’s prison comedies, most notably in “The Second Hundred Years” (27) where the Boys would march away from the guards still in their lockstep formation just as Larry & Stan do here. To drive the point home even more after the boys escape a title card transitions us with a jaw opening statement, “Two Souls With But A Single Thought.” Now I know Laurel didn’t contribute by writing the title cards but it must had caught his fancy later on. Finally there is the moment when they don civilian clothes and Larry is directing Stan in what direction to head by placing his hand on Stan’s shoulder. Stan instantly stretches out his arm and begins marching in lockstep. Absentmindedness seems to of struck early in Mr. Laurel’s brains.
Gary J.