The Battle of the Century (1927)

Director:

Clyde Bruckman

Writers:

Hal Roach (writer)
H.M. Walker (titles)

Release Date:

31 December 1927 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Plot:

Fight manager (Hardy) takes out an insurance policy on his puny pugilist (Laurel) and then proceeds...

Plot Keywords:

Two Reeler | Pie Fight

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Stan Laurel	...	Prize fighter
Oliver Hardy	...	Manager
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Adams	...	Undetermined Role
Ed Brandenburg	...	Warring pedestrian
Dorothy Coburn	...	Pie victim boarding auto
George B. French	...	Dentist
Anita Garvin	...	Slips on pie
Dick Gilbert	...	Sewer worker
Charlie Hall	...	Pie delivery man
Jack Hill	...	Ringside spectator
Ham Kinsey	...	Ringside spectator
Sam Lufkin	...	Boxing referee
Gene Morgan	...	Ring announcer
Bob O'Connor	...	Warring pedestrian (as Bob O'Conor)
Eugene Pallette	...	Insurance agent
Bert Roach	...	Ringside spectator
Dick Sutherland	...	Dental patient
Lyle Tayo	...	Woman at window
Ellinor Vanderveer	...	Lady in car (as Ellinor Van der Veer)
Dorothea Wolbert	...	Warring pedestrian
Charley Young	...	Fruit vendor
Noah Young	...	Thunder-Clap Callahan

Runtime:

19 min (original version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

'Lou Costello' makes one of his earliest screen appearances as an extra in the boxing match sequence. He is visible standing close to the ring.

Goofs:

Continuity: 'Lou Costello' leaps from second row to ringside between shots.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld (1994) (TV)

One of the finest two-reel comedies of the silent era, ranking highly with Lloyd, Keaton and Chaplin!

THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY (1927)

Produced by Hal Roach. Directed by Clyde Bruckman.

Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Noah Young, Charlie Hall.

The Battle of the Century is one of Laurel & Hardy's finest silent comedies although the film does not exist in its entirety. However we can enjoy the end of the film, which contains the greatest ever pie sequence of the entire silent era. Like many of the other Laurel & Hardy silents, The Battle of the Century is just based on one simple idea and that is that Stan plays a prizefighter and Ollie is the boss. Ollie assures Stan, "Nothin' to it....If we win, we get $l00. If we lose, we get $5. That's a difference of $1,500." The ring announcer introduces Stan as "Canvasback Clump" and when we see the shot of Stan sitting in the corner of the boxing ring, he looks like he'll be boxing for the very first time. The opponent is "Thunder-Clap Callahan" (Noah Young) who looks so mean and angry that we already know that he is going to win the fight. After Stan comically dances around he finally briefly knocks out Callahan but then Stan gets knocked out and Ollie faints. The next scene in the film is presumed lost. The scene features character actor Eugene Pallette talking to Ollie about getting Stan to fight for even more. Then the pie fight scene unfolds. Stan and Ollie walk and stop by a cake shop in which Charlie Hall is coming out with fresh baked pie to load into his fan. Meanwhile there is Ollie's banana peel on the ground and naturally in any silent comedy, someone has to slip and Charlie does. Charlie Hall was one of Laurel & Hardy's best supporting comics. Like Laurel, he too came from England and joined the Hal Roach studios in 1923. In all the 47 films that Hall appeared with Laurel & Hardy, he almost always has to get mad and take it out by throwing something at the boys. In this case of course it is a pie. They constantly throw pies at each other one by one until finally the mayor comes and also gets a pie in his stupid face. Next one of the boys misses each other and the pie goes across the street and lands in a ladies face. Some of the best comics from the Hal Roach studios appear in The Battle of the Century. There is Noah Young and Charlie Hall of course and in addition there is Dorothy Coburn who is famous for always getting mad with Laurel & Hardy in the silent comedies and Dick Sutherland plays a man whose teeth are being examined by a dentist when all of a sudden a pie comes and whops him in the face. That particular shot is the funniest sequence in the film. Next there is Ellinor Van Der Veer who also gets one in the face. Then a man comes into the cake shop and orders the man behind the counter to "Gimme a pie" and a pie comes straight in his face. He graps two pies and is on his way to get his revenge. The pie-throwing scenario in silent comedies was superb but sadly when The Battle of The Century was released, talkies were on its way to take over and nearly all of the silent comics career would fade. However, because of Hal Roach's brilliant guidance and production values, Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel would be the only silent comedians to be successful in the silent era and all together that would make over 100 films with each other which is just awesome. Another reason why Laurel & Hardy would be so successful in the sound era aswell is because of Stan Laurel who set out the gags in each short or feature and basically directed and produced while Hal Roach put up the funds and worked on the stories of the films. Not until 1936 would Stan Laurel be credited as producer of two of his features. If anyone ought to get into the silent era or just the roots of comedy in general, they definitely have to see the silent comedies of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Also not many people know that the two brilliant comics made films on their own prior to their teaming. Oliver Hardy alone appeared in over 450 films between 1914 and 1925. Some of his last solo films were in fact directed by Stan Laurel who after trying to be a successful comic for several years, just basically quit his acting career at the Roach studio to just write and direct pictures. Most of these one-reel comedies that he directed there are now available on DVD. A couple of them feature Oliver Hardy and Jimmy Finlayson. Finlayson is acknowledged as the inventor of the double-take comedy sequence, which is still often used today.

The last scene in this classic short is certainly a gem, Anita Garvin, comes and slips on a pie and lands with her beautiful dress right on the top of the pie. In later years Garvin realized what a significant part she played and still wanted Roach to pay her. She was actually hired for the scene by Stan Laurel. Garvin at the time was shooting a comedy with Charley Chase and Stan came over to ask her to come along for this part. When The Battle of The Century was released on New Year's Eve in 1927, film was a tremendous success as Charlie Hall later wrote "THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY really put Laurel and Hardy on the map. I played the pie man. Stan and Babe were walking past a pie shop. Babe was peeling a banana, and threw the skin in the doorway just as I came out with a trayful of pies. Of course down I went. Babe saw me, and handed the banana to Stan, implicating him as the culprit.'

Having said that, Laurel & Hardy's The Battle of The Century from 1927 is a must see for all fans of silent comedy.