The Finishing Touch (1928)

The boys are contracted to build a house in one day. Upon completion, a bird lands on the chimney and the house collapses, bit by bit. When the owner demands his money back, mayhem ensues.

Directors:

Clyde Bruckman, Leo McCarey

Writer:

H.M. Walker (titles)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Dorothy Coburn

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
Dorothy Coburn	...	Nurse
Edgar Kennedy	...	Cop (as Ed Kennedy)

Storyline

The boys are contracted to build a house in one day. Upon completion, a bird lands on the chimney and the house collapses, bit by bit. When the owner demands his money back, mayhem ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

house | bird | rock | police officer | shoe | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das unfertige Fertighaus

Filming Locations:

Motor Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

19 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final gag, in which the boys' truck slams into the house, was a misfire. The script called for the truck to drive all the way through the house, but the carpenters had not built the house to property man Thomas Benton Roberts' specifications, so the truck was unable to penetrate it completely. Rather than rebuild the house for one gag, the cast and crew chose to keep the end gag as filmed.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, a van is rolling downhill before being caught. As it stops a crew member is visible outside the cab on the driver's side, controlling the van.

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Connections

Referenced in Variety Time (1948)

User Reviews

Early knockabout with Stan & Babe

This is Laurel & Hardy the way most people remember them: as day laborers in denim, hard at work on a construction project which is of course doomed. Here they are "Finishers" who have promised a homeowner they can complete work on a house in one day for $500. The house just happens to be near a hospital, so a cop and tough nurse must forcefully persuade the boys to work quietly. Within this framework the guys are free to wreak havoc on the house, the cop, the nurse, and each other. The Finishing Touch was made early in the L&H partnership, and is enjoyable enough if you're in the mood for basic slapstick knockabout, but this slapstick lacks the deft assurance-- the finesse, if you will --of their later films with similar trappings, such as Busy Bodies. As contradictory as it sounds, the boys became more expert at portraying ineptitude as they "matured." Later on, too, at least in their best work, the gags seemed to occur spontaneously; here, some of the material is pretty forced. Example: Ollie repeatedly swallows a handful of nails due to his insistence on carrying them in his mouth. Now, even in low comedy, you need a more plausible set-up than that. Does any builder carry nails around in his mouth? Having swallowed one mouthful, would he do it again? Ollie is too dumb here, and this is the sort of flaw one usually finds in their much later movies from the '40s, when the team was being mishandled by unsympathetic studio hacks. Laurel & Hardy should be simple and childlike, but not moronic.

Stan comes off best in this film, getting lots of mileage out of his magnificently blank expression. He has two especially nice bits: first, when his awkward attempt to hoist a window frame into position results in the frame gradually falling to pieces; and next, when he frightens himself into believing he's lost one of his fingers. Mr. Laurel could do so much with moments like that.

Also on the plus side, The Finishing Touch offers the sparkling cinematography of George Stevens, as well as several spirited supporting players, in this case Dorothy Coburn as The Tough Nurse, Edgar Kennedy as The Ineffectual Cop, and Sam Lufkin as The Very Unhappy Homeowner. Even when the film isn't first-rate, these performers are a pleasure to watch.