Liberty (1929)

Two escaped convicts (Laurel & Hardy) change clothes in the getaway car, but wind up wearing each other's pants. The rest of the film involves their trying to exchange pants, in alleys, in ... See full summary »

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers:

Leo McCarey, H.M. Walker (titles)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Tom Kennedy

Cast

Cast overview:
Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
Tom Kennedy	...	Construction worker (scenes deleted)
Sam Lufkin	...	Getaway Driver
James Finlayson	...	Store keeper
Jack Hill	...	Officer
Harry Bernard	...	Worker at Sea Food dealer
Jean Harlow	...	Woman in cab (as Harlean Carpenter)
Ed Brandenburg	...	Cab driver

Storyline

Two escaped convicts (Laurel & Hardy) change clothes in the getaway car, but wind up wearing each other's pants. The rest of the film involves their trying to exchange pants, in alleys, in cabs and finally high above the street on the girders of a construction site.

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Plot Keywords:

construction site | escaped convict | los angeles california | shoe | ladder | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Short | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 January 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Criminals at Large

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

20 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an attempt to assure Stan Laurel that the safety platforms erected around the girder set were safe, Oliver Hardy leapt down from the wooden girders onto one. Unfortunately, they weren't safe. Hardy crashed right through the safety platform, fortunately falling only 20 feet into a safety net erected as a backup.

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Connections

Edited into Laurel and Hardy's Laughing 20's (1965)

User Reviews

Liberty is one of Laurel & Hardy's best comedies

Back in the '90s, I managed to buy a VHS tape of this Laurel & Hardy thrill comedy directed by the soon-to-be-legendary Leo McCarey. I laughed plenty at it then as I just did now when seeing it again on Hulu as linked from IMDb. In this one, Stan & Ollie are escaped convicts who find themselves in the wrong pants but they keep getting interrupted whenever they try to change. Not only that, but a crab managed to get into one of the clothes and they somehow end up high a construction gilder...Yes, the boys actually are up there suffering for their art and our enjoyment not unlike former fellow Hal Roach employee Harold Lloyd in Safety Last! Very funny from beginning to end especially whenever Stan or Ollie feel the pinch from that crustacean or they keep having near slip-ups. So on that note, Liberty is well worth seeing. P.S. A woman who's startled when Stan & Ollie emerge, half-dressed, from a taxi is played by Jean Harlow before her stardom. P.S. On YouTube, this is put in the middle of their last short, We Faw Down, as most of their scenes here were originally part of that one but were cut for time constraints. Update-9/24/11: This was the last of the three L & H shorts, with the others being Big Business and The Battle of the Century respectively, that I rewatched at an outdoor screening at the Baton Rouge Gallery with nice contemporary musical stylings by The Incense Merchants providing live accompaniment. At least one female audience member laughed as loud as I did. She must be an appreciative L & H fan like yours truly.