Busy Bodies (1933) 7.7
Stan and Ollie do battle with inanimate objects, their co-workers, and the laws of physics during a routine work day at the sawmill. Director:Lloyd French |
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Busy Bodies (1933) 7.7
Stan and Ollie do battle with inanimate objects, their co-workers, and the laws of physics during a routine work day at the sawmill. Director:Lloyd French |
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It's a typical day at the woodshop for Stanley and Oliver, getting jammed in windows, puncturing water pipes, getting stuck to glue brushes, having tiffs with their co-workers, and finally getting their car cut in half in a giant band-saw. Written by Paul Penna <tterrace@wco.com>
While not as infamous as The Music Box, I feel certain that this must be one of Laurel and Hardy's best-remembered shorts. Lasting just under 20 minutes, it's arguably their most physical work, with an almost non-stop array of sight gags.
A benefit of a Laurel and Hardy season on television is it gives you insight into characteristics that you'd forgotten. For instance, I never remembered Stan as being a grass, but he's always stitching people up (Pardon Us, Pack Up Your Troubles, et al) and here he gets a man thrown out for smoking. Stan's fight with the same man is the most hilarious moment of the eleven films screened during a Christmas season, but then this one is packed with many laugh-out-loud moments. That a film that is over seventy five years old can still produce such amusement is astonishing, but the duo are extremely good at what they do, and here at the top of their game. I won't give away the rest, but suffice it to say that Ollie's struggle with a sink and their car's clash with a sawmill is two of the funniest things I've seen in ages.