This was a pretty interesting film because although Oliver Hardy often was teamed up with Larry Semon, this is one of the few existing films that features Semon and Stan Laurel (about a decade before being teamed with Oliver Hardy). And as far as this teaming goes, it actually seemed to work a little better than the Semon-Hardy films because instead of Laurel being a villain, he is almost a co-equal with Semon--a friend from the chain gang that is loyal,...to a point. Plus, what I really liked is how both comedians worked so well together on the physical humor. While Semon was always very physical in his films, Laurel is much more so than usual and the change is welcome. Both he and Semon spend much of the film being knocked about and I never knew Laurel had it in him! Additionally, this is far better than most existing Semon films, as most are at best mediocre and quite unpolished. But in this one, the plot seems a little more well thought out and the laughs are there. A good film for both and one that still works well today--almost 90 years later.
Review of Frauds and Frenzies
