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The Finishing Touch (1928)

| Comedy, Short | 25 February 1928 (USA)
The Finishing Touch Poster
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 | See full cast & crew »
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stan Laurel ... Stan
Oliver Hardy ... Ollie
Dorothy Coburn Dorothy Coburn ... Nurse
Edgar Kennedy ... Cop (as Ed Kennedy)
See full cast »
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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. Written by Herman Seifer <alagain@aol.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

1920s | chimney | house | bird | shoe | See All (12) »

Genres:

Comedy | Short

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1928 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Das unfertige Fertighaus See more »

Filming Locations:

Motor Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See full technical specs »
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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. See more »

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. See more »

Connections

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

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User Reviews

 
Effortlessly funny
9 July 2014 | by Leofwine_draca – See all my reviews

THE FINISHING TOUCH, a silent short featuring Laurel & Hardy and shot in 1928, features one of my favourite gags ever put on film: Ollie insists on carrying a handful of nails in his mouth, with predictable results. Yes, it's entirely silly and doesn't even get close to realistic, but nevertheless the execution and acting on the part of Hardy make this one of the funniest things I've seen.

Elsewhere, THE FINISHING TOUCH is a very good effort from the twosome. As in all of their best plots, they play a couple of workmen, here trying to build a 'dream home'; what transpires will surprise nobody. The gags are laboured, occasionally forced, and of the most basic slapstick, and yet they work, and work, and work. The only downside is that this is a silent, so it misses all of the crashing sound effects that would have added immeasurably to the experience.
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