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IMDbPro

Big Business

  • 19291929
  • 19m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
3.2K
YOUR RATING
Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, and Stan Laurel in Big Business (1929)
ShortComedyFamily
Ollie and Stanley are two Christmas Tree sales reps who get into one of their usual mutual-destruction fights with a disgruntled homeowner.Ollie and Stanley are two Christmas Tree sales reps who get into one of their usual mutual-destruction fights with a disgruntled homeowner.Ollie and Stanley are two Christmas Tree sales reps who get into one of their usual mutual-destruction fights with a disgruntled homeowner.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
3.2K
YOUR RATING
    • James W. Horne
    • Leo McCarey(supervising)
    • H.M. Walker(titles)
    • Leo McCarey(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Stan Laurel
    • Oliver Hardy
    • James Finlayson(uncredited)
    • James W. Horne
    • Leo McCarey(supervising)
    • H.M. Walker(titles)
    • Leo McCarey(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Stan Laurel
    • Oliver Hardy
    • James Finlayson(uncredited)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 47User reviews
    • 13Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos27

    Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Stan Laurel, and Tiny Sandford in Big Business (1929)
    Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Big Business (1929)
    Tiny Sandford in Big Business (1929)
    Stan Laurel in Big Business (1929)
    Oliver Hardy in Big Business (1929)
    Lyle Tayo in Big Business (1929)
    James Finlayson in Big Business (1929)
    Big Business (1929)
    Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Big Business (1929)
    Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, and Stan Laurel in Big Business (1929)
    Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Big Business (1929)
    Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Big Business (1929)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Stan Laurel
    Stan Laurel
    • Stan
    Oliver Hardy
    Oliver Hardy
    • Ollie
    James Finlayson
    James Finlayson
    • Homeowner
    • (uncredited)
    Charlie Hall
    Charlie Hall
    • Neighbor
    • (uncredited)
    Retta Palmer
    • Neighbor
    • (uncredited)
    Tiny Sandford
    Tiny Sandford
    • Policeman
    • (uncredited)
    Lyle Tayo
    Lyle Tayo
    • First Customer
    • (uncredited)
      • James W. Horne
      • Leo McCarey(supervising)
      • H.M. Walker(titles)
      • Leo McCarey(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Stan Laurel contradicted Hal Roach's story about the crew demolishing the wrong house during filming. According to Stan, "... the chap who owned the house was employed at the studio and worked on the film with us."
    • Quotes

      Ollie: Wouldn't you like to buy a Christmas tree?

      First Customer: No thank you.

      Ollie: Wouldn't your husband like to buy one?

      First Customer: I have no husband.

      Stan: If you had a husband would he buy one?

      [Woman slams the door in Stan & Ollie's face]

      Ollie: From now on I'll do the talking!

    • Crazy credits
      Director James W. Horne is listed in the credits as "J. Wesley Horne".
    • Connections
      Edited into When Comedy Was King (1960)

    User reviews47

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Silence is golden.
    Thus far, my only experience with Laurel and Hardy has been their talkies; I wondered how I would fare with their silent comedy, that era of cinema being virtually unknown to me. I needn't have worried: such is the comedic excellence of the bowler-hatted duo that they're more than capable of reducing the viewer to fits of giggles without the need for dialogue.

    Big Business is an example of what is known to L&H fans as 'Reciprocal Destruction', wherein the pair engage in tit-for-tat violence with an irate stranger, in this case, a homeowner (played by regular L&H co-star James Finlayson) who isn't pleased with the guys' Christmas tree salesmanship. It starts off slowly, with minor damage inflicted on the homeowner's property after he takes a pair of cutters to one of Stan and Ollie's trees. The level of damage gradually escalates, the homeowner dismantling L&H's Model T Ford, while the comedic pals trash the man's house - all under the watchful and bemused gaze of a local policeman.

    Magnificently absurd and brilliantly performed by the three leads, Big Business gets big laughs as matters spiral out of control: Stan and Ollie's facial expressions are priceless and the physicality of their comedy is superb. 7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
    helpful•2
    0
    • BA_Harrison
    • Dec 31, 2020

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 20, 1929 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official Site
      • None
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • 10281 Dunleer Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Hal Roach Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 19 minutes
      • Black and White
      • Silent

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    Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, and Stan Laurel in Big Business (1929)
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