#Ranking laurel and hardy movies movie#

Of 13 features, about half are brilliant and most of the rest fairly dreadful. “But the Marx Brothers are the greatest comedy team in history”, you say, “how can they be fourth on this list?” Even I agree with you! And yet the Marx Brothers are hobbled in the standings by their relative paucity of films, and the high ratio of bad ones to good ones.

All in all, an under-rated and unjustly forgotten comedy team, whose standing deserves to be restored with the public. Both members of the team were old musical comedy hands, they could act better than most of the comedians on this list, meaning that they were easier to integrate into stories. (Although Wheeler did suffer on his own when his partner died). Further helping their high standing is the sad fact that Woolsey was cut down in the prime of life, which meant there would be no real decline for the team. Comedy fans tend to punish Robert Woolsey for seeming like a lesser George Burns or Groucho, but looked at through another prism, it seems to me the later duos ( Abbott and Costello, Hope and Crosby, and Martin and Lewis) all borrow their formulas from Wheeler and Wooley. 22 of them over eight years, all of them pretty damn entertaining. When I prepared my post on Wheeler and Woolsey’s films the other day, it occurred to me that they just may have the best track record in features of any classic comedy team. The idea that this team ranked so high was the precipitating cause of doing this list in the first place. So, yes, there is virtue in quantity (even if they did repeat themselves on many occasions.) That, and their mass appeal, which lasts among millions even unto this day. And this above all: 220 films, 190 of them being those Columbia comedy shorts. On the other hand, they are EXTREMELY original, their characterizations (in every incarnation of the act, and there were many) were funny, unique and memorable. Granted they are the most low-brow of all comedy teams and by no stretch of the imagination are they actors. Some will be appalled by the high standing I give the Stooges others will be appalled that they aren’t number one. I’m comfortable calling them the greatest. I won’t be unique in calling Laurel and Hardy the greatest film comedy team of all time, a factor of the sheer number of their films (both shorts and features), the excellence, variety, and originality of these comedies, and the fact that relatively few of them (essentially just a handful, the ones they made during their last decade) are undeniably bad. By using these criteria I think we’ve arrived at a balanced, fair and objective list that will not only surprise people but inevitably piss many of them off. The criteria for judging are: 1) quality 2) ratio of good films to bad ones and 3) volume (meaning not noisiness, but quantity). We’ve also narrowed it down to teams that starred in their own films (ruling out, for example, Burns and Allen). By “classic” we restrict the time frame to the 1930s-50s.

#Ranking laurel and hardy movies movie#

*Please note that I am an Amazon affiliate and as such any purchases made using the above links will help to support this podcast, whilst not costing you a penny more.Because we like to swim in dangerous waters, we thought we’d ruin your day by dashing off a quick listicle ranking the top ten male classic movie comedy teams of the sound era. To find the best Laurel and Hardy books and DVDs visit The Laurel & Hardy Blog’s Amazon storefront, click here: To purchase Laurel & Hardy Blog merchandise, visit our Redbubble storefront here: To purchase CDs of the Beau Hunks Orchestra’s music contained in these podcasts, click here: įor more information about The Laurel & Hardy Blog, click here: Join in the discussion and become an official Blog-Head by joining the Blog-Heads Facebook Group here: Stay in touch with all the latest Blogcast news, including updates on my forthcoming book, Laurel & Hardy: Silents by subscribing to the newsletter here: To read the blog on Early to Bed click here This episode continues the discussion that Patrick had with Randy Skretvedt in Episode 20 about Stan and Babe’s 1928 silent short ‘Early to Bed’.Īs Randy didn’t much care for this classic yet divisive short, Patrick invites ‘Early to Bed’ fan, Richard Bann to join him on the Blogcast to explain just what he does likes about the film.Īs usual, listeners can expect another episode bursting with information and once again Richard draws on his wealth of first-hand accounts from Hal Roach Studios alumni. Episode 21, sees Patrick offer a Laurel and Hardy handshake to returning guest and Hal Roach Studios expert, Richard W.