I believe that every movie fan likes at least one film that is not at all popular. Sometimes these movies are called guilty pleasures and other times the person with the opinion thinks the film is a masterpiece and no one else understands that. I definitely have my share of unpopular movie opinions. One of these is that I love the Laurel and Hardy Fox films. That’s right I didn’t just say like but love. Before any Laurel and Hardy pursuits simply disregard my opinion, let me explain why I feel this way.
I am too young to have been of the generation that grew up watching Laurel and Hardy movies on TV. Instead I was introduced to them through DVD. When I became a Laurel and Hardy fan my DVD selection was quite simple and not yet knowing the history of the team it did not include the more popular films. Instead it consisted of a public domain DVD set that included Utopia (1951) and Flying Deuces (1939) as well as some of the solo silent shorts they made before teaming up and a set that included three of the Fox movies (Great Guns (1941), Jitterbugs (1943), The Big Noise (1944)). I had watched all these films more times than I care to count before I ever saw one of the Hal Roach films. Therefore it didn't seem to me that these movies betrayed the Stan and Ollie characters or that went against what made Laurel and Hardy great, instead these movies were Laurel and Hardy to me and I quickly fell in love. At the time I was completely ignorant of the bad reputations these movies had. All I knew was that I found them extremely funny and I thought Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were incredible comic actors. Despite now knowing that the two actors did not care for working at Fox, I still can never tell it from their performances, as they put their full hearts into acting in these movies. They were great performers and were not going to phone in a performance because they disliked the film they were in. I am sure this passion and professionalism is what made these movies appeal to me so much when I first saw them. I also believe even with these film's faults, there are some legitimately funny gags in these movies and I remember laughing out loud when I first saw the bridge building scene in Great Guns or the bomb testing scene in The Big Noise. Speaking of The Big Noise, it is a film that has a greater appeal to someone who hasn't seen the Hal Roach films as it repeats many of the great gag sequences from those movies. While to someone who knows Laurel and Hardy's earlier work, this can make it feel like it is simply repeating material that was done perfectly in previous movies. However when I first saw it I hadn't seen these earlier films, so the gags were fresh, new and extremely funny to me. I still can’t understand why this is considered the duo’s worst film, it is delightful.
When I first began watching the Hal Roach films, they did not diminish my opinion of the Fox movies. I still held them in the high regard I did before and they still made me laugh each time I watched them (as they do today). One day at the library I picked up John McCabe's book, Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy. I loved the book as every Laurel and Hardy fan does, but I was in for a shock when I got to the part that talked about the Fox films. How can the author and more importantly the actors themselves not like these films? Perhaps they weren't as great as The Music Box (1932) and Way Out West (1937), but they were movies that I held dear and enjoyed each time I watched them. The more books I read about Laurel and Hardy, the more I discovered how many people shared this opinion, one that still seemed surprising to me. As I read many of the arguments against these movies, I began to understand more and more why people felt this way. Yet despite this I simply can't dislike these films. I can argue about why the aren't as good as the Roach films, just as much as any of the authors, whose books introduced me to the bad reputations of the Fox pictures. Yet beneath that I still not only enjoy the Fox films in spite of their faults but I can love them with all my heart. I don't except many of you to agree with me, but hopefully this blogpost helps you understand where I come from when I talk about these films with a great fondness.
By the way since this might come to your mind after reading this post, I enjoy Utopia but not to the same extant as their Fox films.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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