The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)

"The Laurel and Hardy Murder Case" suffers from a lack of really good gags and weak dialogue. The film still has quite a good atmosphere, given the storyline. Stan is led to believe that he has inherited part of his late uncle's estate. As it happens, his relative was supposedly murdered but this is never really covered in the script. A bit of a disappointment but the best talkie films were still to come!

"The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case" is a Stan and Ollie 30-minute short film from 80 years ago and this was already later during their career as you see by the presence of sound. But the rest is nothing new. Parrott directs, Walker is the writer and it is in black-and-white. I personally preferred the first half of this short film. I felt the comedy and the story were more interesting to watch in the first 15 minutes, actually a pretty decent little crime tale. In the second half, it switches a bit to horror and has some supernatural influences, even if it all still stays mostly a comedy. Also the ending was kinda uninspiring with the duo only dreaming it all apparently. I wish they could have kept the level from early on. Still, it was a solid watch and I definitely prefer the two during the sound era. All in all, I recommend the watch, even if it could have been 5-10 minutes shorter.

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case is another subversive Laurel and Hardy short because it takes the principles of horror and etches them into the structure and formula of comedy, using two of the biggest comedy stars at the time and giving them a truly unique piece of work to play with. The short opens with Laurel and Hardy sitting dockside, unemployed and waywardly fishing, when Hardy notices in the paper a man by the name of "Ebeneezer Laurel" has died and left a $3 million fortune to his heir. Despite Laurel not being able to recall any of his family members (or birthplace for that matter), the two venture to the late Laurel's mansion to hopefully claim such a lofty fortune that would result in the two never having to work again.At that point, the brazen comedy of the Laurel and Hardy short is just about over, with only sporadic one-liners interjecting themselves in to break the tension of the short. When Laurel and Hardy arrive at the mansion, they discover Laurel was murdered and that the entire family is reuniting to try and pinpoint who committed the crime. In the meantime, the mansion's eerie butler (Frank Austin) forces them to spend the night, where Laurel and Hardy are kept awake by frightening houseguests and startling portraits and statues plastered all over the home.Consider the scene where the mansion's butler informs Laurel and Hardy they'll be spending the night; notice the way he careens over edge of the door, with his elongated hand grabbing the side of the door panel while staring at both Laurel and Hardy. Before disappearing behind the wall, the man looks as if his teeth are escaping outside of his mouth, with the boys looking at the man in an understandably fearful way before he just leaves the frame entirely. It is one of the creepiest, most unsettling scenes in a black and white film that I have ever seen, especially in a comedy.Director James Parrott and writer H.M. Walker create an atmosphere for The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case, taking a lofty idea, filling it with dread and unpredictable circumstances, and splicing the tension with pleasant diversions in the form of comic genius from two men capable of delivering it and then some. The film works wonderfully on both horror and comedic levels, and provides for one of the most unique additions to the shorts of the 1930's that I have yet to see.Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Frank Austin. Directed by: James Parrott.

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)*** 1/2 (out of 4)Laurel and Hardy have been out of work for nearly a decade when they read the paper and see that their luck might have changed. The relative of Laurel's has died and is leaving his estate of three million dollars. The two dimwits find themselves at the will reading and learn that the relative was actually murdered and they're going to have to spend the night.THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE is really a spoof of those "old dark house" movies that were so popular during the silent era and would remain popular throughout the 1930's. This really is a terrific spoof as the two comic legends are in fine form and the screenplay perfectly pokes fun at some clichés like the creepy butler and the fainting woman. The first fifteen minutes mainly has dialogue jokes and some pretty good ones but it's the second half of the film that really comes to life as we get some terrific physical gags including a hilarious one dealing with Laurel sneaking back under the covers. Best dialogue:Hardy: Is your uncle alive? Laurel: Nope, he died of a broken neck. Fell through a trap door. Hardy: Was he building a house? Laurel: No, they were hanging him.