Come Clean (1931)

"Come Clean" is an American black-and-white short film from 1931, so this one is already over 85 years old and the names Horne and especially Walker (or Hal Roach as producer) maybe make it obvious to you that this 20-minute movie is another Laurel/Hardy film from back in the day. They brought their wives here or maybe I should say their characters'. And still of course it is all about the comedy and not about the romance as back then, the comedy greats were rather pushed around by their significant others instead of showing each other their feelings. In terms of Stan & Ollie, this is probably neither among their most or least known works, something in-between, and it is also already from their days of starring in sound films, so far from their oldest material. They were the big exception by managing a successful transition from silent to sound, even if admittedly the audio site is so clumsy that you feel that this is really from the early days of sound movies. And certainly not on the level of the greatest sound cartoons from that time. Let me also add that I somewhat enjoyed the awkward beginning as the Hardys don't want to let the Laurels in, but of course, eventually they do as otherwise the film would have been over after 2 and not after 20 minutes. Sadly the solid level from the start deteriorates more and more the longer the film goes. The balcony and bathroom/bathtub scenes are not half as funny as they were intended to regardless of all the splish splash going on. Quite a shame as the 2 protagonists and also their supporting actors are definitely more talented than the material they are given here. At some point, it just turns into loud hullabaloo or klamauk as we say here in Germany and the cinematic value is down to zero. I give the overall product a thumbs-down here. Not recommended unless you really love L&H.

Keep fooling those women. Stan and Ollie are married and living in relative luxury. They see so much of each other that when the Laurels want to come over, the Hardys try to avoid them. It doesn't work and they end up together. Soon the boys go out for ice cream (apparently a regular event because this is not the only time). They end up with the miserable Charlie Hall making this a hard proposition. While out, they save a suicidal woman from drowning. Instead of gratitude, she begins to extort them for money to be quiet about having dealings with her. Modern audiences would recognize her as a hooker. The police are after her and are offering a huge reward. The fun starts as she makes her way to their home and dresses in the wive's clothing. Of course, the job now is to hide this woman from the wives till they can pay her off. Mae Busch is sort of tragic as the woman. Ollie does get the last word in the final scene.

Tiny problem with most Laurel & Hardy movies is that most of them have some weaker scene's and moments in them. "Come Clean" however is a wonderful exception to this and it's a movie that manages to stay consistent throughout its entire running time.All of the sequences are very well constructed and are highly amusing. Also some of the slapstick moments are not original but certainly entertaining. The movie also has some great comical spoken lines, which mainly involves Stan Laurel.Also Mae Busch shows her comical talent and her character gets the boys into some serious hilarious trouble. Mae Busch appeared also in several other comical Laurel & Hardy short's such as "Them Thar Hills", "Oliver the Eighth" and "Unaccustomed As We Are".One of the better Laurel & Hardy comical short's.9/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short.Stan & Ollie save the life of a bizarre woman attempting to drown herself. Instead of gratitude, the ferocious female follows them home, ensconcing herself in Ollie's bedroom & demanding money. Not wanting to COME CLEAN to their wives only makes the problem much worse...A hilarious little film. Highlight: Stan in the bathtub. That's Mae Busch as the female (her name is misspelled in the opening credits) & Charlie Hall as the soda jerk.