One of my readers asked me to write a post about a more recent Film. As a matter of fact there is a fairly recent film, which dates back to last year, and which I really enjoyed. So I want to dedicate this post to my reader, hoping to do something nice.
e is a story centred on a significant episode in the life of two people that, in my opinion, have certainly made up the most famous comedy couple in the history of cinema: it is certainly the couple that first comes to mind when we want to mention a duo of comic actors. We are talking about Oliver Hardy (played by John C. Reilly) and Stan Laurel (played by Steve Coogan): both were better known all over the world by the names of Stan & Ollie.
Stan Laurel was born on June 16, 1890 in Ulverston, England, and his real name was Arthur Stanley Jefferson. He had four brothers, two of whom died in dramatic circumstances. His parents were itinerant artists, and they worked in a theatre that belonged to them: Stan, this way, grew up in the show business, receiving from an early age all those inspirations that would have, later, built him in his career. Arthur made his stage debut at the age of nine, although his father wanted him to study and become an entrepreneur.
After some years of training, having acquired the right experience, young Arthur felt ready to work in a real company; so he joined the famous traveling crew of Fred Karno, where there was also Charlie Chaplin: thanks to Fred Karno Arthur landed in United States, and settled there.
The first of the five wives Arthur had in his life was the dancer Mae Dahlberg, whom he met during one of his shows: it was Mae who suggested him the name of Stan Laurel, to use as his stage name, instead of Stanley Jefferson: from that day on he was Stan Laurel, forever. After divorcing Mae, Stan married Lois Nelson, who gave him his two children; Lois and Stanley Robert: the latter, however, died shortly after birth, but in consequence Stan could not stand the pain and went on a bender.
He soon began making short films for the Cinema, often along with comedian Larry Semon.
On November 13, 1922 he played his first remarkable role as main character in the short film "Mud and Sand" (an amusing parody of the film starred by Rodolfo Valentino "Blood and Sand"): this short film was followed by increasingly important roles in 50 films.
Oliver Norvell Hardy was born on January 18, 1892 in United States, in Harlem, Georgia, the youngest of five children. He did not like studying very much; instead he found out he had a true passion for music and theatre. For this reason he attended some lyrical singing courses: as a child he had a beautiful soprano voice, but he knew that, even if he loved singing, and had lots of fans, that would have not been his real goal; for the same reason, when he went to college, he attended Law studies, according to the wishes of his parents, but he was aware that he would have never been a lawyer.
He discovered cinema at the age of 18, when a projection room was opened in his city: in that projection room he worked as an operator, but later also as a manager. Looking at those images on the big screen, watching those artists acting, he started to dream and become like them and also felt that he could make it. He moved, then, to Florida, hoping to find some opportunities as an actor. He started performing in clubs, in the evening, initially without the hope of a profit, while during the day he used to work for living.
The year 1914 marked his film debut: Oliver, with the screen name of Babe Hardy, shot "Outwitting Dad" for the Lubin Studios. This first short film was followed by about fifty other films, all of them successful.
Hardy understood that it was time to leave for Hollywood and work there for many Studios.
Oliver Hardy first met Stan Laurel on the set, working with him in the movie "The Lucky Dog", in 1921, but it took many more years before they could become a real comic pair.
Oliver Hardy joined the Vitagraph Studios: there he met some other important actors, including Larry Semon, who gave him the role of the tin man in the cinematographic reduction of the book "The Wizard of Oz".
In 1926 the director and producer Hal Roach came up: Roach met both Laurel and Hardy on the set of the movie "Get’ em Young ", in 1926, where Oliver was acting and Stan was directing. Looking at them he had the idea of supporting Stan, so thin and lanky, with the fat and opulent Oliver Hardy: their first short film was "Duck Soup", in 1927, although they staged with the fictitious names of Hives and Maltraves.
"Duck soup" was followed by another dozen short films, all of them shot in the same year.
However, officially, the first real short film, according to Stan and Leo McCarey, which was made by the couple Laurel and Hardy was "Putting pants on Philip". In this film, made in 1927 and directed by Hal Roach, Stan plays the role of a funny Scotsman in kilt that gives lots of troubles to Oliver.
In the meantime the Cinema evolved and from silent movies they passed to talking movies: also Laurel and Hardy underwent that metamorphosis, but their voices proved to be up to that new challenge, and both were well accepted by the public.
After some other twenty short films, there was the first unofficial feature film, "The Hollywood Revue", where the couple appeared together with some other great screen performers of the time. Their first real feature, however, arrived shortly afterward, and it was "The Rogue Song". From that moment on, there was a long series of short films, with some feature films at intervals.
Among the short films worthy of note there was "The Music Box", a film that won many prizes and awards.
Among the feature films we must recall "Pardon Us", "Pack Up Your Troubles", "The Devil’s Brother", "Sons of the Desert", "Babes in Toyland", "Bonnie Scotland", "The Bohemian Girl", "Way Out West "," Swiss Miss"," The Flying Deuces "," A Chump at Oxford", "Saps at Sea".
Stan, over the years, also tried screenwriting and directing, though he never stopped performing on live stage along with Oliver: their shows were popular all over the Country, and they enjoyed great success.
In 1940 the duo left the Hal Roach Studios, due to misunderstandings, and began working for other studios to which Stan proposed himself as an independent producer.
However, in those years, the golden age of comedy films was fading, and some new actors appeared on the big screen: for Laurel and Hardy it became increasingly difficult to present themselves to the public.
In 1950 Stan contracted prostate cancer, but managed to heal, thanks to some appropriate treatment
In the same year Laurel and Hardy shot their last film: "Atoll K". "Atoll K" was a Franco-Italian co-production by Leo Joannon that had no success at all. Filming that movie was very tiring, due to the painful health problems of both.
Six years later Oliver had a stroke that left him paralyzed, and this event shocked deeply his partner and longtime friend, Stan. Hardy died of a heart attack on August 7, 1957, leaving an unbridgeable gap in Stan's life, who could not even attend the funeral by order of his doctor.
In 1965, at the age of 74, Stan had a heart attack and died that same year, on February 23, in Santa Monica, California.
Many of Hollywod's great actors intervened at his funeral to greet him.
The film Stan & Ollie refers to a triumphant farewell tour of the two comedians that took place in the early 1950s: that was a period when their careers and popularity went through difficult times. With the golden days of their films shown on the big screen long gone, both almost completely ignored by the public, Laurel & Hardy decided to embark on a tour that would take them to Britain and Ireland. In the end, the tour would prove to be a real success, thanks to the people around them and thanks to themselves and their will: it was, certainly, precious the presence of their wives, Lucille (played by Shirley Henderson) and Ida (to whom Nina Arianda gives her face and her spirit); nevertheless, it was deeply important, also, the great love and the passion they always had for their work: all the years spent together, dividing everything, the joys and the pains, made the two actors succeed in overcoming a demanding and heavy experience. Thus it was that Stan & Ollie secured, once again, the admiration and the affection of their audience.
This film stands out for the excellent direction of Jon S. Baird and for the talented actors that make up the cast, especially the duo, John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan, and the interpreters of their wives, Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda.
Needless to deny it: we all loved them. We have all seen their films, that have been countless times replayed, both on the big and the small screen. We have all linked our childhood memories to Stan & Ollie. They have been able to give us moments of good humor and moments of tenderness: because the great comic actors have the magic of knowing how to become like children and even speak to adults with simplicity, with frankness.
We loved them for their quips, for their amusing sketches, for their hilarious way of talking: they were the friends of everyone, because they knew how to speak to our heart.
Stan & Ollie loved each other, much more than people could ever guess: if one of them was ill, in pain, the other felt discomfort: he suffered with him and did everything he could to stay close to his friend.
They were much beloved and held in high regard by all the other actors who came after them. Jerry Lewis, for example, admired Stan & Ollie so much (and he never made a mystery of it) that he gave a cameorole, in one of his homemade films, to Stan Laurel, the couple's only survivor when Lewis was at his height.
(All the drawings are property of the author)
Stan & Ollie Official US Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2zdFwgUYBg
Laurel & Hardy dancing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAmb4dVJAmU
