"Chickens Come Home" (USA, 1931, 30 Min., DVD - B&W)
A Review by Jonathan Fain
[7/10]
This 30 minutes shorty is remake of their silent film from 1927 "Love 'Em and Weep". It is awkward, yet, has its moments. The editing was terrible, many cuts were out of their place, and made the movie look like a mix of unrelated shots. One scene for example, Laurel is on the phone and his response to the dialog comes 20 seconds late. The acting is so theatrical. Some respond shots are extremely overacted and don't match the scene. At the end when Laurel and Hardy try to get out of the house, the amazed faces of the servant and Laurel's wife are just embarrassing. Maybe the comedy doesn't hold the times. Maybe the audience has developed a different sense of humor. However, the social issues in this film are ahead of its time, and the women in this film are powerful (Though they still faint at a point of a gun).
Highlights:
* Hardy's wife picking up an Axe to find him. Great.
* The ending scene where Laurel carries the blackmailer to hide from his wife is silly and amusing.
"Chickens Come Home" (USA, 1931, 30 Min., DVD - B&W) | Genre: Short, Comedy, Slapstick, Farce | Director: James W. Horne | Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy | Rating: 7/10
A Review by Jonathan Fain
[7/10]
This 30 minutes shorty is remake of their silent film from 1927 "Love 'Em and Weep". It is awkward, yet, has its moments. The editing was terrible, many cuts were out of their place, and made the movie look like a mix of unrelated shots. One scene for example, Laurel is on the phone and his response to the dialog comes 20 seconds late. The acting is so theatrical. Some respond shots are extremely overacted and don't match the scene. At the end when Laurel and Hardy try to get out of the house, the amazed faces of the servant and Laurel's wife are just embarrassing. Maybe the comedy doesn't hold the times. Maybe the audience has developed a different sense of humor. However, the social issues in this film are ahead of its time, and the women in this film are powerful (Though they still faint at a point of a gun).
Highlights:
* Hardy's wife picking up an Axe to find him. Great.
* The ending scene where Laurel carries the blackmailer to hide from his wife is silly and amusing.
"Chickens Come Home" (USA, 1931, 30 Min., DVD - B&W) | Genre: Short, Comedy, Slapstick, Farce | Director: James W. Horne | Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy | Rating: 7/10