User Reviews

Laurel and Hardy are witnesses against a murderer who promises at the trial that he will escape and tie their legs around their necks. He escapes. By the most improbable series of coincidences he winds up locked in a trunk belonging to a lady that the boys are trying to help. Laurel drills holes in the trunk for air. The bit penetrates the trunk and punctures Hardy on the other side, when it's not puncturing the trunk's inhabitant. They try melting the lock and set the murderer on fire, then put the fire out with a hose that almost drowns him.

It's one gag after another, with little in the way of complexity, and it's often very amusing. You can guess what shape Laurel and Hardy are left in, after the killer finishes with them.

Testifying against criminal Walter Long, Laurel and Hardy desperately try to leave town after a sinister threat causes them concern. They advertise for a travel mate, and what do you know, it turns out to be Long's mill (Mae Busch), a floozie with a heart of acid. Long manages a daring escape, but hiding in a trunk, gets the Laurel and Hardy treatment, ultimately making prison a more pleasant option. But that doesn't stop hilarity from seeking its revenge, leaving the audience with one of the more iconic plot twists and a twisted sight gag that is one of the more famous shots of them, regularly used in comic montages and salutes to the lovable team. Busch is rather underused, more of an intruder in the plot than an actual participant. Pretty good for one of their later shorts, and a fun diversion.

I've seen most L&H comedy shorts, and I laughed out loud the most at this one. Right way, Stan makes some classic gaffs in the courtroom, which the audience laughs at. There's plenty of slapstick and sight gags. Walter Long is great as the creepy gangster Butch, whom the boys are mainly responsible for putting behind bars. The trouble is, Butch makes good his claim that no prison in the US can hold him very long. Seems the prison is right in the town where the trial took place, because Butch breaks out right away(which we don't see). Besides staying clear of the police, his main initial goal is to "Break off your legs and wrap them around your necks" in regard to Stan and Ollie......... The boys are trying to get out of town as quickly as possible, in case Butch does escape. But, they only have a little gas money. So, Stan suggests they advertise for a traveling companion, to share expense and driving. Unexpectedly, a woman is first to answer. Played by Mae Busch, with a blond wig, she talks like a gangster's moll. In fact, she is Butch's girlfriend, he calling her Mary! As the cops expected, Butch makes a bee line to Mary's place, and arrives shortly before the boys ring the door bell, which they have some trouble with. Butch and Mary assume it's the police who are ringing the doorbell. Thus, she hustles him into the back room, where there is a large empty trunk he's able to just fit in. Scared stiff, she opens the door and greets the boys. She takes them to the back room, and tries to open the trunk to give Butch some air. But, it's locked itself, and she doesn't know where the key is. Stan has the idea to drill some holes, to at least give him a little air. He finds an auger with a very long drill, and drills a hole, before sticking Butch in the side. He tries again, and miraculously misses Butch, but it goes out the other side, and sticks Ollie, who is on his knees. Now, Butch can see clear enough to recognize the boys. He licks his chops. But, he still has to get out, somehow. Butch suggests using s blow torch to melt the lock. They find such in the room, but turn it up too high. Somehow, the flame goes inside the trunk, and burns Butch and his clothes. He screams, as smoke continues to exit from the holes. The boys find a firehose in the hall, and squirt it in a hole. After a short while, we can see water pouring out of the holes, and hear Butch screaming that he's drowning........... Meanwhile, Mae has gone to get a friend to get Butch out. But, she's intercepted in the lobby, by a cop, who wants her to show him Butch is not in her apartment. While, the boys are putting the firehose back, Butch somehow manages to burst the trunk open, leaving it in splinters. When the boys return, they are horrified to discover it's Butch. .Just before a police squad enters, the boys try to escape, but Butch catches them, and makes good his threat articulated in the courtroom......You can see this at YouTube, either in its colorized form or the traditional B&W. I saw the colorized version, which, unlike some of their colorized films, was in sharp focus.

This is a wonderful little Laurel and Hardy film. Stan and Ollie do their civic duty and testify against criminal Walter Long (who, by the way, played the scariest looking criminal in several Laurel and Hardy films). The thug is convicted and as he's being drug off to prison, he threatens to get even--saying he'll "tie their legs around their heads like a bow-tie!". Well, despite being pretty dumb, the boys wisely decide to leave town. But, because they are short of funds, they advertise for someone to come along and share driving expenses. Because this is a comedy short, it's no surprise that the person that answers their ad is the girlfriend of Walter Long! And just before the boys arrive at the lady's house to pick her up, Long escapes and heads to her house as well. However, Long and the boys don't meet up right away. When Stan and Ollie ring the bell, Long hides in a trunk (not realizing who's at the door) and gets locked inside. Not knowing who is inside, Stan and Ollie try their best (which means, they do a horrible job) of trying to get him out--and in the process make you feel sorry for Long! Eventually, he gets out and this leads to one of the better sight gags to end a Laurel and Hardy film.

The short is well written and acted and has excellent pacing. All-in-all, it's one of their better shorts and well worth seeing.

"Going Bye-Bye!" is a 20-minute black-and-white sound film from 1934, so this one is already over 80 years old, almost 85, and it is among the many collaborations between Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy with director Charley Rogers and the supporting cast here is also gonna show us familiar faces. They may be the greatest comedy, maybe even in general, duo in film history, but this one here is not among their very best and I can see why it is not among their most known, even if the rating here on imdb is a bit too high for sure. This takes Stan and Ollie in the world of crime for once or at least close to it as they don't share too much screen time with the bad guy except at the ery start and very end. It is their usual shenanigans and they elevate the material as always, but it just isn't good enough. Also the moments when the film steps a bit away from the comedy genre are not too bright and it's tough to take it seriously as anything else. Perhaps they should have gone 100% comedy this time. If you really love the duo, you can watch this one, but if not it may be better to go for another Laurel/Hardy work as I doubt this one's gonna turn you into a fan. I give it a thumbs-down.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. In the courtroom, criminal Butch (Walter Long) is found guilty of the crime Ollie and Stan gave evidence for, and he promises he will get them and break off their legs and tie them round their necks, and he could have done it breaking out of his straight jacket. A man advises them they should get out of town, but they don't have enough gas to get to where they want to, so Stan suggests they advertise for a fellow traveller to join them and pay expenses. While packing ready for the trip Ollie is knocked into the bed post by Stan, and after getting out, and some glasses confusion he reads the slightly silly advert Stan placed in the newspaper. Then the phone rings while Stan packs some kitchen utensils, Stan gives Ollie a milk tin instead of the phone, and he also knocked a razor blade in a brush he uses to polish off Ollie's milk covered coat, so tears all over. The phone call was Butch's Girlfriend (Mae Busch) interested in the advert, but when Butch comes through the window, she knows that the police will be looking there first, so he hides in a chest when the boys come ringing. After breaking the door bell, the boys say they are fine with an extra person joining her, and she assures them the man that has threatened them can't be as bad as the guy she is bringing, they don't know it is him yet. Then she finds out Butch is locked in the chest without a key, so while she goes to get a Jerry, the boys use the tools available to get him out. They boar some holes so Butch has some air too, one going on his backside, and another getting Ollie's, and while the Girlfriend has a policeman dragging her home to Butch, he has noticed it is the boys threatened peaking through a hole. To get out quicker he suggests melting the lock off with a blowtorch, only to have his backside on fire and a toss of the box wrecking the room. To put the fire out the boys dash for the outside hose, filling it to the point where Butch is gargling and when the water stops he breaks out himself. The boys run away in panic realising it is Butch, and you hear some crashing before the police take him away, the film ends with the boys having their threat from Butch carried out, their legs tied round their necks. Filled with good slapstick and all classic comedy you want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian, and "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" was number 60 on 100 Years, 100 Quotes. Worth watching!

In this one Stan and Ollie testify against a ruthless gangster named Butch who vows revenge on the duo. So, then Stan and Ollie leave town to avoid him, and fail in the process! This episode is another one of my favorites of the Laurel and Hardy series.

Walter Long was expectional as the villain Butch, and Mae Busch played his girlfriend, and she was a very accomplished actress in her heyday! Those two just blended in very well with Laurel and Hardy. (Spoiler): The best part was the end when Butch got caught and Stan and Ollie had their legs tied around their necks and Ollie says to Stan his famous line, "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" And Stan just did one of his trademarks, the incoherent sob!

This L&H episode is a definate must-see for any fans! Don't miss it! :)