The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)
The boys think their days of fishing to feed themselves have come to an end, when Stan's rich uncle Ebenezer dies leaving a large estate. But they soon learn that Ebenezer was murdered and all the relatives, including Stan, are suspects.
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I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Simply Perfect
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
As a kid during the Fifties, I tried to catch as many of these Laurel and Hardy films shorts I could; they were shown on TV fairly regularly. One of Stan's quips I picked up on I used for the longest time because it sounded so funny to me, and if you asked me before today what picture it came from I wouldn't have been able to tell you. But in this 'murder' case, he comes out with the 'Septober, Octember, No Wonder' line and it managed to crack me up all over again. So I'll probably be using it again.Like most comedy teams through the decades, this one features a version of a haunted house scenario, as the boys are confined to an old, dark mansion after they become suspects in a murder mystery. One can't help but notice the over the top delivery of the Chief of Detectives (Fred Kelsey) in this one. His portrayal epitomizes what for many actors coming out of the silent era must have been the need to over-enunciate and over dramatize their role for it's intended effect on the viewer. The other character that was a real hoot here was the Laurel Mansion butler (Frank Austin). Man, didn't he just give you the creeps? That scene with the teeth was a horror film delight.The picture utilizes a lot of the standard clichés of the era; besides the creepy butler you've got your black cat, the ghost lamp gimmick and the bat in the bed sheet to keep the would be millionaires on edge. The notion that all of this might have been a dream didn't bother me here as a lot of movies have managed to do, because all those other flicks didn't have Laurel and Hardy in them. It's no wonder I could watch these guys all day.
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. Stan and Ollie are sleeping on the docks, when they read a newspaper article, saying that all heirs of Ebeneezer Laurel need to attend the will reading at Laurel Masion, concerning a $3,000,000 estate. All other Laurel relatives have been told by the Chief of Detectives (Fred Kelsey) that Ebeneezer Laurel did not die naturally, he was murdered, and he is sure that one of the relatives is responsible, so he orders they all stay in the mansion until one of them cracks. Soon enough, Stan and Ollie show up, and are taken to a bedroom by the sneaky Butler (Frank Austin), they are taken to the room where Ebeneezer was murdered, and everything is covered with white sheets, so you can expect a lot of scares as they keep mistaking the room as being haunted. Soon enough, you realise the Butler and Housekeeper (Dell Henderson, in drag) are the ones that killed Ebeneezer, and one by one, all the other Laurel's meet their fate with a trap door activated by lifting a study desk phone. In the end, when it looks like Ollie and Stan are about to meet their fate, it fates out to them squabbling on the dock, and falling over it into the water, so it was all a dream. Also starring Tiny Sandford as Policeman and Stanley Blystone as Detective. Filled with good slapstick and all classic comedy you want from a black and white film, at just over an hour, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Worth watching!
***SPOILERS FOR EMILY***This is one of Laurel & Hardy's weaker short film entries from Hal Roach Studios. It suffers from a repetitive script and an ending that feels so tacked-on that I can't help but wonder if the crew realized they were filming a mess with no good resolution.The byplay between Stan and Oliver is the bright spot, though some of the gags in the bedroom scene are a little too hokey to get much of a laugh - that has to be the fakiest fake bat I've EVER seen in a movie.The opening scene, with the Boys fishing off the pier, contains most of the movie's funniest material. You can always find something good about even the weakest Laurel & Hardy film.
A little longer and more slow-paced than most of their short features, "The Laurel & Hardy Murder Case" combines the duo's usual comedy gags with some old-fashioned gloomy-old-house atmosphere. When Stanley reads in the paper about the death of a rich man named Laurel, he and Ollie head to the house for the reading of the will, hoping that Stanley will inherit something. Instead, they are soon caught up in a murder mystery and a series of spooky/comic events. The attention paid to the ominous house and occupants slows things down, and makes this a lot less frantic than their best comedies, but it is still entertaining, and has a couple of hilarious sequences.