Laughing Gravy (1931)

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This film is Wonderful stuff! If you want to educate your kids or grandkids, as to what Laurel and Hardy were all about, just let them watch this.Everything great about them is here for all to see. Trying to be nice and kind, but everything that can go wrong does go wrong, but all comes round in the end!

This is probably one of the more well-known of Laurel & Hardy's shorts. I remember when I was a kid this one was shown all the time – although without that extra reel, which wasn't re-discovered until 1985. They don't seem to show Laurel & Hardy shorts on TV anymore which is a real shame; there's a whole generation growing up knowing little about the duo.In this one they try to conceal their little dog Laughing Gravy (possibly the only dog in cinema history to have a film named after him rather than the other way around) from their pint-size landlord, the permanently grumpy Charlie Hall. Of course, they're unsuccessful and when the landlord pitches the dog out into the snow, Ollie braves the elements to smuggle it back in. As always, the boys complicate things by attempting to haul Ollie up the side of the building using a couple of sheets tied together – with inevitable results. Although the snow is obviously fake and the location is a set, the film really does succeed in making you feel the cold as the boys slide around on the roof in their nightshirts.There isn't that much dialogue in this film – or at least in the first twenty minutes – nearly all the humour is physical, punctuated by a number of long despairing looks into the camera from Ollie. Stan stares at the camera too on occasion, but you can tell there isn't much going on inside his character's head. He looks at the camera and you can almost hear the cogs creaking as they turn.The laughs are pretty solid and arrive at fairly regular intervals until that final reel when things change entirely. It's not difficult to see why it was cut from the original because it just bears no relation to the rest of the film other than the fact that it is a protracted build up to a decent punch-line involving the dog.

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. It should be mentioned this film was originally only 20 minutes, but extra footage was found giving it an extra eight minutes. Stan and Ollie are sharing a room together, along with their dog "Laughing Dog" (how he got that name, I don't know), and the Landlord (Charlie Hall) has rules about animals in the house. So after Stan's hiccuping, and the bed breaking, Gravy starts barking, and the Landlord puts him outside in the cold snow, and Ollie goes to get him back, falling into a water barrel being a highlight of his attempt. Back in the room, the bed breaks again, and Gravy is put up the chimney, and when the Landlord's gone, Stan and Ollie have to climb onto the roof to get the dog back. Luckily the Landlord is knocked out by falling bricks, while Stan and Ollie have to wash, starting with Gravy, and they can't even do that without something (funny) happening, and when the Landlord comes round, he wants them out. In the rediscovered part of the film, Stan and Ollie are about to leave with Gravy, when Stan receives a letter to say he will inherit his uncles' fortune, as long as he isn't near Ollie. Ollie is curious of this "private" letter, but of course he understands after why Stan refused to let him read it. In the end, Stan decides to tear up the letter and forget the fortune, not for Ollie, but because of Laughing Gravy. Filled with wonderful slapstick and all classic comedy you could want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Good!

Laurel and Hardy have some trouble with a landlord who does not allow their dog. The dog is names Laughing Gravy. When the landlord discovers the dog he throws him out on the street in the cold snow. Laural and Hardy have to rescue the dog and make sure the landlord doesn't find out. You can understand the mayhem they will cause.The typical Laurel and Hardy humor, which is quite amusing, is a little too predictable here. This short gets funnier near the end, but the first half wasn't that good. Well, one little surprise was funny in that first half. Still, I enjoyed it.