Before I get to the Premieres post this week, I wanted to start it out by saying Turner Classic Movies is celebrating Hal Roach Studios this month on Tuesday and Wednesdays. I missed the Little Rascals marathon last week-- sorry about that. But I did catch my favorites for today and tomorrow: Laurel and Hardy.
A 24-hour marathon featuring the duo begins at 7 pm CST on TCM. This gets my highest recommendation. Pure genius on the screen. Sure, some of the plots are a little simplistic and the technical work is a little crude (they WERE in the very beginnings of the film industry), but after watching the 24 hour TCM marathon two years ago, I can also say the work of these two men is pretty timeless. My kids and I laughed like crazy at most of it.
The shorts were usually funnier than the feature-length films (where the boys were usually relegated to comedy relief), and this marathon is all shorts until nearly the end. So check some out; you won't be sorry. And they're usually only 20-25 minutes long, so it's not that much of a time commitment.
I'll note the ones the I liked the best the last marathon I watched with an * before the time. Those are the ones to see, for sure (and *** are the absolute best) . All times are CST.
Looks like there are ones I didn't see before as well, though (my DVD recorder is going to get a workout filling in the gaps to my collection).
7 pm: Thicker Than Water
*7:30 pm: The Fixer Uppers. The boys try to fix up a house for a housewife. Chaos ensues.
8 pm: Tit For Tat. The boys open an electrical repair shop and run into the couple they got in trouble with from Them Thar Hills (airing a little later).
*8:30 pm: The Live Ghost. Stan & Ollie get money to trick men to join in the crew of a haunted ship.
*9 pm: Them Thar Hills. The two vacation in the mountains to cure Ollie's gout and accidentally drink moonshine-tainted water.
9:30 pm: Going Bye-Bye!
10 pm: Oliver the Eighth
*10:30 pm: Dirty Work. The boys start a chimney sweeping business.
11 pm: Busy Bodies.
11:30 pm: Midnight Patrol.
Midnight Wednesday: Me and My Pal
12:30 am: Twice Two
*1 am: Towed in a Hole. The two buy an old fishing boat. Loads of classic bits in this one.
1:30 am: Their First Mistake
2 am: Scram!
***2:30 am: County Hospital. Stan visits (and torments) his pal Ollie in the hospital. One of the best these two did. Highest recommendation.
*3 am: The Chimp. The two sneak a monkey into their room, and the male landlord thinks they're screwing around with his wife.
***3:30 am: The Music Box. The two try to deliver a piano to a hillside home. The best short these two did, in my opinion. It's pure genius. It even won an Oscar. This is the one to watch if you can only watch one.
4 am: Helpmates
*4:30 am: Beau Hunks: After "Jeanie Weenie" dumps Ollie, he decides to join the French Foreign Legion-- and convinces Stan to do the same.
5:15 am: One Good Turn
5:45 am: Our Wife
6:15 am: Laughing Gravy: The two try to hide a dog from their landlord.
7 am: Chickens Come Home
*7:30 am: Be Big! The boys fake illnesses to their wives and then sneak to their lodge meeting.
*8 am: Another Fine Mess. The boys move into a deserted mansion and pretend to be the owner. And then the owner arrives home...
8:30 am: The Murder Case
***9 am: Hog Wild. Ollie's wife makes him install a radio antenna before he goes off with Stan. Not even the clowns on break.com could come up the crazy stuff those two get into. I'm pretty sure Ollie would be in traction for a year after falling off the roof as many times as he did. Great stuff.
9:30 am: Below Zero
*10 am: Brats. Stan and Ollie try to have a nice night of checkers-playing-- but keep getting interrupted by their wild kids (also played by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy).
10:30 am: Blotto. Stan steals his wife's booze, so he can have a wild time with Ollie.
11 am: Night Owls.
11:30 am: The Hoose-Gow
noon: They Go Boom.
12:30: Perfect Day
1 pm: Men O' War
1:30 pm: Berth Marks
2 pm: Unaccustomed As We Are
2:30 pm: Come Clean
3 pm: Any Old Port
*3:30 pm: Pardon Us. The boys get put in jail for making homemade beer-- and then drive their captors crazy.
*4:30 pm: Pack Up Your Troubles. Two WWI vets promise to help their comrade's orphaned daughter reunite with her family.
5:45 pm: Bohemian Girl
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