A Laurel & Hardy Holiday

In the pre-internet age, television was king. We kids stared at screens ranging in size from 12 – 21 inches for hours each day. Unlike today, this was not a solitary activity. Family and friends joined us in viewing TV programs. Images were usually in black and white. Color was a new and relatively rare phenomenon. This was OK with us because some of our favorite shows were old black and white films that had been revived and made available for TV. True, they were cut up in order to make room for commercials, but how else would we be able to learn about the wonders of Wild Root Crème Oil, Vicks Vapor Rub, and Italian Swiss Colony Wine?

When Thanksgiving rolled around we knew that it wouldn’t be long before Laurel & Hardy’s “March of the Wooden Soldiers” would be telecast repeatedly during the holiday season. This 1934 movie based on Victor Herbert’s 1903 operetta “Babes in Toyland,” concerned the adventures of Stannie Dum (Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Hardy) as they try to help Mother Peep combat the evil intentions of Silas Barnaby. The villain Barnaby is blackmailing the kindly old woman who has fallen behind on her mortgage payments. As a result, she is about to be thrown out of her shoe (home). Barnaby offers to forget about the financial matter if Mother Peep allows him to marry her charming daughter Little Bo (Peep) who is love with Tom-Tom (the piper’s son). The climax to this drama comes when Stan and Ollie enlist the aid of the community toy master’s wooden soldiers to do battle against Barnaby’s allies, the hideous bogey men.

It wasn’t the childish, nursey-rhyme-like narrative that captured our interest. Nor was it the familiar hero/villain drama that we found compelling. Rather it was the antics of the master comics Laurel and Hardy. These partners in comedy were more than familiar to us. We had been viewing their two-reel shorts and feature films for years on TV and at local film festivals. They were like old friends. Their personalities were well-established: the well-meaning but simple-minded Stan Laurel and the pompous but equally inept Oliver Hardy, partners in hilarious disaster. We could really relate to these two. They were good guys. They didn’t mean any harm, their jokes weren’t at the expense of anyone else. They were butt of their own jokes. Hell, they even used their own names. They drew no line between themselves and the characters they played on the screen. You had to love these guys.

This past year a fine film, “Stan & Ollie,” depicted Laurel & Hardy’s last public appearances together during the 1950’s. The duo, no longer wanted by U.S. film studios because their movies were not turning a profit, undertook a last tour of Britain where they were still quite popular. The previous decade they had made their first tour of the same territory and were overwhelmed by the adoring crowds they encountered. They’d had no idea that they were so beloved overseas. Ovations lasted five minutes before they could address the crowds. In Ireland the bells of a church intoned the familiar Laurel & Hardy theme, “Song of the Cuckoo.” This last tour, however, would not be as successful.

Some stops on the tour still drew respectable crowds, and their old routines were appreciated. But others were sparsely attended. The full schedule and arduous travel were hard on the two old gents, now both in their 60’s and not in the best of health. Stan suffered from repeated viral infections that affected his hearing. Ollie, always heavy, now saw his weight soar to over 350 lbs. and it greatly limited his mobility. He contracted pneumonia, but continued with their performances aided by antibiotics. Eventually, the tour had to be cut short when Hardy suffered a heart attack. He died two years later. Laurel lived another eight years, and spent much of his time writing skits that could no longer be performed by himself and his old friend Oliver Hardy. He received many offers to keep performing with new partners but repeatedly declined.

Old age and decline always present difficult challenges. Fortunately, we don’t need to dwell on their last sad years. We have a wonderful treasure trove of Laurel & Hardy comedies on film, many being restored for future preservation. If you are not familiar with their work, or if you have forgotten how skilled they were, why not view one or more of their films? View them with family and friends. It would be a most worthwhile way to enhance this holiday season.