Laurel And Hardy - The Live Ghost / Habeas Corpus / Dirty Work [1934]

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Customer reviews

review by: joeskade date: 2003-04-14 rating:
Ghosts and Mad Professors
This is a fine collection of L&H shorts which, whilst not comtaining any undisputed classics, shows off a number of aspects of their work in a very favourable light. It's funny too.
'TheLive Ghost' and 'Habeous Corpus' are both stories containing supposed spooks, whilst 'Habeous Corpus' shares with 'Dirty Work' a mad professor. Beyond these links, the films are very different.
'The Live Ghost' is a typical L&H potboiler with the amoral innocents helping a ship's captain to shanghai a crew, only to be shanghai'd themselves. The usual confusion ensues, winding up with our heroes' heads turned a full 180 degrees in a memorable closing image.
'Habeous Corpus' is a silent but it doesn't let the side down. From the moment Stan and Ollie appear (their two hands at the door knocker in a lovely filmic touch) the film abounds with sweet moments - the 'wet paint' sequence with Hardy's slow dawning realisation of what has happened, and one of their better attempts to scale a wall. The 'plot' is full of holes and the film ends a little too suddenly but it is certainly worth watching (and doesn't the butler remind you of the pianist in Sparks?).
'Dirty Work' is the best of the three featuring a perfect L&H situation with the gormless two as chimney sweeps. In sequences of beautifully choreographed insanity they proceed to wreak havoc on the home of the mad professor (he too has a butler who has the best line in the film - 'Somewhere an electric chair is waiting'). The professor himself appears to exist only to furnish the final marvellous visual gag.But then, why not?
Not the best of L&H but a good buy nonetheless.

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Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Classics . Comedy
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Comedy . All Comedy
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Comedy . Stand-Up
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Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1939 and earlier
Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . Actors . Laurel & Hardy
Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . Comedy . 1930s
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