Laurel AND Hardy.... but not together!

Stan and Jimmie Finlayson in Roughest Africa, a Hal Roach two-reeler from 1923. This was Stan's first two reel comedy for Roach. Likely shot as a one reeler they overshot enough to expand into two reels. They actually shot so much footage that outtakes were used as flashback sequences in The Whole Truth (a Roach one-reeler featuring Stan and Jimmie released two months later). One of Stan's more readily available solo films... but usually in a condensed one-reel version.

Stan in 1923's The Soilers. Thanks to the Fractured Flickers segment entitled "Half-baked Alaska" this is perhaps the most often seen Laurel solo film by non-film geeks. Certainly one of Stan's better comedies, the film also features Jimmie Finlayson and George Rowe in great support. This film also was long available only in a one-reel digest it was actually a two-reeler (his third for Roach, Frozen Hearts being the title released between this film and Roughest Africa).

Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase and Martha Sleeper in the excellent Fluttering Hearts, a 1927 Hal Roach two-reeler. Next to Thelma Todd (and who wouldn't want to be), Babe was the best supporting player to Charley Chase ever. From as early as Married to Order (a non-Billy West King Bee shot in 1918 but released by Reelcraft in 1920) through a group of films at Roach in the mid-20s the two just flat out worked well together. Sadly this film was the last time Hardy solo would be seen in support of Chase. Yeah, yeah I know if Babe had kept working with Charley then L&H might not have happened, blah, blah, blah.

Stan Laurel solo films

SHOULD TALL MEN MARRY (Roach, 1928)
This was Stan's last solo film. Previewed under its working title ("Cowboys Cry For It"), the film was severely recut (eliminating Eugene Pallette along the way) before being released. The film originally was intended to be the pilot film for a series of "Paprika Pete" western comedies starring Babe Hardy as Pete.


MANDARIN MIX-UP (Joe Rock, 1924). Stan plays a Chinese laundryman and the film has an opium gag.... not the most politically correct film Stan ever did.


RUPERT OF HEE HAW (Roach, 1924). One of Stan's "travesties", that is parody. This is, obviously, a play on "Rupert of Hentzau". Also pictured are Mae Laurel (his then common law wife) and the ever brilliant James Finlayson.

The New Adventures of J. Rufus Wallingford

The Wharton Brothers studio in Ithaca, New York. One of the many studios that Babe Hardy would work for during the early part of his film career.

Mid 1915 after leaving Lubin, Babe Hardy traveled up from Jacksonville to New York City and made some films for Edison as well as some other small companies. At some point he ended up in Ithaca, New York working on The New Adventures of J. Rufus Wallingford, a serial produced by the Wharton Brothers (the same folks that made The Perils of Pauline).

Two of the photos posted here show Babe in one of those episodes, although one of the photos does not show his better side.

I obtained these stills via E-Bay. I was surfing around and found a batch of stills up for bid and I thought I saw a shot of Babe in the pile. I was certain that some of the stills were from the Wallingford serial, so I bought them. There were about twenty in all. I checked them when they arrived and eureka!, it was Babe in a few of the photos. Some were water damaged but the image what what matters the most to me, so a bit of damage was okay as long as the majority of the scene was not obscured. I noticed that the seller lived nearby so I e-mailed and asked if there were any other stills from the same lot. There were, about 100, and he consented in sell them all to me!! I went to pick them up and he took $75 for the lot. Boy was I happy. Anyhow, bit of a long and boring story but I did want to explain why there is some visable damage to the photos. Other photos in the bunch show Pearl White, Creighton Hale and a very young Lionel Barrymore. I 'llpost those on my other blog once I get them scanned.

So enjoy,
Bor Enots

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome. This is my first attempt at a blog... or internet presence of any kind short of the occasional postings on someone else's site or newsgroup. What I hope to do here is pass along and share information about the Boys' solo films. Not too much has changed since the publishing of LAUREL OR HARDY but there is a film or two to add to the filmography and a few bits of additional information to add. I also have acquired some additional images since the book came out and I'll be posting those as well.
So again, thanks for visiting and here's to spending some time with two of the greatest comedians to ever hit the silver screen. Together or apart they were two very funny fellows.

Somewhere in Wrong,
Bor Enots