Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy
double acts of the
early Classical Hollywood era of
American cinema. Composed of thin, Englishman
Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and heavy, American
Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) they became well known during the late 1920s to the mid-1940s for their visual
slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy and childlike friend of the pompous Hardy. They made over 100 films together, initially short films before expanding into feature length films in the 1930s. Their films include ''
Sons of the Desert'' (1933), the Academy Award winning short film ''
The Music Box'' (1932), ''
Babes in Toyland'' (1934), and
''Way Out West'' (1937). Hardy's catchphrase ''Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!'' is still widely recognized.
Prior to the double act both were established actors with Laurel appearing in over 50 films and Hardy in over 250 films. Although the two comedians first worked together on the film ''The Lucky Dog'' (1921), this was a chance pairing and it was not until 1926, when both separately signed contracts with the Hal Roach film studio, that they began appearing in movie shorts together. Laurel and Hardy officially became a team the following year in the silent short film ''Putting Pants on Philip'' (1927). The pair remained with the Roach studio until 1940, then appeared in eight "B" comedies for 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1941 to 1945. Disappointed by the reduced level of creative control they had had over their films they instead concentrated on stage shows from 1946 to 1950, embarking on a music hall tour of England, Ireland and Scotland. In 1950 they made their last film, a French/Italian co-production called ''Atoll K'', before retiring from the screen. In total they appeared together in 107 films. They starred in 40 short sound films, 32 short silent films and 23 full length feature films, and made 12 guest or cameo appearances, including the recently-discovered ''Galaxy of Stars'' (1936).
A common comedy routine was a tit-for-tat fight. Their silent film ''Big Business'' (1929), which includes one of these routines, was added to the Library of Congress as a national treasure in 1992. Notable Laurel traits included crying like a baby while being berated and scratching his hair when in shock. On December 1, 1954, the team made their only American television appearance, surprised by Ralph Edwards on his live NBC-TV program, ''This Is Your Life''.
The works of Laurel and Hardy have been re-released in numerous theatrical reissues, television revivals, 16mm and 8mm home movies, feature-film compilations, and home video since the 1930s. They were voted the seventh greatest comedy act in a 2005 UK poll by fellow comedians. The duo's signature tune, known variously as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos", played on the opening credits of their films. The official Laurel and Hardy appreciation society is known as The Sons of the Desert, after a fraternal society in their film of the same name.
Before the teaming
Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel (June 16, 1890 – February 23, 1965) was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in
Ulverston,
Lancashire (now
Cumbria), England. His father was a showman who served as actor, director, playwright and theatrical entrepreneur in many northern English cities. Laurel began his career in
Glasgow's
Britannia Theatre of Varieties and the
Alhambra Theatre Glasgow at the age of 16. He crafted a comedy act largely derivative of famous music hall comedians of the day, including
George Robey and
Dan Leno. He gradually worked his way up the ladder of supporting roles until he became the featured comedian, as well as an understudy to
Charlie Chaplin in
Fred Karno's comedy company. He emigrated to America in 1912 where he changed his name to Stan Laurel.
Making his first film appearance in ''Nuts in May'' (1917), Laurel continued to make more than 50 silent films for various producers. At first he experienced only modest success as a solo comedian. Producer Hal Roach later attributed this to the difficulty in photographing Laurel's pale blue eyes on early pre-panchromatic film stock, perhaps giving the appearance of blindness (which, in his earliest films, Laurel tried to remedy by adding heavy defining makeup around his eyes). Moreover, Laurel did not have an identifiable or easily marketable screen character.
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy (January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was born Norvell Hardy in
Harlem, Georgia. He took his father's first name, calling himself "Oliver Norvell Hardy." His offscreen nicknames were "Ollie" and "Babe." Hardy's nickname "Babe" originated from an Italian barber near the
Lubin Studios in
Jacksonville, Florida who would rub Hardy's face with talcum powder and say, "That's nice a baby!" which the other Lupin actors mimicked. Hardy was billed as "Babe Hardy" in his early films. By his late teens, Hardy was a popular stage singer, and he operated his own movie house in
Milledgeville, Georgia, the Palace Theater, financed partially by his mother. Seeing film comedies inspired him with an urge to take up comedy himself and in 1913, he began working with Lubin Motion Pictures in Jacksonville, Florida. He started out by helping around the studio with lights, props and other duties, gradually learning the craft as a script-clerk. Around the same time, he married his first wife, Madelyn Salosihn.
In 1914, Hardy acted as Babe in his first film called ''Outwitting Dad''. Between 1914 and 1916, Hardy made 177 shorts as Babe with the Vim Comedy Company, which were released up to the end of 1917. Exhibiting a versatility in playing heroes, villains and even female characters, Hardy became much in demand as a supporting actor, comic villain or second banana. For the next 10 years he memorably assisted star comics Billy West, a Charlie Chaplin imitator, Jimmy Aubrey, Larry Semon and Charley Chase. In total, Hardy starred or co-starred in more than 250 silent shorts, about 150 of which have been lost. While in New York, his abortive effort to enlist in 1917 led him and his wife, Madelyn, to seek new opportunities in California.
History
Films
The first film pairing of the two comedians, although as separate performers, took place in ''The Lucky Dog'', produced in 1919 by Sun-Lite Pictures and released in 1921. Laurel was the star while Hardy had his then common role as a "heavy" attempting to rob Laurel. The association was so casual that based upon interviews given in the 1930s both had forgotten it entirely. Several years later, both comedians had signed for the Hal Roach film studio and next appeared in ''45 Minutes From Hollywood'' (1926). Their subsequent film, ''Duck Soup'' (1927), had Laurel and Hardy work together as a team, playing characters close to their familiar incarnations. However, in several subsequent films in which they both appeared, they reverted to playing various characters, with only hints of their subsequent teaming.
Hal Roach kept them a team until they left his studio in 1940, making silent shorts, talking shorts, and feature films. While most silent-film actors saw their careers decline with the advent of sound, Laurel and Hardy made a successful transition with the short ''Unaccustomed As We Are'' (1929). Laurel's English accent and Hardy's deep voice and subtle southern American accent and singing brought new dimensions to their characters. The team also proved skillful in their melding of visual and verbal humor, adding dialogue that served to enhance rather than replace their popular sight gags.
They appeared for the first time in a feature film as one of several acts in ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'' and the following year, they appeared as the comic relief in a lavish all-Technicolor musical feature entitled ''The Rogue Song'' (1930), now considered a lost film. In 1931, Laurel and Hardy's first starring feature was released, ''Pardon Us''. Following its success, the duo made fewer shorts in order to concentrate on feature films, which included ''Pack Up Your Troubles'' (1932), ''Fra Diavolo'' (or ''The Devil's Brother'', 1933) and ''Sons of the Desert'' (1933). Their classic short ''The Music Box'' (1932) won the first ''Academy Award'' for Best Short Subject, (Comedy).
The popularity of the double feature diminished the demand for short subjects and Hal Roach cancelled all of his shorts series, save for ''Our Gang''. The final short in the Laurel and Hardy series was 1935's ''Thicker Than Water''. The duo's subsequent feature films included ''Bonnie Scotland'' (1935), ''The Bohemian Girl'' (1936), ''Our Relations'' (1936), ''Way Out West'' (1937) (which includes the famous song "Trail of the Lonesome Pine"), ''Swiss Miss'' (1938), and ''Block-Heads'' (1938).
Although Hal Roach employed writers and directors such as H. M. Walker, Leo McCarey, James Parrott, James W. Horne on Laurel and Hardy films, Laurel would rewrite entire sequences or scripts, have the cast and crew improvise on the soundstage, and meticulously review the footage for editing. While Hardy did contribute to the routines, he was generally content to follow Laurel's lead and spent most of his free time on hobbies such as golf. ''Babes in Toyland'' (1934) retains a timeless appeal and remains a perennial on American T.V. at Christmas. Hal Roach spoke scathingly about the film and Laurel's behavior during its making. Laurel was unhappy with Roach's plot and after an argument was allowed to make the film his own way. The rift permanently damaged Roach-Laurel relations to the point that Roach said that after ''Toyland'' he no longer wished to produce Laurel and Hardy films, although their association continued for another six years.
By 1936, although the relationship between Laurel and Hardy remained strong, Laurel's dealings with producer Roach were strained amid a tangle of artistic differences. Roach insisted that his feature-length comedies should also contain musical numbers and/or subplots. Laurel maintained that such padding distracted from the team's comedy. Because of this friction, extended stand-off periods became common during the late 1930s, with Roach threatening to pair Hardy with someone else. Laurel countered Roach's announcement in October 1938 by announcing he had signed for Roach's old rival Mack Sennett to star in comedy features for his new Sennett Pictures Corporation Studio. Those films were not made, since by April 1939, the dispute between Laurel and Roach was settled and the comedy team was again reunited for further work with Roach. They made two more films for Roach, ''A Chump at Oxford'' (filmed in 1939, released 1940) and ''Saps at Sea'' (1940). Both of these films were released through United Artists, as Roach's distribution arrangement with MGM had ended in 1938. As their new agreement with Roach was non-exclusive, Laurel and Hardy also starred in ''The Flying Deuces'' (1939), a feature-length remake of ''Beau Hunks'' (1931) produced and released by RKO Radio Pictures.
Hoping for greater artistic freedom, Laurel and Hardy split with Roach and signed with major studios 20th Century-Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. However, they were now only hired only as actors, relegated to the B-film divisions, and initially not allowed to improvise or contribute to the scripts. When the films proved popular, the studios allowed the team more input with Laurel and Hardy starring in eight features through 1945.
After spending the remainder of the 1940s performing on stage in Europe, Laurel and Hardy made one final film together in 1950. ''Atoll K'', later reissued in abridged form in the United States as ''Utopia'', released in 1954, was a French-Italian co-production directed by Leo Joannon. It was plagued by language barriers, production problems, and both Laurel and Hardy's grave health issues during shooting. Hardy developed an irregular heartbeat while Laurel experienced painful prostate complications. Critics were disappointed with its storyline, English dubbing, and Laurel's sickly physical appearance with his weight down to . The film was not a success, and brought an end to Laurel and Hardy's film careers. Due to copyright problems in the United States, the film became available under the provisions of public domain and was widely distributed by small distributors, remaining one of the most easily available of the team's features, along with ''The Flying Deuces''
A number of their films were re-shot with Laurel and Hardy talking in Spanish, Italian, French or German. The plots for these films were similar to the English language version although the supporting cast were often native language actors. Laurel and Hardy could not speak a foreign language and they received voice coaching to reproduce their lines. ''Pardon Us'' (1931) was re-shot in all four foreign languages. ''Blotto'' (1930), ''Chickens Come Home'' (1931) and ''Below Zero'' (1930) had a French and Spanish version.
Most of the Laurel and Hardy films survive, and have never gone out of circulation permanently. Three of their 107 films are considered lost, as they have not been seen in full since the 1930s. The silent ''Hats Off'' (1927) has vanished completely. The first half of ''Now I'll Tell One'' (1927) is lost and the second half has yet to be released on video. In the operatic Technicolor musical ''The Rogue Song'' (1930) Laurel and Hardy appear in 10 sequences, only one of which is known to exist along with the complete soundtrack.
Style of comedy and characterizations
The humor of Laurel and Hardy was generally visual with
slapstick used for emphasis. They often had physical arguments with each other, which were quite complex and involved
cartoon violence, and their characters preclude them from making any real progress in even the simplest endeavors. Much of their comedy involves milking a joke, where a simple idea provides a basis from which to build several gags without following a defined
narrative.
Laurel and Hardy had an inherent physical contrariety, Stan Laurel was of average height and weight, but appeared small and slight next to Oliver Hardy, who was tall and weighed about 280 lb (127 kg) in his prime. Laurel kept his hair short on the sides and back, but let it grow long on top to create a natural "fright wig". At times of shock he would simultaneously cry while pulling up his hair. In contrast, Hardy's thinning hair was pasted on his forehead in spit curls and he wore a toothbrush moustache. To achieve a flat-footed walk, Laurel removed the heels from his shoes. Both wore Bowler hats, with Laurel's being narrower than Hardy's, and with a flattened brim. The characters' normal attire also called for wing collar shirts, with Hardy wearing a standard neck tie which he would twiddle and Laurel a bow tie. Hardy's sports jacket was too small for him and done up with one straining button, whereas Laurel's double breasted jacket was loose fitting.
A common routine the team performed was a "tit-for-tat" fight with an adversary. This could be with their wives—often played by Mae Busch, Anita Garvin or Daphne Pollard—or with a neighbour, often played by Charlie Hall or James Finlayson. Laurel and Hardy would accidentally damage someone else's property, with the injured party retaliating by ruining something belonging to Laurel or Hardy. After calmly surveying the damage they would find something else to vandalize and conflict would escalate until both sides were simultaneously destroying property in front of each other. An early example of the routine occurs in their classic short, ''Big Business'' (1929), which was added to the Library of Congress as a national treasure in 1992, and one of their short films, which revolves entirely around such an altercation, was titled ''Tit for Tat'' (1935).
One of their best-remembered dialogue routines was the "Tell me that again" routine. Laurel would tell Hardy a genuinely smart idea he had come up with, and Hardy would reply, "Tell me that again." Laurel would attempt to repeat the idea, but jumble it into utter nonsense. Hardy, who had difficulty understanding Laurel's idea when expressed clearly, would understand perfectly when hearing the jumbled version.
While much of their comedy remained visual, various lines of humorous dialogue appeared in Laurel and Hardy's talking films. Some examples include:
• "You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be led." (Laurel, ''Brats'')
• "I was dreaming I was awake, but I woke up and found meself asleep." (Laurel, ''Oliver the Eighth'')
• "A lot of weather we've been having lately." (Hardy, ''Way Out West'')
In some cases, their comedy bordered on the surreal, a style Stan Laurel called "white magic". For example, in ''Way Out West'' (1937), Laurel clenches his fist and pours tobacco into it, as if it were a pipe. Then, he flicks his thumb upward as if he held a lighter. His thumb ignites, and he matter-of-factly lights his "pipe." The amazed Hardy, seeing this, would unsuccessfully attempt to duplicate it throughout the rest of the film. Much later in the film, Hardy finally succeeds – only to be terrified when his thumb catches fire.
Rather than showing Hardy suffering the pain of misfortunes such as falling down stairs or being beaten by a thug, banging and crashing sound effects were often used so the audience could visualize the scene for themselves. Hardy often looked directly at the camera, breaking the fourth wall, to express his frustration with his situation to the film audience.
Offscreen, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were quite the opposite of their movie characters: Laurel was the industrious "idea man," while Hardy was more easygoing.
Final years
After ''Atoll K'', Laurel and Hardy took several months off, so that Laurel could recuperate. Upon their return to the European stage, they undertook a successful series of public appearances in short sketches Laurel had written: "A Spot of Trouble" (in 1952) and "Birds of a Feather" (in 1953).
On December 1, 1954, the team made their only American television appearance, surprised by
Ralph Edwards on his live NBC-TV program, ''
This Is Your Life''. Lured to the Knickerbocker Hotel as a subterfuge for a business meeting with producer
Bernard Delfont, the doors opened to their suite #205, flooding the room with light and the voice of Edwards. The telecast was preserved on a
kinescope and later released on home video. Partly due to the positive response from the television broadcast, the pair was renegotiating with Hal Roach Jr. for a series of color
NBC Television specials to be called ''Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables''. However, plans for the specials were shelved, as the aging comedians suffered from declining health.
In 1955, Laurel and Hardy made their final public appearance together, taking part in ''This Is Music Hall'', a BBC Television program about the Grand Order of Water Rats, a British variety organization. Laurel and Hardy provide a filmed insert during which they reminisce about their friends in British variety. They made their final appearance on camera in 1956 in a home movie titled "One Moment Please". The film was shot by a family friend at Laurel's home, it is without audio and lasts three minutes.
Under doctor's orders to improve a heart condition, Hardy lost over in 1956. Several strokes resulted in loss of mobility and speech. He died of a major stroke on August 7, 1957. Longtime friend Bob Chatterton said Hardy weighed just at the time of his death. Hardy was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood.
Just after Hardy's death, Laurel and Hardy's films returned to movie theaters, as clips of their work were featured in Robert Youngson's silent-film compilation ''The Golden Age of Comedy''. For the remaining eight years of his life, Stan Laurel refused to perform, even turning down Stanley Kramer's offer to make a cameo in his landmark 1963 movie, ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World''. In 1960, Laurel was given a special Academy Award for his contributions to film comedy. Despite not appearing onscreen after Hardy's death, Laurel did contribute gags to several comedy filmmakers. Most of his writing was in the form of correspondence; he insisted on answering every fan letter personally. Late in life, he hosted many visitors of the new generation of comedians and celebrities, including Dick Cavett, Jerry Lewis, Peter Sellers, Marcel Marceau and Dick Van Dyke. Laurel lived until 1965, surviving to see the duo's work rediscovered through television and classic film revivals. He died on February 23 in Santa Monica, and is buried at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, California.
Supporting cast
Laurel and Hardy's films included a memorable supporting cast, some of whom appeared regularly.
Harry Bernard, played bit parts as waiter, bartender and cop.
Mae Busch played a formidable Mrs. Hardy, and some other characters.
Charley Chase, the Hal Roach film star and brother of James Parrott, Laurel and Hardy writer/director, made 4 appearances.
Baldwin Cooke played bit parts as waiter, bartender and cop.
James Finlayson, a small, balding, moustachioed Scotsman known for displays of indignation and squinting "double takes", made 33 appearances.
Anita Garvin was a memorable Mrs. Laurel.
Billy Gilbert, made many appearances, most notably in the classic ''The Music Box'' (1932).
Charlie Hall, who usually played angry "little men", appeared nearly 50 times.
Jean Harlow, the "Blonde Bombshell" had a small role in their short ''Double Whoopee'' (1929) and two other films, before her breakout stardom.
Arthur Housman made memorable appearances as a comic drunk.
Edgar Kennedy master of the "slow burn", often appeared as a cop, hostile neighbor or relative.
Walter Long played grizzled, physically threatening villains.
Sam Lufkin appeared several times.
Daphne Pollard was featured, mostly as Oliver's shrewish wife.
Charley Rogers, the English actor, appeared several times.
Tiny Sandford was a very tall and burly man who played authority figures, notably cops.
Thelma Todd appeared several times.
Ben Turpin the cross eyed actor made two memorable appearances.
Music
The duo's famous signature tune, known variously as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos", was composed by Roach musical director
Marvin Hatley as the on-the-hour chime for the Roach studio radio station. Laurel heard the tune on the station, and asked Hatley to use it as the Laurel and Hardy theme song. In Laurel's eyes, the song's melody represented Hardy's character (pompous and dramatic), while the harmony represented Laurel's own character (somewhat out of key, and only able to register two notes: "coo-coo"). The original theme, recorded by two clarinets in 1930, was re-recorded with a full orchestra in 1935.
Leroy Shield composed the great majority of the music used in the Laurel and Hardy short sound films. A compilation of songs from their films titled ''Trail of the Lonesome Pine'' was released in 1975. The title track was released as a single in the UK and reached #2 in the charts.
Influence and legacy
Catchphrases
The catchphrase most used by Laurel and Hardy on film is:
The phrase, which was earlier used by W. S. Gilbert in
The Mikado (1885) and again in
The Grand Duke (1896), was first used by Hardy in ''
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case'' (1930). In popular culture the catchphrase is often misquoted as "Well, here's another
''fine'' mess you've gotten me into." The misquoted version of the phrase was never used by Hardy on film; the misunderstanding stems from the title of their film ''
Another Fine Mess'' (1930).
Numerous variations of the quote appeared on film. In ''
Chickens Come Home'' (1931), Ollie says impatiently to Stan, "Well...." with Stan replying, "Here's another nice mess I've gotten you into." In ''
Thicker than Water'' (1935) and ''
The Fixer-Uppers'' (1935), the phrase becomes "Well, here's another nice kettle of fish you pickled me in!" In ''
Saps at Sea'' (1940) it becomes "Well, here's another nice bucket of suds you've gotten me into!"
"D'oh!" is a catchphrase used by
James Finlayson, the mustachioed Scottish actor who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardy films. The phrase, expressing surprise, impatience, or incredulity, was the inspiration for "D'oh!" as spoken by the fictional character
Homer Simpson in the long running animated comedy ''
The Simpsons''. The Simpson's first intentional use of "d'oh!" occurred in the Ullman short "Punching Bag" (1988).
The Sons of the Desert
The official Laurel and Hardy appreciation society is known as
The Sons of the Desert, after a fraternal society in their film
of the same name (1933). It was founded in New York City in 1965 by Laurel and Hardy biographers
John McCabe,
Orson Bean,
Al Kilgore,
Chuck McCann and John Municino; with the sanction of Stan Laurel. Since the group's inception, well over 150 chapters of the organization have formed across North America, Europe and Australia. An Emmy-winning film documentary about the group, ''Revenge of the Sons of the Desert'', has been released on DVD as part of ''The Laurel and Hardy Collection, Vol. 1.''
Posthumous revivals
Since the 1930s, the works of Laurel and Hardy have been re-released in numerous theatrical reissues, television revivals (broadcast, especially public television, and cable), 16mm and 8mm home movies, feature-film compilations, and home video. After Stan Laurel's death in 1965, there were two major motion-picture tributes: ''Laurel and Hardy's Laughing '20s'', Robert Youngson's compilation of the team's silent-film highlights; and ''
The Great Race'', a large-scale salute to slapstick which director
Blake Edwards dedicated to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy." For many years the duo were impersonated by Jim MacGeorge (as Laurel) and
Chuck McCann (as Hardy) in children's TV shows and television commercials for various products.
There are two Laurel and Hardy museums, one in Laurel's birthplace, Ulverston, United Kingdom, and the other in Hardy's birthplace, Harlem, Georgia, United States
Maurice Sendak showed three identical Oliver Hardy figures as bakers preparing cakes for the morning in his award-winning children's book ''In the Night Kitchen'' (1970). This is treated as a clear example of "interpretative illustration" wherein the comedians' inclusion harkened back to the author's own childhood.
A 2005 poll by fellow comedians and comedy insiders of the top 50 comedians for ''The Comedian's Comedian'', a TV documentary broadcast on UK's Channel 4, voted the duo the seventh greatest comedy act ever, making them the most popular double act on the list.
Numerous colorized versions of copyright-free Laurel and Hardy features and shorts have been reproduced by a multitude of production studios. Although the results of adding color were often in dispute, many of the popular titles are currently only available in the colorized version. The color process often renders the print into an "unwatchable" state, while some scenes were altered or deleted, dependent on the source material used. Many Laurel and Hardy films have been colorized. Helpmates (1932) was the first film to undergo the process, it was experimented upon by Colorization Inc., a subsidiary of Hal Roach Studios in 1983. Colorization became a success for the studio and Helpmates was released on home video with the colorized version of The Music Box (1932) in 1986. The technology for this process was inferior compared to today's digital colorization technology. There were numerous continuity errors and garish color design choices. However the most significant criticism that these versions received revolved around their editing, whole scenes were altered or deleted altogether, changing the character of the film.
Merchandiser Larry Harmon claimed ownership of Laurel's and Hardy's likenesses, and issued Laurel and Hardy toys and colouring books. He co-produced a series of ''Laurel and Hardy'' cartoons in 1966 with Hanna-Barbera Productions. His animated versions of Laurel and Hardy guest-starred in a 1972 episode of Hanna-Barbera's ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies''. In 1999, Harmon produced a direct-to-video feature, the live-action comedy ''The All-New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy: For Love or Mummy'', with actors Bronson Pinchot and Gailard Sartain playing the lookalike nephews of the original Laurel and Hardy, Stanley Thinneus Laurel and Oliver Fatteus Hardy.
Filmographies
Laurel and Hardy filmography
Oliver Hardy filmography
Stan Laurel filmography
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Andrews, Robert, ''Famous Lines: A Columbia Dictionary of Familiar Quotations''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-23110-218-6.
Barr, Charles. ''Laurel & Hardy''. Movie Paperbacks Caifornia, 1967.
Bergen, Ronald. ''The Life and Times of Laurel and Hardy''. New York: Smithmark, 1992. ISBN 0-8317-5459-1.
Everson, William K. ''The Complete Films of Laurel and Hardy''. New York: Citadel, 2000, First edition 1967. ISBN 0-8065-0146-4.
Gehring, Wes D. ''Laurel & Hardy: A Bio-Bibliography''. Burnham Bucks, UK: Greenwood Press, 1990. ISBN 978-0313251726.
Haines, Richard W. ''Technicolor Movies: The History of Dye Transfer Printing.'' Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1993. ISBN 0-89950-856-1.
Lanes, Selma G. ''The Art of Maurice Sendak''. New York: Harry N. Abrams; 2nd revised edition, 1998, first edition, 1980. ISBN 0-81098-063-0.
Louvish, Simon. ''Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy''. London: Faber & Faber, 2001. ISBN 0-571-21590-4.
McCabe, John with Al Kilgore and Richard W. Bann. ''Laurel & Hardy''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1983, First edition 1975, E.P. Dutton. ISBN 978-0491017459.
McCabe, John. ''The Comedy World of Stan Laurel''. New York: Robson Press, 2004, First edition 1974, Doubleday & Co. ISBN 978-0940410237.
McGarry, Annie. ''Laurel & Hardy''. London: Bison Group, 1992. ISBN 0-86124-776-0.
Mitchell, Glenn. ''The Laurel & Hardy Encyclopedia''. New York: Batsford, 2010, First edition 1995. ISBN 978-1905287710.
Sagert, Kelly Boyer. ''Flappers: A Guide to an American Subculture.'' Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 2010. ISBN 978-0313-37690-0.
Smith, Leon. ''Following the Comedy Trail: A Guide to Laurel & Hardy and Our Gang Film Locations''. Littleton, Massachusetts: G.J. Enterprises, 1984. ISBN 978-0938817055.
External links
The official Sons of the Desert website
The official Laurel and Hardy website
Laurel & Hardy Films Official Website
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Category:Hal Roach Studios short film series
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