Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy

in VHS, Print & Audio

Stan Laurel was born Stanley Arthur Jefferson in Lanchashire, England on June 16, 1890. He made his name in vaudeville before turning to films in 1917. Over the next ten years, he appeared in dozens of comedy shorts, including several with an actor named Oliver Norvell Hardy (born in Harlem, Georgia on January 18, 1892). Producer Hal Roach and director Leo McCarey finally co-starred the two comics, creating a magic union that lasted for thirty years. The team made wonderful slapstick silents, but the addition of sound in 1929 elevated their movies to even greater heights. Laurel perfected the character of a sweet simpleton, whose every effort to help brought disaster on his long-suffering partner. Hardy's bossy personality and foul temper made his come-uppance all the funnier. Viewers may not know that Stan was the real genius of the two, overseeing the writing, direction and editing of their movies. After retiring from filmmaking in the 1940s, the comedians ended their career performing onstage for their many adoring fans. Hardy died in 1957, and Laurel passed away in 1965.

Laurel & Hardy in VHS

Note: All titles labeled "silent" feature musical scores.

Angora Love. In their last silent comedy, Laurel and Hardy get into trouble with landlord Edgar Kennedy when a goat follows them home. Lewis R. Foster directed. Silent. 1929. 20 min. VH2/ANGO-0001.

Bacon Grabbers. Hapless collections officers Stan and Ollie try to repossess Edgar Kennedy's radio. Lewis R. Foster's comedy also features a young Jean Harlow! Silent. 1929. 20 min. VH2/BACO-0001.

Battle of the Century. Stan boxes brute Noah Young, then he and Ollie start a pie fight. This edition of Clyde Bruckman's long-lost comedy compiles all 11 surviving minutes, then fills in lost footage with stills and scripts. Silent. 1928. 28 min. VH2/BATT-0001.

Big Business. Christmas tree salesmen Stan and Ollie start to destroy customer James Finlayson's house, so he begins to wreck their car. James W. Horne directed. Silent. 1929. 21 min. VH2/BIGB-0002.

Block-heads. World War I veteran Oliver invites his long-lost comrade Stan to his apartment to meet his wife. John B. Blystone directed one of the boys' last great comedies. 1938. 60 min. VH1/BLOC-0001.

The Bohemian Girl ; Below Zero. Gypsies Stan and Ollie raise a count's daughter (Jacqueline Wells) in The Bohemian Girl (1936), a musical comedy by James W. Horne and Charles Rogers. While busking in the snow, the boys find a cop's wallet in James Parrott's short, Below Zero (1930). 90 min. VH1/BOHE-0001.

Bonnie Scotland. When Stan's inheritance falls through, he and Ollie join the Scottish army stationed in India. James W. Horne directed. 1935. 81 min. VH1/BONN-0002.

A Chump at Oxford. Home movies preface Alfred Goulding's feature, in which street cleaners Laurel and Hardy enroll at Oxford University. A blow to the head turns dim-witted Stan into a genius! 1940. 68 min. VH1/CHUM-0001.

Days of Thrills and Laughter. Robert Youngson salutes silent film performers like Chaplin, Fairbanks, and Laurel and Hardy. 1961. 93 min. VH2/DAYS-0001.

The Devil's Brother. Bandit Dennis King enlists Laurel and Hardy to rob aristocrats James Finlayson and Thelma Todd. Hal Roach and Charles Rogers turned D.F.E. Auber's operetta into a classic comedy. 1933. 90 min. VH1/DEVI-0012.

Do Detectives Think? Bumbling detectives Laurel and Hardy try to protect cowardly judge James Finlayson from escaped convict Noah Young. Fred L. Guiol directed. Silent. 1927. 24 min. VH2/DODE-0001.

Double Whoopee. When Laurel and Hardy go to work at a posh hotel, they knock a prince down an elevator shaft and tear the dress off an elegant lady (teenaged Jean Harlow). Silent. Directed by Lewis Foster. 1929. 20 min. VH2/DOUB-0002.

Duck Soup. Hobos Ollie and Stan masquerade as a millionaire and a maid. The comedians' first true collaboration, long considered lost, was later remade as Another Fine Mess. Fred L. Guiol directed. Silent. 1927. 20 min. VH2/DUCK-0001.

Early to Bed. When Ollie inherits a fortune, he hires Stan as his butler. Emmet Flynn directed. Silent. 1928. 20 min. VH2/EARL-0012.

The Fighting Kentuckian. Hardy plays John Wayne's coonskin-cap-wearking sidekick in George Waggner's Southern western. 1949. 100 min. VH1/FIGH-0002.

The Finishing Touch. When the boys attempt to build a house, cop Edgar Kennedy and nurse Dorothy Coburn get caught up in the mayhem. Clyde Bruckman directed. Silent. 1928. 23 min. VH2/FINI-0001.

Flying Deuces. The boys join the French Foreign Legion so that Ollie can forget an unhappy romance. A. Edward Sutherland's film includes the boys singing and dancing to "Shine On, Harvest Moon." 1939. 71 min. VH1/FLYI-0001.

Flying Elephants. Stan and Ollie play cavemen seeking mates in Frank Butler's short. Silent. 1927. 20 min. VH2/FLYI-0001.

From Soup to Nuts. A nouveau riche couple (Anita Garvin, Tiny Sanford) hire two dimwits (Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy) to serve dinner at their high society party. Edgar Kennedy directed. Silent. 1928. 18 min. VH2/FROM-0013.

Habeas Corpus. Mad scientist Richard Carle sends Laurel and Hardy to rob a grave. James Parrott directed this ghoulish comedy. Silent. 1929. 20 min. VH2/HABE-0001.

La Vida Nocturna. During the height of their fame, the boys remade several of their hilarious shorts for foreign markets. Although they read their lines phonetically, Stan and Ollie managed to translate their marvelous humor into other languages. This is the Spanish-language version of James Parrott's Blotto. Even without subtitles, you'll enjoy watching the boys get drunk -- on tea and hot sauce! 1930. 39 min. VH2/LAVI-0002.

Laurel and Hardy and Friends: Volume One includes Ollie in Fred L. Guiol's Along Came Auntie (1926) and Stan in Hal Roach's Hustling for Health (1918). 97 min. VH2/LAUR-0010.

Laurel and Hardy and Friends: Volume Two includes Stan and Ollie in Hal Roach's Call of the Cuckoo (1927). 101 min. VH2/LAUR-0011.

Laurel and Hardy and Friends: Volume Three includes Stan and Ollie in Fred L. Giuol's Slipping Wives (1927). 105 min. VH2/LAUR-0012.

Laurel and Hardy and Friends: Volume Four includes Stan and Ollie in Hal Roach's 45 Minutes to Hollywood (1926) and Stan in George Jeske's Scorching Sands. 105 min. VH2/LAUR-0013.

Laurel and Hardy and Friends: Volume Five includes Stan in Hal Roach's On the Front Page (1926) and Stan and Ollie in Roach's Sailors, Beware! (1927). 107 min. VH2/LAUR-0014.

Laurel and Hardy and Friends: Volume Six includes Stan in Ralph Ceder's Roughest Africa (1923). 124 min. VH2/LAUR-0015.

Laurel and Hardy at Work. Home movies preface three shorts. The boys try to repair a fishing boat in George Marshall's Towed in a Hole (1933). They get jobs in a saw mill in Lloyd French's Busy Bodies (1933). James Parrott's Oscar-winning The Music Box (1932) finds them moving a piano up a tremendous flight of stairs. 75 min. VH2/LAUR-0003.

Laurel and Hardy Comedy Classics: Volume 2. Stan and Ollie get uproariously drunk on tea in James Parrott's Blotto (1930). They try to repair a fishing boat in George Marshall's Towed in a Hole (1933). The comedians play their own children in Parrott's Brats (1930). Stan helps Ollie install a radio antenna in Parrott's Hog Wild (1930). 90 min. VH2/LAUR-0004.

Laurel and Hardy Comedy Classics: Volume 4. Laurel and Hardy seek refuge in an empty mansion in James Parrott's Another Fine Mess (1930). The boys rescue suicidal lunatic Mae Busch in James W. Horne's Come Clean (1931). They try to conceal their pet dog from landlord Charlie Hall in Horne's Laughing Gravy (1931). Stan boxes a brute in Horne's Any Old Port (1932). 90 min. VH2/LAUR-0005.

Laurel and Hardy Comedy Classics: Volume 7. Laurel and Hardy find a cop's wallet in James Parrott's Below Zero (1930). A blood transfusion causes them to exchange personalities in James W. Horne's Thicker Than Water (1935), their last short film. The boys play bungling cops in Lloyd French's Midnight Patrol (1933). Stan ruins Ollie's wedding in Charles Rogers and French's Me and My Pal (1933). 80 min. VH2/LAUR-0006.

Laurel and Hardy Comedy Classics: Volume 9. The actors join the Foreign Legion in James W. Horne's Beau Hunks (1931). Ollie tries to hide old flame Mae Busch from his new wife in Horne's Chickens Come Home (1931). The boys testify against a gangster in Charles Rogers' Going Bye Bye (1934). They share one small bunk on a train in Lewis Foster's Berth Marks (1929). 108 min. VH2/LAUR-0007.

Laurel and Hardy on the Lam. Home movies preface four shorts in which Stan and Ollie flee the police: Raymond McCarey's Scram! (1932), James Parrott's Another Fine Mess (1930), James W. Horne's One Good Turn (1931), and Charles Rogers' Going Bye Bye (1934). 95 min. VH2/LAUR-0008.

Laurel and Hardy Spooktacular. Laurel and Hardy board a haunted ship in Charles Rogers' The Live Ghost (1934). Ollie plans to wed madwoman Mae Busch in Lloyd French's Oliver the Eighth (1934). The boys try to solve James Parrott's Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930). They sweep a mad scientist's chimney in French's Dirty Work (1933). 95 min. VH2/LAUR-0009.

Laurel and Hardy's Laughing 20's. Robert Youngson compiles scenes from their funniest silents, including Putting Pants on Philip, Liberty, Wrong Again, Soup to Nuts, and Battle of the Century. 1965. 90 min. VH2/LAUR-0002.

Leave 'Em Laughing. When Oliver Hardy brings Stan Laurel to the dentist, both get giddy on laughing gas, to the consternation of cop Edgar Kennedy. Clyde Bruckman directed. Silent. 1928. 22 min. VH2/LEAV-0001.

Legends of Comedy: 1: The Golden Age of Comedy: The '20s and '30s. John C. Feld compiles clips of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, and the boys. 1992. 55 min. VH2/LEGE-0005.

Liberty. After escaping from prison and putting on each other's pants, Laurel and Hardy teeter on the girders of an unfinished building. Leo McCarey directed. Silent. 1929. 20 min. VH2/LIBE-0001.

Love 'Em and Weep. Floozie Mae Busch blackmails married businessman James Finlayson. Fred L. Guiol's comedy co-stars Laurel and Hardy, who later remade this as the talkie, Chickens Come Home. Silent. 1927. 24 min. VH2/LOVE-0006.

The Lucky Dog. In their very first screen appearance together, Stan Laurel is a penniless dog lover and Oliver Hardy is the crook who robs him. Jess Robbins directed. Silent. 1919. 24 min. VH2/LUCK-0002.

March of the Wooden Soldiers. At last, we've found a copy of this holiday favorite in its original black & white! Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee come to the aid of Mother Peep (Virginia Karns), Bo-Peep (Charlotte Henry) and Tom-Tom (Felix Knight) from the clutches of Barnaby (Henry Kleinbach) and his army of bogeymen. This Victor Herbert musical was directed by Gus Meins and Charles Rogers. 1934. 78 min. VH1/MARC-0001.

Movie Struck. Kansas girl Rosina Lawrence dreams of Hollywood stardom. Edward Sedgwick's musical comedy co-stars Jack Haley, Patsy Kelly, and Mischa Auer, with the boys in a cameo appearance. 1937. 69 min. VH1/MOVI-0001.

Noche de Duendes. This is the Spanish-language version of James Parrott's Laurel-Hardy Murder Case, in which the boys must spend the night in a spooky mansion. The opening sequence is borrowed from Lewis Foster's Berth Marks. In Spanish without English subtitles. 1930. 54 min. VH2/NOCH-0001.

Our Relations. Stan and Ollie land in trouble caused by their long-lost twins, sailors Alf and Burt. Harry Lachman's comedy is followed by the Charley Chase short, Southern Exposure. 1936. 94 min. VH1/OURR-0001.

Pack Up Your Troubles. Home movies preface Stan and Ollie's first feature, in which they play WWI vets seeking the relatives of their late pal's daughter. Directed by George Marshall and Ray McCarey. 1932. 73 min. VH1/PACK-0001 or -0002.

Pardon Us. Hapless bootleggers Stan and Ollie land in prison in James Parrott's comedy, the boys' first starring feature. 1931. 66 min. VH1/PARD-0002.

Politiquerias. This is the Spanish-language version of James W. Horne's Chickens Come Home, in which an old girlfriend gets Hardy into trouble. In Spanish without English subtitles. 1931. 56 min. VH2/POLI-0001.

Putting Pants on Philip. Dapper Oliver tries to get his kilt-wearing, skirt-chasing Scottish cousin, Stan, to wear trousers. Clyde Bruckman directed. Silent. 1928. 20 min. VH2/PUTT-0001.

Riding High. Oliver Hardy plays a cameo in Frank Capra's horse-racing musical, a remake of his own Broadway Bill (VH1/BROA-5). With Bing Crosby and Coleen Gray. 1950. 112 min. VH1/RIDI-0001.

Sailors Beware. Hardy plays a womanizing purser, and Laurel plays a shanghaied cabbie who exposes a con artist (Anita Garvin). Fred L. Guiol directed. Silent. 1927. 26 min. VH2/SAIL-0001.

Saps at Sea. Home movies preface this feature, in which the comics rent a boat and find themselves adrift with an escaped killer. Their preparation of a non-food meal is the highlight of Gordon Douglas' film. 1940. 62 min. VH1/SAPS-0001.

The Second 100 Years. In their first real starring vehicle, Stan and Ollie determine to break out of prison. James Finlayson co-stars in Fred L. Guiol's comedy. Silent. 1927. 23 min. VH2/SECO-0002.

Should Married Men Go Home? Stan drops by to invite Oliver to play golf. James Parrott directed. Silent. 1928. 22 min. VH2/SHOU-0001.

Slapstick Encyclopedia: A Celebration of American Silent Comedy. Ollie appears in In the Beginning: Film Comedy Pioneers (126 min., VH2/SLAP-0001); Stan appears in Chaplin & Co. (134 min., VH2/CHAP-0005); the boys co-star in Hal Roach: The Lot of Fun (133 min., VH2/SLAP-0006). 1998.

Slipping Wives. Priscilla Dean hires fop Laurel to make her husband jealous; Hardy plays the butler. Fred L. Guiol directed. Silent. 1927. 23 min. VH2/SLIP-0001.

Sons of the Desert. Laurel and Hardy sneak off to a fraternal convention without telling their wives. This edition of William A. Seiter's comedy, possibly the boys' best feature, includes background material on the making of the film. 1933. 73 min. VH1/SONS-0001.

Sugar Daddies. In one of their first films together, Laurel and Hardy play a lawyer and a butler. Fred L. Guiol directed. Silent. 1927. 19 min. VH2/SUGA-0001.

Swiss Miss. Two mousetrap salesmen go to work in an Alpine hotel in John G. Blystone's musical comedy. Also, Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly find stolen loot in James W. Horne's short, Hot Money. 1938. 97 min. VH1/SWIS-0001.

That's My Wife. To win his rich uncle's inheritance, Hardy forces Laurel to dress up as his wife. Directed by Lloyd French and Leo McCarey. Silent. 1929. 20 min. VH2/THAT-0005.

Their Purple Moment. Stan and Ollie bring two floozies to a nightclub, unaware that their wives are onto them. James Parrott directed. Silent. 1928. 21 min. VH2/THEI-0001.

They Go Boom! Stan tries to cure Ollie of the sniffles. Directed by James Parrott. 1929. 21 min. VH2/THEY-0001.

Two Tars. Sailors Laurel and Hardy take two women on a trip to the country, with chaotic results. James Parrott and Leo McCarey directed. Silent. 1929. 20 min. VH2/TWOT-0002.

Unaccustomed as We Are. Hardy gets into trouble when he brings Laurel home to meet his wife. This video includes a silent version with Vitaphone music and effects, and a sound remake, the boys' first talkie. Lewis R. Foster directed. With Thelma Todd, Mae Busch and Edgar Kennedy. 1929. 39 min. VH2/UNAC-0001.

We Faw Down. The boys don't want their wives to know that they've been out drinking with floozies. Leo McCarey directed. Silent. 1928. 20 min. VH2/WEFA-0001.

Why Girls Love Sailors. First mate Oliver Hardy helps kidnap Stan Laurel's girlfriend in Fred L. Guiol's long-lost comedy, struck from the original 35mm European nitrate negative, found in the Cinematheque Francaise catacombs. Silent. 1927. 21 min. VH2/WHYG-0001.

With Love and Hisses. Private Stan and Sergeant Oliver drive commanding officer James Finlayson nuts. Fred L. Guiol directed. Silent. 1927. 24 min. VH2/WITH-0003.

The Wizard of Oz. Writer/director/star Larry Semon's slapstick version of the L. Frank Baum fantasy also features Ollie as a farmhand who masquerades as the tin woodsman. Silent. 1925. 96 min. VH1/WIZA-0001.

Wrong Again. Stableboys Stan and Ollie mistakenly deliver Blue Boy the racehorse to the home of a man whose painting, "Blue Boy," has been stolen. Leo McCarey directed. Silent. 1928. 20 min. VH2/WRON-0001.

You're Darn Tootin'. Out-of-work musicians Stan and Ollie try sidewalk performing, but their concert ends with a mad melee of punching, kicking and pants-pulling. Frequent co-star Edgar Kennedy directed this short under the supervision of Leo McCarey. Silent. 1928. 20 min. VH2/YOUR-0002.

Zenobia. A carnival elephant befriends a Southern doctor (Oliver Hardy) in Gordon Douglas' comedy. 1939. 98 min. Also, Laurel and Hardy in James W. Horne's Laughing Gravy (1931-21 min.) plus 6 minutes of extras. VH1/ZENO-0001.

Laurel & Hardy on Compact Disc & Audiotape

Laurel & Hardy on the Air. This disc includes Hal Roach-MGM Present Laurel & Hardy parts 1 & 2, The Marriage of Stan Laurel, The Life and Times of Stan Laurel, and This Is Your Life. 1932-1959. 56 min. CD4/LAUR-0001.

Laurel & Hardy in Print

William K. Everson's The Films of Laurel & Hardy (OV 791.4302 Laurel E)

Wes D. Gehring's Laurel & Hardy: A Bio-bibliography (791.4302 Laurel G)

Fred Lawrence Guiles' Stan: The Life of Stan Laurel (791.4302 Laurel G)

John McCabe's The Comedy World of Stan Laurel (791.4302 Laurel M)

Scott MacGillivray's Laurel & Hardy: From the Forties Forward (791.4302 Laurel M)

Frank Manchel's The Talking Clowns: From Laurel and Hardy to the Marx Brothers (791.43028 M)

Jonathan Sanders' Another Fine Dress: Role-Play in the Films of Laurel and Hardy (791.4302 Laurel S)

Randy Skretvedt's Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies (791.4302 Laurel S)

List compiled by Jonathan Guildroy

October 2002