Kidskycom
It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
Bea Swanson
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Mandeep Tyson
The acting in this movie is really good.
classicsoncall
As a kid during the Fifties, I tried to catch as many of these Laurel and Hardy films shorts I could; they were shown on TV fairly regularly. One of Stan's quips I picked up on I used for the longest time because it sounded so funny to me, and if you asked me before today what picture it came from I wouldn't have been able to tell you. But in this 'murder' case, he comes out with the 'Septober, Octember, No Wonder' line and it managed to crack me up all over again. So I'll probably be using it again.Like most comedy teams through the decades, this one features a version of a haunted house scenario, as the boys are confined to an old, dark mansion after they become suspects in a murder mystery. One can't help but notice the over the top delivery of the Chief of Detectives (Fred Kelsey) in this one. His portrayal epitomizes what for many actors coming out of the silent era must have been the need to over-enunciate and over dramatize their role for it's intended effect on the viewer. The other character that was a real hoot here was the Laurel Mansion butler (Frank Austin). Man, didn't he just give you the creeps? That scene with the teeth was a horror film delight.The picture utilizes a lot of the standard clichés of the era; besides the creepy butler you've got your black cat, the ghost lamp gimmick and the bat in the bed sheet to keep the would be millionaires on edge. The notion that all of this might have been a dream didn't bother me here as a lot of movies have managed to do, because all those other flicks didn't have Laurel and Hardy in them. It's no wonder I could watch these guys all day.
Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case" is a Stan and Ollie 30-minute short film from 80 years ago and this was already later during their career as you see by the presence of sound. But the rest is nothing new. Parrott directs, Walker is the writer and it is in black-and-white. I personally preferred the first half of this short film. I felt the comedy and the story were more interesting to watch in the first 15 minutes, actually a pretty decent little crime tale. In the second half, it switches a bit to horror and has some supernatural influences, even if it all still stays mostly a comedy. Also the ending was kinda uninspiring with the duo only dreaming it all apparently. I wish they could have kept the level from early on. Still, it was a solid watch and I definitely prefer the two during the sound era. All in all, I recommend the watch, even if it could have been 5-10 minutes shorter.
Theo Robertson
The only problem I have with the Laurel and Hardy shorts is that the memory cheats a little , that is watching many many years after I first saw them as a child they`re not as funny as I first remembered due to the technical aspects of film making of the time . The shorts are rather stagey , slightly stilted . But if you can forgive that you`ll have no problem enjoying Stan and Ollie.And I consider MURDER CASE to be just about the best L&H short . Classic moments are the bat hidden in the bed sheet , the picture illuminated on the wall , and the tailors dummy , scenes that had me laughing out loud. The only weak point is - as many reviewers have noted - the cop out ending which I suppose may have been fresh in 1930 but has been done to death by too many lazy writers since then
bob the moo
Whilst sleeping on a pier, Hardy notices that a man called Laurel has died and that his $3million estate will be divided at the will reading that night. They go to the will reading but find that the police have set it up to get all the relatives together to find who has murdered old man Laurel. The pair must stay in the old house with all the relatives – knowing a murderer (and a ghost!) may be among them.I have always enjoyed Laurel and Hardy although some of their stuff isn't as consistent as you'd hope. Happily I found this to be very enjoyable even if it did start to spin off into being a horror spoof rather than the murder case of the title. The main humour involves pratfalls and running scared from various things that could be ghosts etc, but it does have some nice touches (the usual looks to the camera from Hardy) as well as some real nice lines. `$3,000,000' exclaims Laurel `is that more than a thousand?' `don't be foolish,' retorts Hardy `it's TWICE as much!'. The self-mocking humour helps lift the comedy above the level of people just falling down.Both leads are excellent and I have always enjoyed Hardy's work to involve the audience by giving them looks of frustration at Laurel's foolishness! Laurel of course is just as good with double takes and god physical work. The support cast are not really worth a mention as you may not even notice they are there behind the dominant leads.Overall I laughed out loud plenty of times during this short. The comedy may be basic routines that you've seen before but it's done so well and with so many nice touches that you'll enjoy it. The only weakness is that the plot is far from your mind for the most part and is weak when the film needs an ending.
