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Whatever Babe was telling the restauranteur as quoted in PRATFALL! -- about the team not speaking to each other in 1944 -- this interview makes it clear that they were fast friends again during their 1947 tour. Babe's compliment to Stan that "you've taught me everything you know about comedy&qu...

It's strange that a documented real-life quarrel between Laurel & Hardy is usually overlooked by true L&H aficionados but STAN AND OLLIE made no qualms about fabricating a fake rift between The Boys. In an old issue of PRATFALL! (circa 1970) there's an article titled "Babe's Night Out,&...

Richard, I believe you've just given the best analysis of what is wrong with STAN AND OLLIE, to which I'll add a brief anecdote: My teenage son was switching channels last night and came upon an extended trailer for STAN AND OLLIE, already in progress. He's a true fan, naturally, but when it was ove...

Eddie Cline had a gambling addiction, but I never heard that he was an alcoholic. Edward Bernds told me that by the late 1950s Cline was so broke that he sold his car to pay off gambling debts.

Sorry to hear that you cannot access BATTLE from the States. But I have received thank-you emails from friends in the US who have watched the link. Based on what you say, I presume some US viewers are using a VPN service or web proxy that hides your location. I'm not endorsing any of these services ...

My friend Richard Siedhoff advised me that the ARTE channel has a link to Filmmuseum München's reconstruction of THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY, which includes the entire reel two pie fight. The film won't be online for long so if you haven't seen it yet and can't wait for the DVD release, you'd better c...

Last week TIME magazine published an article about the film without actually critiquing it. The headline calls it "The Not-So-Funny True Comedy Story Behind the Movie Stan & Ollie." The film itself is described as "a fictionalized take on the comedians’ British tour in 1953 and 19...

I realize it's a fixation with me, but I would like to finally see my favorite Laurel & Hardy silent in its complete form before I kick off. Perhaps THE SECOND 100 YEARS will be included in a forthcoming set...someday.

Exciting news! Now I need to find out how to access ARTE TV in the UK to avoid the disappointment of not being able to see these. Do you know when the other L&H material will be shown? On a related note, is Lobster planning to make these shorts / films available on DVD? Here's the schedule of t...