Come Clean

source: Come Clean

Laurel & Hardy return to a favourite plot device - that of blackmail - in this reasonably funny short. They save the life of a woman attempting to drown herself and are rewarded by having her threatening to have them arrested for attacking her if they don't take her home with them. Of course, being Stan & Ollie, this is what they do - with typically riotous results as they try to conceal her from their wives. This one has a couple of classic moments: the encounter with the ice cream salesman in which Stan wants mustachio with his chocolate ice cream, and the boy's noisy attempts to cover the music blaring from another room by banging their crockery and singing at the tops of their voices. Not quite vintage Laurel & Hardy but still extremely funny.

The scene in which Stan and Ollie go to purchase some ice cream is legendary! Lots of funny cracks, we are all awaiting these classics to be remastered on to 4k blu ray,' Every one of the teams films deserve it simply because they were the greatest, 'this little film stands up as one of the many examples of Stan & Ollie's genius. "All right, I'll have it without-chocolate!"

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful. Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. Didn't find 'Come Clean' as one of their best and a bit disappointing compared to their late 1928 and the best of their 1929 efforts, which were among their best and funniest early work. It is still very good and has much of what makes Laurel and Hardy's work as appealing as it is. The story is extremely slight to the point of non-existence and the first part takes a little bit too time to get going. When 'Come Clean' does get going, which it does do quite quickly, it is great fun, not always hilarious but never less than very amusing, loved everything with the ice cream and Laurel in the bath-tub is extremely funny. It is never too silly, there is a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive. Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'Come Clean' and on the most part from 'Two Tars' onwards we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable, especially Laurel's though Hardy at the end is one of the pleasures here. 'Come Clean' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid, especially Mae Busch. Overall, very good. Not essential or classic Laurel and Hardy, but a good representation of them. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Never save a woman from suicide; she'll end up ruining your life. That's the theme of this very adult entry in the Laurel and Hardy shorts series. And when that woman is Mae Busch, you know they are in trouble. She had already blackmailed Oliver in one short, and now she wants them to take care of her for interfering in her business. She's one of the biggest harpies to ever cross a man's path, this coming during an evening when the Hardy's and Laurel's were having a quiet evening together even though Mrs. Hardy didn't want them there. Loud and somewhat obnoxious, this is frenetic in it's actions, but the women characters are not at all sympathetic. There's a funny finale though that needed the perfect visual to go with it.

The 1931 comedy short film "Come Clean" starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy is an enjoyable enough foray into the shenanigans of Laurel and Hardy. Sure, it wasn't their finest work or most hilarious of stories, but it was watchable. The storyline was a little bit too far out there for my liking. Yeah, it was watchable, but the storyline was just lacking the witty banter and slapstick physical comedy that other of their movies had in abundance. Sure, it was here, but just not as much as in other movies. As always, it is a pure joy watching Laurel and Hardy on the screen doing what they mastered so well back in the day. And I will say that "Come Clean" definitely has withstood the test of time, because this short comedy film is very watchable even now in 2022. My rating of "Come Clean" lands of a five out of ten stars.

James W. Horne does what he does best as a director of Laurel and Hardy shorts with Come Clean, a spry comedic short, which is erect a story and short film on the opportunities that naturally arise from situational comedy. His directorial style, combined with H.M. Walker's writing, is often comprised of coming up with a ridiculous story and continuing to feed its inanity by seeing just how far one could take it. This results in a short that is more than just endless bouts of physical comedy with no real humor whatsoever, but a showcase of two charismatic comedy talents and a screen writing exercise that serves as a fulfilling laugh-riot. Come Clean may not live up to Horne's other Laurel and Hardy shorts, like Big Business and Thicker Than Water, but there is still an incomparable amount of energy and liveliness within the screenplay and the characters. The short begins by Mr. and Mrs. Hardy wishing they could have a restful, quiet evening in their apartment, but are interrupted, per usual, by the well-meaning but troublemaking Mr. and Mrs. Laurel. After trying to refuse entry, the Hardy's give up and decide to let them in, to which Laurel replies by hanging with his old pal Hardy and the wives are left to mingle in the frontroom. When Laurel and Hardy decide to venture out to get ice cream, they wind up preventing a woman from committing suicide off a bridge, to which she is ungrateful and begins making threats to both men if they dare leave her company. What results is a manic evening between the two men and the shrewish woman, as they try to get back to their wives for a dinner, while preventing the woman from screaming whenever she is unsatisfied with what's happening. This is the first Laurel and Hardy short I've encountered where little sense is made in regards to the short's narrative or its cause-and-effect relationship. Why would this woman try and commit suicide? Was it all just a ploy to get the attention of someone she could blackmail? Why are Laurel and Hardy's wives so bitter and shrewish themselves? Writer H.M. Walker doesn't concern himself with that information so much as he does try his best to quietly obscure details by making such a ridiculous and wild short film, one that operates with the one-thing-leads-to-another formula of early comedy filmmaking, without so much as clearing up why one thing leads to another. It's all in the name of comedy, and in that spirit, Come Clean is pretty funny, especially during the last ten minutes of its nineteen-minute runtime, where, per usual, all hell breaks loose and Laurel and Hardy are left to their own thoughtful wits, as lackluster as those often are. Come Clean provides for fun and enjoyment, which is precisely what most of these shorts have been giving me, so far. Starring: Stan Laurel and Olive Hardy. Directed by: James W. Horne.

Mae Busch had to be one of the greatest foils in movie history, and coupled with Laurel and Hardy and inspiration to future comediennes. Here, Stan and Ollie go out to get some ice cream for their "unhappy" wives and save devious Mae from drowning. Mae is at her best, setting up the boys to pay her off --or she'll tell the police (and their wives) THEY tried to kill her. What a bucket of SUDS they always step into! In the meantime, Ollie stashes Mae in his bedroom (while Stan is telling a dirty joke to the wives about some farmer's daughter!). OMG! The subsequent hide and seek with Busch around the apartment is campy and definitely pre-code stuff. In fact, when you come down to it, Laurel and Hardy had many suggestive episodes, particularly in their early sound years. Another gem, and with bewildered Charlie Hall selling the boys ice cream.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. Ollie and Mrs. Hardy (Gertrude Astor) are hoping for a quiet night alone, but Stan and Mrs. Laurel (Linda Loredo) come along spoiling this. To make the best of the evening, Ollie and Stan go out to buy some ice cream, only afterwards to spot Kate (Mae Busch), wanted by the police, jumping into the river. She blackmails them to take her with them, or she'll tell people they tried to kill her. So near misses, amusing methods of disguising noise and a small chase or two follow as they try to hide Kate from their wives, until eventually the police show up. Ollie points Stan out to be responsible, not realising whoever finds her gets $1000 reward, and it ends with Stan going down the drain of the bath, or as Ollie says, "he's gone to the beach". Filled with good slapstick and all classic comedy you want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable silent film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Worth watching!

. . . Stan replies to Ollie's question about what he plans to do with his reward money for catching Killer Kate at the end of COME CLEAN. Earlier in this story, it's established that the going rate for one quart of chocolate ice cream is 75 cents. This is the retail price, meaning that a gallon of the frozen dessert is setting customers back by exactly $3. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Stan could therefore acquire 333 gallons, plus a smidgen more than 42 additional ounces, of the icy brown treat at the take-out price, assuming that the store has a freezer large enough to contain it all (along with the gallons of the strawberry, pineapple, pistachio and gooseberry flavors then all the rage). No doubt Stan could get upwards of 500 gallons for a thousand bucks by cutting out the middle man, and negotiating directly with the creamery. This is all in sharp contrast with Ollie's original plan, which was to divide a mere quart of the frigid confection between four grown adults. While this eight-ounce ration might be more that a teaspoon full each, it's not by much.