One Good Turn

source: One Good Turn

Laurel and Hardy strive to help little old lady Mary Carr whom they believe is about to be put out on the street. Little do they realize that the jokes on them. Starting off with them camping in the woods, for them it looks like everything that can go wrong will go wrong. But it was a nice though anyway. James Finlayson plays an important part, but this time he's not their foil, and they don't even share scenes with him. Carr is a sweet delight, obviously being an expert in these type of roles. In one of the few times that Laurel is allowed to show some temper, he actually gets to give Oliver a taste of his own medicine, that is until the final shot.

A 1931 L&H comedy short, available at YouTube in both it's original B&W form as well as a colorized form. I found that a section of the latter had no sound. The plot concerns the attempt by the boys to prevent the foreclosure on the Old Lady's property. The Old Lady(Mary Carr) had befriended them, as they were destitute:"victims of The Depression". In the end, we discover that the Old Lady was not in danger of losing her property, and that Stan didn't steal her mortgage money, as Ollie accused..........The progression of the plot depends on the confluence of several very unlikely events: A)Jimmy Finlayson ,an amateur actor, comes to the Old Lady's door and demands payment of her mortgage, or foreclosure, as a rehearsal for a play. B)As part of the play, the Old Woman screams when she finds her mortgage money is missing. Stan and Ollie happen to hear this. C) Without consulting the Old Lady, they decide to auction off their car, to raise the $100. she needs. D) At the auction, a drunk pulls out his wallet and says he will pay $100. for the car. But Ollie hears an apparent bid of $125., and declares that person the buyer. But, it's Stan, telling a hard of hearing person the time! Thus, they still have no money, and they soon destroy their car, fighting. E)The drunk puts his wallet in Stan's jacket pocket, rather than his own. F) When Ollie discovers the wallet in Stan's pocket, he immediately jumps to the conclusion that this is the Old Lady's mortgage money, without examining the wallet for a possible ID clue.........While Stan is eventually exonerated from stealing the Old Lady's money, the question remains: whose wallet does Stan have and how did it get into his pocket. This question is never asked, although the circumstantial evidence clearly favors the conclusion that he picket somebody's pocket. ........When the boys find out that the Old Lady is not missing any money, Stan goes berserk, hitting and kicking Ollie. Then, Stan takes the extreme measure of trying to kill Ollie by causing the large shed he is trapped in to collapse on him. He does this by wacking the entrance with an ax, believe it or not. Ollie's head is now sticking out of the displaced roof( Some reviewers mistakenly claim he wrecked the house). Then, he chops some small logs in such a position that one piece flies in the air and lands on Ollie's head. He repeats this with the same result. He tries once more , with a thicker log. But, this one lands on his own head, to end the film.......I have not described many of the slapstick gags that pepper the film. I leave these for you to see.

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. Basicaly Stan and Ollie are living rough, with only some clothes and their car, and after managing to burn down their tent they see no choice but to go begging for food somewhere. They find the house of Old Lady (Mary Carr), and she agrees to make some sandwiches and coffee for them, while they do a little wood chopping, which of course doesn't last long. While tucking into their food, they overhear the Old Woman begging "villainous landlord" (James Finlayson) not to evict her when she can't pay him the $100 she owes. Stan and Ollie decide to try and sell their car and give the Old Woman the money to pay the villain off, and a paying drunk man accidentally puts his wallet in Stan's pocket, spurring Ollie to think he stole it from the Old Woman. So he forces Stan to go back (their car by the way collapses) to prove his guilt, but they both didn't realise she was rehearsing with the Community Player for a play, so Stan is very mad, and the film ends with a last squabble. Filled with good slapstick and all classic comedy you want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Worth watching!

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 'One Good Turn' 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 slight, though more discernible than most Laurel and Hardy shorts at this point. and the first part takes a little bit too time to get going. Did appreciate its more gentle approach and it was touching to see a sympathetic side to Laurel and Hardy. When 'One Good Turn' does get going, which it does do quite quickly, it is great fun, not always hilarious but has enough amusing parts. It is never too silly, it doesn't lose 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. The unexpected and wonderfully strange ending here is the highlight. 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 'One Good Turn' 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. 'One Good Turn' looks good visually, has 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. Overall, very good. Not essential or classic Laurel and Hardy, but a good representation of them. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is a Laurel and Hardy short film from 1931, so almost 85 years ago already. Wow. It is in black-and-white, not silent anymore and runs for slightly under 20 minutes and looking at how the whole thing is basically only about a single misunderstanding, I have to say they did a good job with keeping that storyline intact and not letting it drag too much. Laurel gets his revenge in the end and boy I had no idea he was such a violent fella. Of course, it also backfires at him again too. The duo mistakes a theater play recital for an actual conversation and they believe an old woman is about to get evicted from her home. They try their best to prevent this from happening for the rest of the film. As always, chaos ensues. Director Horne and writer Walker worked on several L&H film, so they knew exactly what they were doing to make two of the biggest stars at that point appear as interesting as ever. Finally, just a little scene I found funny: The landlord says at some point that he will get his minions to clear the place and I immediately had to wonder if he was the villain the yellow little creatures from 2Despicable Me" were hanging around with back in the 1930s. Anyway, if you haven't seen the film, you will probably have absolutely no idea what I am talking about. Oh yeah, and aging makeup was very popular back then as well. The actress who played the old lady was a lot younger. Then again, Méliès made himself look considerably older in the 1890s already. "One Good Turn" could have been five minutes shorter maybe for a better viewing experience, but it is still a decent watch. Recommended.

Laurel and Hardy got to do one of their best shorts for Hal Roach in 1931 with One Good Turn. They play a couple of down on their luck characters who during the Great Depression would have had an instant identity with the movie-going public. One fine day as it happens Stan and Ollie come to the house of a little old lady who kindly gives them some food in exchange for some work they proceed to do in their inimitable fashion. In the meantime she's part of the little theater players group in her community and later when the boys return they hear the old lady Mary Carr rehearsing a scene with perennial Stan and Ollie nemesis James Finlayson. It's one of those turgid 19th century melodramas where the cruel, heartless, villainous landlords is about to evict the dear old thing and she's lost the money she's stashed away for her rent. Later on when Stan turns up with $100.00 Ollie drags him back and they find out the truth. At that point the worm known as Stan Laurel reacts and starts to give Ollie back what he's dealt with in this short and dozens more. It's what makes One Good Turn so unusual and refreshing. Note the scene which has them chopping wood and later on when they demolish their Model T. If that thing had been preserved today it would be priceless. A must for Stan and Ollie's legions of fans.

One Good Turn (1931) ** 1/2 (out of 4) L&H set out to raise $100 when they overhear an elderly woman say she's going to be evicted. Not too many laughs in this one outside the opening sequence in the woods. Leave 'Em Laughing (1928) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Laurel is suffering from a toothache so Hardy takes him to the dentist who accidentally fills them with laughing gas. The early gags of Hardy trying to pull the tooth are funny but the ending with the cars goes on a bit too long and gets rather tiresome. They Go Boom! (1929) *** (out of 4) Hardy has a cold so it's up to Laurel to try and find a cure so that they can get a good night's sleep. Highlights include the mustard bath and the exploding mattress. Thicker Than Water (1935) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Laurel and Hardy waste $300 on a grandfather clock so Hardy's wife hits him with a frying pan and sends him to the hospital. Again, not too funny and the worst part is the ending where the two change personalities. This here should have been a lot funnier than it turned out.

As others have pointed out, this Laurel and Hardy short is mainly memorable for an uncharacteristic - and truly hilarious - worm-turning sequence when Stan, outraged at being wrongly accused of stealing from an old lady by Ollie, terrorises his friend with righteous anger and a boot up the backside. Although this is a highlight, the film is consistently funny throughout, even though there isn't much of a story to speak of. The film also starts strongly with Stan trying to put out a burning tent with cups of water fetched from a nearby river much to the puzzlement of Ollie who is washing their smalls at the time. All you see is Ollie's reactions as Stan's legs run back and forth in front of him, but the timing and Ollie's expression are spot on. Be sure to catch this one.

Laurel and Hardy are destitute – living by the river in a tent and their car. When Laurel manages to destroy most of their few remaining possessions they are forced to beg door to door for food. A misunderstanding with a kindly old lady leads the duo into a kind act that ultimately leads to a division between them. This film has no one major strong scene that stuck in my mind, but it does have a consistently funny tale that made me laugh the whole way through. The plot starts with the usual `down on their luck' set up that works very well – Laurel playing with fire is well done. The actual plot device used to create the main story is a little contrived but it is played so well that it doesn't really matter. All though the short there are lots of nice touches.- Hardy's looks are as good as ever. Some fans may feel that this is more low key than they expected due to the lack of a big sequence, but the smaller, consistent jokes work well to produce a short that lacks a major peak, but then manages to have no dips either. The cast are good. The little old lady is a little clichéd and James Finlayson has little of value to do, but Laurel and Hardy are both good. Here Laurel keeps his usual character but he also adds a tougher edge. In other shorts he has tended to be one or the other (often being tougher in later films) but here he gets the mix right (apparently due to Laurel wanting to let his daughter see her dad stand up for himself onscreen). Hardy is as good as always. Overall this lacks peaks but makes up for it by being consistently funny from the opening campfire sequence right through to logs a-flying!