Laurel and Hardy Central - 45 Minutes from Hollywood

45 MINUTES FROM HOLLYWOOD

With Glenn Tryon, Charlotte Mineau, Theda Bara, Our Gang, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy
Directed by Fred Guiol
Story by Hal Roach
Written and filmed circa August, 1926. Released December, 1926. Produced by Hal Roach.
Two reels.

STORY: A country boy, his sister and his grandfather travel via bicycle to Hollywood, where they encounter movie stars, are mistaken for bank robbers, and wreak havoc among the guests and staff of a hotel.

By 1925, Oliver Hardy found himself employed as a contract player at the Hal Roach Studios, while Stan Laurel worked at the same address as a writer, director, and sometime performer. By the following year, Roach initiated the "All-Star Series" of comedy shorts, each of which featured some or all of his top comic talent: Laurel, Hardy, James Finlayson, Charlie Chase and Edna Marian. This is the first such film to feature both L&H.

JL: There was not much of chance for team chemistry to develop in this, their first appearance together in a Roach film. The film itself is virtually plotless, and seems to be a case of making it up as they went. Laurel has a brief bit as a hotel guest trying to get some sleep, while Hardy plays the hotel detective whose bath is interrupted and spends most of the film clad in a towel. Without even trying, Hardy steals the show. His delightfully expressive face and mannerisms leave little doubt as to who was the master of film technique among this largely-forgotten cast.

JB: Perhaps the reason Stan and Ollie are never in the same shot in this film is because they were sharing the same mustache?

Thanks to Dave Heath, of Another Nice Mess: The Films of Laurel and Hardy (http://lordheath.com) for the use of these pictures.