Without question, the best, most comprehensive book on the team. Skretvedt's book, more than a decade in the making, was written with access to the Hal Roach Studios archives. It offers a wealth of never-before-published behind-the-scenes information, including exact shooting dates and locations, the major differences between the shooting scripts and the finished films, interviews with the surviving principal players, and probably the best in-print analyses of the working conditions at the Roach studios. There are also lengthy chapters devoted to such topics as the music of LeRoy Shield and T. Marvin Hatley, lost films and footage, foreign versions, and video availability. The amount of detail may be a bit off-putting to new fans who just want a basic history of the team, but Skretvedt's engaging, humorous style is accessible to all. If you can afford but one Laurel & Hardy book, this is the one to get. - JL
Copyright © John Larrabee, John V. Brennan 2003. All Rights Reserved.
