DVD REVIEW - THE SLAPHAPPY COLLECTION, VOLUME 10 Executive Producers: Paul Lisy and Larry Stefan Producer: Larry Stefan Region 1 (U.S., Canada) Review by John V. Brennan OVERVIEW      As seen on PBS in 2001, SLAPHAPPY is a 30-part series of half-hour mini-documentaries about the great silent clowns and their comedy.  The series covered the famous,  the beloved and the all-but-forgotten.  It is now on a ten disc DVD set (available together or separately) with three half-hour episodes included on each disc.      Stan and Ollie: Before the Boys is an episode on Volume 10 documenting Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's separate film careers before they became a team.    THE DVD      SLAPHAPPY VOLUME 10 contains three separate half-hour episodes of the series: Stan and Ollie: Before the Boys, Battling Clowns and Comediennes.   For the purposes of this page, we will fully review only the Laurel and Hardy episode.      Featuring clips from some of Stan and Babe's most interesting solo shorts, Before the Boys is a well-done if short overview of "The Boys" before they were "The Boys". The scenes are presented with lively music but without intertitles or much setup of the specific comedy situation.  Silent comedy of the time being what it was, this is usually not a problem.  However, in the clip from Babe's Wandering Papas (directed by Laurel and starring Clyde Cooke), an exploding pancake gag doesn't pay off since we do not experience the anticipation we would have if we knew that, perhaps, gun powder or some other volatile substance had found its way into the batter.  But most of the other clips play well without explanation.       Several scenes are chosen for their resemblance to later Laurel and Hardy comedies.  A short clip from Stan's Smithy features Stan and James Finlayson working on a house that resembles the one Stan and Ollie would later build in The Finishing Touch.  In a clip of Babe cavorting with diminutive Bobby Ray in a film directed by Billy West, one can clearly see the seeds of Laurel and Hardy's dignified style, as Babe and Bobby exit a room while ceremoniously tipping their bowler hats, only to  walk directly off a balcony, plummeting to the street below.  Although it is not mentioned by the narrator, a mass-confusion scene from the 1923 Laurel comedy Collars and Cuffs appears to be a precursor to similar scenes from classic L&H silents such as You're Darn Tootin', though this Hardy-less scene, featuring Stan and others slipping and sliding on soap and water from an overflowing washing machine, lacks the underlying human psychology that makes similar L&H scenes so entertaining.      The episode ends just before the two men become the most beloved comedy team of all time.  Copyright problems aside, it would have  been nice to end on at least one representative clip of what these two men were capable of when they finally started working together.  As it is, the fimmakers assume everybody knows what Laurel and Hardy are all about, and unfortunately, these days, that is no longer true.      The prints used for this episode run from poor to very good, with most being passable. Some very early clips are pockmarked, worn and scratched but for the most part, the scenes are fast-paced and well-chosen, and the occasional defects are not terribly bothersome.      The background music is by Michael Lande's Rhythm Club Orchestra, with the series' main theme provided by Vince Giordano's Nighthawks.  Both groups provide the kind of cheerful, toe-tapping 1930s-style jazz that will instantly remind you of the LeRoy Shield and Marvin Hatley themes from the Hal Roach talkies.      You can access individual scenes from each episode, which will allow you to view the entire episode and then go back and savor some of the better moments, such as the fascinating scenes of a nearly unrecognizable Laurel in Lon Chaneyesque makeup for his horror parody Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride, or Ollie's encounter with Chaplin imitator Billy West.      You can also watch each episode with or without the narration.   Again, this will let you enjoy the documentary as is and then go back and examine favorite scenes again without any distraction, or listen to the background music more attentively.      Clips from the following films are represented in this episode: The Battle Royal (Babe's Plump and Runt series), The Hobo (Babe with Billy West), Hustling for Health (Stan), The Lucky Dog (Stan and Babe together for the first time), The Sawmill (Babe with Larry Semon), Collars and Cuffs (Stan), Stick Around (Babe with Bobby Ray), Smithy (Stan with Jimmy Finlayson), Married to Order, Be Your Age (Both featuring Babe with Charley Chase), The Sleuth (Stan), Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride (Stan), Wandering Papas (Babe with Clyde Cooke).      For more information on this DVD and the rest of the series, you can visit SlapHappy Comedies. Copyright © John Larrabee, John V. Brennan 2004. All Rights Reserved.