Ohukainen ja Paksukainen: Elämä ja elokuvat

by Simon Louvish, Tarmo Haarala (Translator)

Stan Laurel ja Oliver Hardy, Ohukainen ja Paksukainen, olivat valkokankaan tunnetuin ja suosituin koomikkopari. Heidän pitkä ja vaiherikas elokuvauransa alkoi jo ensimmäisen maailmansodan aikana mykkäelokuvissa, kumpikin vielä erikseen. Heidän yhteiset elokuvansa alkoivat vuonna 1927 ja heidän äänielokuvansa 1930-luvulta olivat kaksikon parasta antia.

Englantilainen elokuvatutkija Simon Louvish käy läpi Laurelin ja Hardyn elokuvat ja heidän joskus myrskyisätkin elämänvaiheensa.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Humor, Film, Comedy, Media Tie In, Biography Memoir

493 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Simon Louvish (born 1947 in Scotland) is an Israeli author and film maker. He has written many books about Avram Blok, a fictional Israeli caught up between wars, espionage, prophets, revolutions, loves, and a few near apocalypses.

He has also written biographies of W. C. Fields, The Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, Laurel and Hardy, and Mack Sennett.

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

The amount of work the author did to pull together filmographies and biographies was astounding. However, I find his writing style ("non-linear" is the gentlest way to describe it) very annoying. It's not uncommon for the author to launch in to a story, tell part of it, then tell the reader "but that's a story for later in the book." Grrr.

Also, the author spent about 2 paragraphs pondering the homoerotic undertones and subcontext of Stan and Ollie sharing a bed in "Laughing Gravy" (one of their short films). Stan and Ollie??!! Homoerotic??!! I got news for ya, buddy. . . they shared a bed because (wait for it) . . it was funny. No subcontext. No hidden meaning. End. Of. Story.

At this point I'm just trying to finish the last 2 chapters so I can get a better book about my favorite comedians.

So 2 stars for writing style and clarity, 1 star for looking for subcontext from Laurel & Hardy, and 4 stars for the impressive amount of work. Overall - a 2 star book.

[Tim Blackburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the most difficult review for me to-date. I've always loved Laurel and Hardy and some of my earliest memories from the 1960's revolve around their movies. This book is difficult to work through due to it's long length - >17 hours. The actual biographical portrait of the boys is great and I thoroughly enjoyed that. The complete filmography of their work is very tedious to work through. Great reference material but very hard to listen to due to the minute details of each work. Another element of the book is a critique of their movies. I also struggled mightily in this part of the book. The author ravaged my two very favorite L&H movies (Flying Dueces and The Big Noise) and I probably took his criticism too personally. Summing up, this book is a magnificent reference work for L&H fans or researchers but not so good as a general read for L&H fans.

[Fred Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in this after seeing the movie "Stan and Ollie", which touched me. The part of their lives covered in the movie is a very short part of this book, which, in my opinion, often gave too many details about the plots of their movies. Let's face it: The plots of the movies were not very deep. Those details would be more fun for fanatics of the duo who have seen all the movies. Also, the author sometimes went off in directions that were hard to follow. I also note that the author was extremely hard on "Babes in Toyland", which I grew up knowing as "March of the Wooden Soldiers", a film which I loved and, more than any other of their films, gave Laurel and Hardy immortality.
Nonetheless, after reading this, I am interested in seeing more of their movies.

[Zach Koenig · Rating 5 out of 5]

After catching a Laurel & Hardy marathon of shorts on Turner Classic Movies earlier this year, I began to wonder what Stan & Ollie were like in "real life". This book was the first one I turned to, and let's just say (for better or for worse) that I won't need to go any further.

Basically, this book contains enough information about the comedy duo to make your head double-take like the famous Stan Laurel variety. Some of it is intensely interesting, while other parts are so dull (full of dates, times, nondescript names, etc.) that you wonder if you'll ever finish. As a result, I skipped around in the text a bit, with these topics being my personal highlights:

-The dichotomy between Laurel & Hardy as individuals. Whereas Stan grew up in England and was vaudeville through-and-through, Ollie was a product of the deep south and lived his early years as essentially a fat kid who loved movies. As they grew older and eventually were paired together, Stan was clearly the comedic brains behind the operation (planning out all the shorts), while Ollie was the imposing physical presence.

-The fates of chance that allowed both players to connect with each other in the first place, as they both took very different routes through the silent film era of American cinema.

-The "golden years" at Hal Roach studios, where the boys created their finest collection of shorts with an excellent supporting cast (Mae Busch, Jimmy Finnlayson, Charlie Wilson, etc.).

-The marital troubles of both parties; so often themes (husband vs. wife) so often incorporated into their shorts.

-The later, feature-film years in which the duo struggles (and ultimately fails) to ever re-create the Roach Years, despite sustained fan popularity.

All in all, author Simon Louvish has certainly done his homework regarding the unstoppable comedy team. I have a feeling I could read ten more books on the subject and not be surprised by a whole lot. That is why I'm giving the book a 5-star rating. It is, without a doubt, quite dull and plodding at certain points, but the amount of information is staggering. As long as you "pick and choose" a little bit regarding the sections of their life you are interested in, you'll be fine.

[Andrewh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louvish has written widely about early Hollywood culture (with bios of Chaplin, Sennett, WC Fields and the Marx Bros. among others), and his gentle, light style is perfectly suited to the charms of Laurel and Hardy. Louvish traces their divergent upbringings (Oliver 'Babe' Hardy in the American Deep South, and Stan Jefferson/Laurel in the north of England) in much loving detail (in fact, it's a full 160pp before the duo meet here, which is a third of the book). He then goes through their film career in sometimes prosaic detail, concentrating on the big feature films (such as the great Sons of the Desert and Way out West, which spawned their hit single in the 70s, older readers may remember), though these hour-long sketches (as Louvish points out, their best films had no real plot, just set ups for their genius for pratfalls and visual comedy) comprise a very small part of the L&H oeuvre - they made several hundreds of shorts, what were termed 'two-reelers', both individually and as a team. Inevitably, as clowns do, they had somewhat sad personal lives - Babe was married to an alcoholic and Stan was married to several off-screen versions of the harridan wives he would be running away from on screen for many years. Most sadly, they fell out of fashion in the late 30s and entered the Fox studio, after severing their ties with the legendary Hal Roach, whom Stan had fouhgt for years for artistic control, only to find themselves being subjected to the machine-like production values of Fox's B-unit, which resulted in mostly terrible films, according to Louvish (i've never seen any myself). For me, they are encapsulated by the fantastic sketch called the Music Box, in which they valiantly attempt to push a piano up a flight of stairs, constantly failing and constantly trying again - they represent everyman engaged in the almost Sisyphean task of retaining one's dignity while earning a living in an uncaring modern world. A fine mess, They have gotten us into, indeed!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not only a very interesting history of the personal lives and early professional struggles of one of the iconic comedy teams of old Hollywood, but it's also rich in historical detail about the history and other personalities of the very earliest days of Hollywood, as well as about the old classic British Music Hall days, their equivalent of our Vaudeville. Both comedians are shown as being much more than just their innocent & childlike comic personas that we see on screen-- their very human weaknesses are shown as well as their their very different off-stage personas; and the trials (sometimes literally, in the case of Stan's many messy divorce proceedings!) and tribulations of what they were going through in their personal lives during much of the time that they were also struggling to stay alive in showbiz while making many funny, fondly-remembered comedies makes you appreciate just how talented and dedicated Stan & Ollie were to their craft! Definitely would recommend this to not only fans of Laurel & Hardy but anyone who is interested in learning about early Hollywood (and speaking of which, I would also recommend "Harpo Speaks", the autobiography of Harpo Marx, as one of THE best showbiz bios I've ever read, too-- Harpo was definitely one of the rare "nice guys" in Hollywood-- nobody ever had a bad word to say about him-- who definitely deserved his rags-to-riches success as well! Fascinating life, and he has some great stories to tell!).

[Arnulfo Velasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siempre hay quienes intentan negar lo evidente, Es cierto que en el cine mudo y en los inicios del cine sonoro existieron bastantes cómicos de muy buena calidad. Y, sin embargo, los dos genios indudables de ese conjunto fueron, le pese a quien le pese, Charles Chaplin y Buster Keaton. Después vienen todos los demás: Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, Fatty Arbuckle, Charley Chase, y Laurel y Hardy, entre otros. Los dos últimos tuvieron una cualidad básica: eran impresionantemente fotogénicos. En ese sentido, tan sólo Chaplin puede competir con ellos en el hecho de haber creado una apariencia emblemática, extraordinariamente fácil de representar en forma plástica y muy fácilmente reconocible. Su trabajo como actores fue bastante variado. Por separado no valían gran cosa. Juntos podían ser muy divertidos, en sus mejores momentos, y bastante exasperantes en sus instantes más bajos. Pero son figuras básicas de la historia del cine. Este libro narra la vida de ambos, señalando la notable diferencia que había entre sus personajes y los seres humanos reales. Oliver Hardy, que interpretaba siempre al mandón, era una persona muy amable y poco problemática. Stan Laurel, que aparecía como un ingenuo apacible en sus cintas, tuvo una vida personal bastante agitada y era el organizador, guionista e impulsor de la pareja. Para los aficionados a las cintas del "Gordo y el Flaco", éste es un libro indispensable.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually rate this book 3 1/2 stars

[Jacob Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on the roots of comedy and the key part Laurel and Hardy played in it.

[Dave Sikula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of Louvish’s well-researched biographies that makes one appreciate the reality behind the studio hype.

That it’s about The Boys doesnt hurt, either, as it tells me so much of what I wanted to know about their off-screen lives.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book not just because it is about the greatest comedy team of all time, but because it presented them as real, flawed human beings--lovably human. And besides all of the factual information I wanted about "the boys," Louvish is a truly enjoyable writer. A pleasure to read!

NOTE: For one additional thought on this book, see my review of "Andy and Don" two books down the line!

[Diane Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I really learned a lot about the lives of these two great men; things I never knew before. I gained even more respect for the lives they lived and the success they had despite all of the hardships they went through. For that I would have given this book 5 stars. On the other hand, what brought my rating down was the constant analyzing that the author did in regards to Laurel and Hardy dressing as women, sharing a bed in some episodes, etc. The author kept trying to infuse modern day ideals into these situations, when in reality they meant nothing of the sort given the time period in which they occurred. Stan is from England, and the English are notorious for having men play women's parts or dress up as a woman, just for the sheer fact that it is oftentimes funnier that way. Monty Python did that to great effect in many of their sketches and movies. Mrs. Brown's Boys is absolutely hilarious with the title role being played by a man. We need to stop trying to rewrite history into the way we think it should be, and just enjoy it for what it was.

[Eric Bauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that I almost gave up on this book. After I read the first chapter, I had no idea what the author had been talking about. When I made it to around page 75, I was worn out not only by the author's continued pretentious prose, but also from being a Yank not understanding the very British words and phrases that the author was using. I thought about whether to continue or not, and decided to give it another 50 pages.

I'm glad I did. The author calmed his prose down (although it did flit free occasionally) and his dual biography of Laurel and Hardy (whom I consider to be the greatest comedy team ever) moved along. This is the first book of eight I have lined up on great comedians (individuals and teams), and it has implanted a desire to pull out my DVDs of Laurel and Hardy and watch the magic.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book. It is interesting to learn more about Laurel and Hardy. I was in the library and thought what biography would be interesting. I always enjoyed watching Laurel and Hardy movies (in 1st grade I had a teacher that would show all the shorts on reel film). Surprisingly, I found this book. It was fascinating learning about their early years and interesting to learn how they dealt with fame and stardom. The book goes into far too much detail about specific movie scenes.

[Simon Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow and pretentious start gives way to a winning, honest appraisal of the highs and lows of Laurel and Hardy’s careers. Those looking for the dirt in their personal lives should look elsewhere; the multiple marriages are well handled, there is no salacious guess work and the third-party sources are handled with skill. The decline in career and health are extremely moving.

[Jim Dooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have ever been seated in a college class, trapped by the pedantic muttering of a professor who has an opinion about pretty much everything and is constantly expounding those opinions despite being off-topic, you have some idea of the reading experience presented to you by Simon Louvish in this book. The first few times, I let it go. However, when the opinions reach to such heights as “the execrably titled ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN” in a book about Laurel and Hardy, that was too much for me. I would rate the factual information 5-stars. Louvish’s personal opinions drop 2-stars from the rating.

This is not to say that I disagreed with every opinion. There are definitely members of the “The Sons Of The Desert” Tents who have a completely rose-colored view of the Boys. Also, I agree that it is difficult for us to see differing perspectives of something that held significant meaning for us when we were children. I was 7-years old when my Dad brought home a Keystone 8mm silent movie projector with edited 50-foot reels of Laurel and Hardy scenes. Watching those cemented in my mind that Laurel and Hardy are great comedians.

The book does provide a good overview into the lives and works of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. There are gaps in the histories, and Louvish provides informed guesses as to what might have happened during them. The Reader easily follows through the early years, has access to descriptions of key moments, and learns the backstories of key people who surrounded the comedians.

The Reader must also traverse the writer’s views of what makes effective comedy, and have a number of the productions mentioned held up in support or contrast of those views. This can become ponderous, such as when he opines that artists such as Samuel Beckett had “been touched by the movie clowns of our times,” and then proceeds to quote about a page-and-a-half of dialogue from WAITING FOR GODOT ... apparently because Laurel and Hardy also had scenes with dialogue that took place on a park bench.

There are tales about what occurred on the sets, but not nearly enough of them. Most of them were ones I’d known before, although I had not known all of the ones about BABES IN TOYLAND. The book would have been indispensable with more of those stories and less personal opinion.

Through the years, whenever I’ve really needed help to be cheered up, I’ve watched Laurel and Hardy’s WAY OUT WEST ... my favorite comedy. And it brings me such joy whenever I introduce someone new to the film and see that the Boys have won a new convert. Their style of humor is rarely seen today. If you are new to Laurel and Hardy, or if you’re just wondering how much of the new film released about them is true, this provides a lot of good information.

Just remember that the test may include questions about the opinions, too!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid biography by an author who takes his subjects seriously but appreciates their humor. I'm quite familiar with Laurel and Hardy, but I haven't seen many of their feature films, other than Sons of the Desert and Way Out West. I appreciate that Simon Louvish covers the team's later movies, when they were in decline, with as much thoroughness as he does their peak years. I've read too many books about the Marx Brothers, for example, which lose interest in their movie careers after A Night at the Opera or A Day at the Races and virtually ignore their later, lesser movies, like Go West and The Big Store. I'm glad that Louvish doesn't do that here, and I hope he doesn't do that in his book about the Marxes, which I'm looking forward to reading.

This is not a dispassionate biography. Louvish readily shares his opinions, both positive and negative, about Stan and Ollie's body of work. It's exactly what I want when I read about the performing arts, but don't always get. (Too often, a book covers the gossip and the private lives but not the actual work of the performers in question. That doesn't happen here.)

My only minor complaint is that I was hoping the book would satisfy my curiosity about Laurel and Hardy's appearance in The Hollywood Revue of 1929. In this movie, which was more or less a showcase for the advent of sound in motion pictures, the boys appear doing a magic sketch. Oliver does all the talking while Stan is mute. (It's almost like watching Penn and Teller!) I've always wondered why Stanley stayed silent in a movie that was meant to introduce sound. Had he briefly considered staying silent, as Harpo Marx did, and then quickly abandoned that plan? I wanted to get some insight into this, but sadly, the book didn't address it. Oh well. Still a terrific book, and a very worthwhile read.

[Angus Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was really turgid reading, with lots of overblown, florid phrases adding no real value. Lots of reciting of not very important facts and movie plots or dialog that were unnecessary. Very little insight into who Laurel and Hardy were as people and what was their relationship. Occasional flights of fancy about psycho-sexual interpretations of situations, which were really a stretch to take seriously. This came across as the writing of someone who's a diligent researcher but really doesn't know how to tell an interesting story. I made it to the end but only because I love Laurel and Hardy and wanted to know the facts. Too bad I had to wade through 500 pages of this to get them. There must be better, more enjoyable sources.

[John Schaeffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the book is a review of many of Laurel and Hardy films. During and before they were a team. Of which total hundreds of one and two reelers dated back to the early silent movie era. Louvish would mention a movie, then discuss its plot and what characters the boys played. Also, who the supporting actors where and sometimes launch into a mini biography of those actors. Discuss the director and occasional other crew members were somethings reviewed. This is done ad nauseum. The author didn't do an in-depth biography of the persona OF Laurel and Hardy. Who were they as individuals, what were their likes and dislikes how did they get along with each other. The boys' marriable problems, etc. Yes, the author touches on these topics but not enough in my option. I wasn't interested in movie reviews, I wanted to know more about this great comic teams. The book was disappointing.

[MH · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable biography of the comedy team that makes a lot of smart choices - Louvish spends about a hundred pages before he brings the two together, so we can see how both men learn their craft (for Laurel, the stage - for Hardy, being a jobbing actor in early film); he thoroughly goes through the many biographies of the two, and acknowledges where they're biased (but gently, without rancor or superiority); and he sharply analyzes how their comedy changed - and didn't - through the years, and gives some smart readings about how it meant to its audiences, past and future (without ever getting too academic about his analytical reads - he even apologizes for them at one point). Most importantly, though, Louvish manages to convey how very, very much he loves Laurel & Hardy, without ever excusing their faults or ignoring some of the questions around them, and also without turning this biography into a puff piece. A terrific book.

[Douglas Noakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dual biographies don't get much better than this--Louvish is a terrific prose stylist who has also written outstanding bios of WC Fields and the Brothers Marx. What stand out in his books are exhaustive research and his own humor. One gets the feeling the great comic duo themselves would have appreciated the efforts here, although perhaps Stan Laurel might have wanted a bit less about his multiple marriages and seemingly endless alimony woes. Louvish recognizes that Laurel and Hardy were the masters of the two-reel comedy, and the best of their great work with Hal Roach (THE MUSIC BOX, HELPMATES, HOG WILD, TIT FOR TAT, et al) gets through examination.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author describes every movie ever made by Laurel & Hardy in excruciating detail. He also spends way too much time waxing philosophically on comedy in general, and Laurel and Hardy's comedy in particular. With some judicious editing this thick tome could be lightened up considerably. I slogged through to the end because of the subject matter, but I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone interested in a more conventional biography. They would be disappointed, as was I.

[Chris Lund · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a lot of great information, and I appreciate the amount of effort that went into it, but it also felt like it was a lot longer than it needed to be. As much as I love these films, I'm not sure it's really necessary to get into so much detail of all the various plot lines and all the extensive quotes from the scripts and such. It was also fairly clear that the author is a fan, with frequent attempts to downplay anything negative about "our heroes". But still a certainly worthwhile read for anybody interested in Laurel & Hardy history.

[Andy Gore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book though it did have a too factual feel to it. Yes, there was a lot of detail and it was written very sympathetically yet it did feel a touch remote. As someone who grew up on Laurel and Hardy through TV in the 60's and 70's I only saw their classic material and so all of the other material was very interesting to read.

[Nd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 3 star for readability, but a 5 star for research and information imparted, which was dissertation quality and quantity. It really does cover the roots of comedy as told through the entirety of the lives and histories of "Laurel and Hardy." It's well-researched, interesting, and maybe a bit more than I had expected to learn.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit "thorough" in parts, giving me synopses of obscure films, but overall a loving and poetic tribute to two lives well lived in comedy. Not academic (for better or worse); more like an enthusiastic fan's summation of the literation.

[Henry Wortmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great memorirs

I remembered them as my Saturday matinee friends. To my six year old mind they were looking for, two goofy, but loveable guys who would never let you down. I am writing this ninety years after my first meeting them. A pair of old friendd.

[Sal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly entertaining biography of Laurel and Hardy. Long-winded at times. The author reads into things that aren’t there. Tries to correct some fallacies in “the boys’” history only to add more.

[Rama Vallury · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 is more accurate. It is a valuable resource and immaculate in its research. However, it is a dense endeavor.

[Ken Proudfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love these two actor/comics, this book gives you all the background and history of their lives before and after their pairing in the movies.