Film Reviews: Big Business & Liberty

  "Big Business"

  **** (out of ****)

Laurel and Hardy get down to the business of comedy in the silent comedy short, "Big Business" (1929).

With the beginning of a new year, we must also begin a new theme on the blog. For the past seventeen years my primary focus has been on feature length movies. In terms of comedy, this has created an issue for me. While I have reviewed several films starring comedy greats such as Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, Harold Lloyd, and Laurel and Hardy, it meant I had to ignore the work of comedians like Charley Chase, Clark & McCullough and "Fatty" Arbuckle, all of whom made their mark in comedy shorts. This has always bothered me and in 2025 I decided to address the situation head on with this year's theme, Life is Short - a year long look at classic comedy shorts. And what better way to start this endeavor than with a pair of Laurel and Hardy silent comedies!

Although Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy first appeared together on-screen in the 1921 comedy, "The Lucky Dog" and officially became a comedy team in 1927 at comedy producer Hal Roaches' studio, 1929 may actually be the more pivotal year in Laurel and Hardy's career. For me, this is the year everything started to gel. The boys were firmly establishing the personality traits of their individual personas and the dynamic between their characters. Because of this, of all the comedies Roach released with the boys in 1929 "Big Business" may be their best.

By 1929 Hardy is clearly the "leader" of the team with Laurel as his befuddled friend. Hardy's gentlemanly ways may fool Laurel into believing he is the more sophisticated of the two, it does not however fool the rest of society, which views them equally as dimwits. And while Hardy may consider himself the superior mental giant, it is often Laurel that comes up with the good ideas. In their prior comedies like "Putting Pants on Philip" (1927, their first comedy as an official team) and "The Second Hundred Years" (1927) the jokes came wherever they could find them. They didn't resemble the characters modern audiences have come to know. To be honest though Oliver Hardy appeared to have a better grasp on his character from the beginning.

In "Big Business" we get to see all of this on display. There are some kinks to still be worked out - Laurel has a bit more sass than expected and doesn't have his hair in the fright wig style - nevertheless the chemistry is there between them. Laurel and Hardy were the greatest comedy team in the history of cinema and "Big Business" helps demonstrates why. As you watch the comedy you will notice a fluidity to their movements. One's actions compliments the other's, as if they are a single person. Stan Laurel famously described it as "two minds without a single thought" 

The plot of "Big Business" is both simple and masterful, a case study in comedy structure. The boys are a couple of Christmas tree salesmen, going door-to-door on what appears to be a lovely, sunny California day. Dressed in warm overcoats and wearing gloves, they desperately try to make a sale. When they arrive at their third house, they run into James Finlayson. Like the other homeowners, he does not want to buy a tree but through a mishap a series of destruction begins resulting in the demolition of the boys' car and Finlayson's home.

It is a comedy routine known as "tit-for-tat" that fans of Laurel and Hardy will immediately recognize. One character engages in demolishing another character's personal property or wardrobe. The character being accosted passively looks on while the damage is being done only to retaliate while the previous aggressor looks on, waiting for their turn. And so it goes back and forth with the stakes consistently being raised.

This routine would usually account for a brief sequence within a larger comedy. In "Big Business" it is the focal point with the entire premise built around it. After Finlayson refuses to buy a Christmas tree, Laurel has the tree too close to the door, causing it to get stuck when the door closes. The boys have to disturb Finlayson four or five times until Laurel is finally able to remove the tree in time. Beyond fed up by this point Finlayson damages the Christmas tree as a form of revenge. And from there the situation escalates.

Humor is often found in exaggeration. "Big Business" takes what could be a somewhat relatable situation - being annoyed by a salesman - and stretches it out to its  furthest possible limits. The audience laughs at the absurdity of the scenario and yet within the world Laurel and Hardy have created their behavior follows a certain logic that brings us into the story. 

With a running time of less than twenty minutes "Big Business" doesn't wear out its welcome. While the plot has nowhere to go narratively, it still has an abrupt feeling end. This type of comedy short exist only for its laughs and by that measure it wildly succeeds.

 "Liberty"

 *** 1\2 (out of ****)

In the 1920s silent film comedians Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton became famous for their thrill comedies. Lloyd famously climbed atop the side of a building in "Safety Last!" (1923) where he iconically dangled while holding onto the hands of a clock. In any number of Keaton comedies you could see him perform spectacular stunts though his work in "The General" (1926) and "Sherlock, Jr." (1924) may be his most memorable. And so in uncharacteristic fashion, so too would Laurel and Hardy have to thrill the masses by being placed in life or death situations.

That may be the only way to explain the Laurel and Hardy silent comedy, "Liberty" (1929). As I previously mentioned 1929 was an important year in the development of the Laurel and Hardy characters but as "Liberty" shows, the formula for a quintessential Laurel and Hardy comedy was still being ironed out. We wouldn't see the boys in this type of comedy again. As with "Big Business" the objective of "Liberty" is simply to make an audience laugh, whatever the cost. Neither Hal Roach or director Leo McCarey were thinking about lofty ideas such as character consistency. Laurel and Hardy were popular actors by this time and the thinking was it would be fun for audiences to see them in various bizarre situations comedy after comedy.

The short begins with title cards appealing to our patriotic sense of pride for  American liberty. Various quotes from politicians appear on-screen about liberty and freedom. This is contrasted with the modern fight for liberty as we see Laurel and Hardy in a familiar scenario, being chased by a policeman. The boys are convicts making a prison escape. They reach their get-a-way car where they are handed some clothes. Unfortunately, they are never able to completely dress as they mistakenly put each others' pants on. This variation of their mixed-up derby routine - which they also perform - leads the boys into a somewhat suggestive homosexual predicament where they search for a secluded public space where they can switch pants. They are constantly discovered while in the compromising position of having their pants down.

After being noticed by a policeman, the boys run away and find themselves at a construction site and accidentally ride a lift to the top of the incomplete skyscraper. Unable to get the lift to take them back down the boys are put in one dangerous position after another.

Comedians like Lloyd and Keaton did this kind of comedy very well thanks in large part to their athleticism. The audience was thrilled by their stunts but also found time to laugh. When I first saw Lloyd climb that building in "Safety Last!" I was with him every step of the way. Laurel and Hardy can't operate at that same level, talented as they were. They can perform the humor but not the adventure.

This is not to deny the fact "Liberty" is funny. Laurel and Hardy perform this material as best they could. And because of that this comedy is worth watching. It can even be enjoyed as a curiosity piece.

"Liberty" is kind of two Laurel and Hardy comedies in one. The first half  recalls "Putting Pants on Philip" and feels, in some ways, like a more familiar comedy featuring the boys. Both men are playing their usual characters that we expect. I was interested to see where this set-up would ultimately lead to. The thrill portion of this two-reeler comes out of nowhere and completely changes the direction of this comedy.

Once again there is not a heavy emphasis on plot, which will most likely be a reoccurring theme among all of these comedy shorts to be reviewed. What would be a truly satisfactory ending to this set-up? I must admit though it does end on a great visual gag that modern audiences may find to be in either bad taste or politically incorrect. I thought it was genius. 

These pair of comedy shorts may serve as a wonderful introduction into Laurel and Hardy's silent work. Many may not have even known the boys starred in silent comedies together. Their "talking" comedies are better known to today's audiences and may have aged a bit better but its fun to watch how everything came together and witness what they would bring with them once they made sound comedies.

Both "Big Business" and "Liberty" are entertaining silent comedies featuring some great routines. "Big Business" rivals Laurel and Hardy's best comedies in terms of big laughs and is my favorite of all of their silent comedies. "Liberty" is an interesting curiosity taking the boys out of their element and into a thrill comedy. They do however get some big laughs.