LOVE 'EM AND WEEP

Written and filmed January, 1927. Released by Pathé, June, 1927. Produced by Hal Roach. Directed by Fred Guiol. Original story by Hal Roach. Two reels.

Cast: Priscilla Dean, Herbert Rawlinson, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Albert Conti

STORY: An old flame (Mae Busch) of businessman Titus Tillsbury (James Finlayson) threatens to expose their past, destroying both his marriage and career. He sends his aide (Laurel) to keep her away from a dinner party he and his wife are hosting that evening.


     Love 'Em and Weep was remade by Laurel and Hardy in 1931 as Chickens Come Home, where it played much better. (For the later film, Hardy played the businessman and Fin played the Butler, whereas in this film, Fin is the businessman, Charlie Hall is the Butler and Hardy is a guest at the party.) This first film is notable, however, as it features the first appearances of the three actors who, throughout the years, were to become Laurel and Hardy's best-known co-stars: Finlayson, Busch and Hall.

Commentary

JB: A good comedy with a great cast (Laurel, Fin, Mae Busch, Charlie Hall, Vivien Oakland and... who's that other guy... oh yeah, Hardy), but it's a film that just barely deserves to be included in any list of Laurel and Hardy films. Not only is Hardy given nothing to do, he is also disguised behind glasses and a thick mustache. Yet, when they remade this one a few years later as Chickens Come Home, it turned out to be one of Hardy's best showcase vehicles. Though the latter film is a close remake of Love 'Em and Weep, it is based more on the characters Laurel and Hardy had developed by then, with the added bonus of Fin being a Hardy underling and still getting the upper hand.

     That's not to say Love 'Em and Weep isn't enjoyable. It is, immensely so, containing gags and situations that were good enough to be repeated wholesale into Chickens Come Home. But a comparison of both films shows the difference between an above-average Hal Roach comedy and an above-average Laurel and Hardy comedy. And that difference is the added layers and dimensions of comedy that Laurel and Hardy's characters brought to any situation. 

Copyright © 2013 John Larrabee, John V. Brennan

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