Rollo
2007-01-27 08:04:22 UTC
Even though it carried no romantic subplot and no
superfluous musical numbers this film has always
been considered one of the Boys underrated features.
The main criticism against it seems to be that it is
overplotted. That works fine in print but when presented
with the actual evidence on the screen it tends to fade
away.
Since the storyline involves L & H as a set of twins
overplotting would seem to be a necessary evil.
Unlike their other features "Our Relations" is more
like the Marx Brothers MGM features, a series of
highlight scenes wrapped around a plot. There is
the "conference" by the Boys held in a phone booth
and joined by Arthur Housman (shades of the statesroom
scene from "Night At the Opera"), their confrontation
with Fin at Denker's Beer Garden, both sets of twins
mishaps at the nightclub involving wives and hired goons
and the climax involving gangsters and feet of cements.
The director, Harry Lachman, does a good job of creating a
sense of surreal comic suspense as the Boys tetter in cement
on the edge of a wharf, including a lot of moving camera close-ups
and silent speed shots. The ending is more than satisfying as
both sets of twins finally meet up causing the whole cast to
perform a series of double and triple takes over the revelation--
none more so than Stan & Ollie themselves as they take a series
of headers into the drink all in the name of good comedy.
"Our Relations" and "Way Out West" both bear the name of a
Stan Laurel Production on it and even though some writers contend
that it was only a perfunctory title that Roach gave merely to
appease Stan during a contentious time between the two men the
proof is in the pudding that these two films stand out over the two
previous studio chosen subjects, "Bonnie Scotland" and "Bohemian Girl."
(In both the comedy is great but....alas...there are the subplots)
Gary
superfluous musical numbers this film has always
been considered one of the Boys underrated features.
The main criticism against it seems to be that it is
overplotted. That works fine in print but when presented
with the actual evidence on the screen it tends to fade
away.
Since the storyline involves L & H as a set of twins
overplotting would seem to be a necessary evil.
Unlike their other features "Our Relations" is more
like the Marx Brothers MGM features, a series of
highlight scenes wrapped around a plot. There is
the "conference" by the Boys held in a phone booth
and joined by Arthur Housman (shades of the statesroom
scene from "Night At the Opera"), their confrontation
with Fin at Denker's Beer Garden, both sets of twins
mishaps at the nightclub involving wives and hired goons
and the climax involving gangsters and feet of cements.
The director, Harry Lachman, does a good job of creating a
sense of surreal comic suspense as the Boys tetter in cement
on the edge of a wharf, including a lot of moving camera close-ups
and silent speed shots. The ending is more than satisfying as
both sets of twins finally meet up causing the whole cast to
perform a series of double and triple takes over the revelation--
none more so than Stan & Ollie themselves as they take a series
of headers into the drink all in the name of good comedy.
"Our Relations" and "Way Out West" both bear the name of a
Stan Laurel Production on it and even though some writers contend
that it was only a perfunctory title that Roach gave merely to
appease Stan during a contentious time between the two men the
proof is in the pudding that these two films stand out over the two
previous studio chosen subjects, "Bonnie Scotland" and "Bohemian Girl."
(In both the comedy is great but....alas...there are the subplots)
Gary