Laurel & Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies Paperback – 15 Jan. 2019

The best book about the best comedy team ever.

The definitive book on the making of any and all of the Laurel and Hardy films. The amount of detail and research that Randy Skretvedt has put into this book is truly awe inspiring. A colossal 630 pages full of little known facts and behind the scenes photos. I’ve included a photo so that you can see just how thick the book is. If you’re a Laurel and Hardy fan this should be your ‘go to’ book for every last piece of information on your favourite silent short, sound short or feature film. If you’re not a fan you would be after reading this.The book tells a story of a bygone time of silent comedians and the almost chaotic nature of the filmmakers studios throughout the 1920’s onwards. It’s fascinating to see how Laurel and Hardy grew from nothing, almost by accident to become a huge phenomenon that still see’s them much loved today. Whilst this book doesn’t dwell too deeply on Laurel and Hardy’s personal lives (I’d recommend Simon Louvish’s book ‘Stan and Ollie - The Roots of Comedy’ if your interested in that) it does tell you absolutely everything else you might want to know about the two greatest ever funny men that gave the world so much laughter. I can’t recommend it enough.

This is a marvellous reference work on Laurel and Hardy's movies. If you want to know cast details, when the films were actually made, locations, backgrounds on the supporting cast members, who wrote the music cues, and so on, you couldn't do better.It's a humungous tome, thankfully recently reprinted in paperback and at a more affordable price. Still not cheap, but when you think of the research that has gone into the writing, plus the amassing and compilation of the photos, many of which are rare, then the price is more than justified.The print quality is not the greatest, to be frank, but again I accept this as a sacrifice made to keep the selling cost as low as possible.I have other Laurel and Hardy books, and some of them are very good indeed, but this will be the go-to book when I want to find out the details of a particular film. Thankfully there's a good index, as I do find it quite hard to find a particular film amongst the pages. Although presented chronologically, the sections on each film don't begin on a new page but start directly below the previous film. Obviously makes the book more compact saving space this way, but not as easy on the eye.Still a must buy if you can spare the money, and love Laurel and Hardy as much as the author and I do.

To say this book is the most detailed work on the films of Laurel & Hardy would be an understatement. Skretvedt’s knowledge of his subject is second to none. He acknowledges many other scholars of the comedy duo’s work, but none has come close to this level of research and presentation. As the blurb states this is a much expanded version of a book originally published thirty years ago. Skretvedt covers L&H’s film career in meticulous detail through reference to source studio documentation, scripts and Stan’s notes as well as interviews with cast and crew. The author also provides his own analysis on every one of their films as a team from the silent shorts throught to the talkies and their feature films. It’s a story that demonstrates how Hal Roach studios created an environment in which the team could work without interference enabling them to capitalise on their ideas. This is contrasted with their later films, in the 1940s, at Fox and MGM, where studios protocol acted as a straight-jacket restricting the duo’s effectiveness.The book itself is a weighty hardback of 630 glossy pages. Many of the photos are rare and often serve to show scenes deleted from the final product or link into the private lives of Stan and Ollie – both of whom had more than their fair share of marital problems. It is a beautiful presentation and a must for L&H enthusiasts and fans of cinema in general.

I only skimmed through about 450 pages' worth of the book for the past couple of months (primarily concentrating on their first sound film Unaccustomed as We Are up to Way Out West - for me, L&H's golden era). It's really good as film production books go. Incredibly well-sourced, tons of archival pictures, and tons of good anecdotes. Highly recommended for the most affectionate L&H fans.

An incredibly researched and well written book on the great comedy team ever.