Good concept, poorly executed.

A Brilliant Conflict

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

1929, over 85 years ago, was a pretty prolific year in terms of films for Laurel and Hardy and this one also came out back then. It is black-and-whit and we still do not hear their voices, even if it is not a silent film anymore. As usual, it runs for 20 minutes roughly and with this one Laurel and Hardy try to satisfy the steadily-growing number of audience members who loved to see animals in movies. This one has a goat from start to finish. The duo takes care of her, but hides her from a landlord. When the police officer finally finds her in the end, a cute surprise is waiting for our heroes. I must say the only thing I liked here were the last 2 minutes. Some nice drama and comedy and of course the cute ending I already mentioned. Everything before that is fairly forgettable and not as funny as I hoped it could be. Laurel and Hardy have many funnier films out from the late 20s and early 30s. Maybe it's the goat's fault, maybe the writer's. But I do not recommend this one. The last 2 minutes are not worth sitting through the first 18. Thumbs down.

Angora Love (1929) *** (out of 4)Funny two reeler has Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel walking out of a pastry shop when a goat begins to follow them. They eventually lose the animal but two nights later he's back and the duo has to take them to their hotel room where chaos follows since the landlord is in the room below them.This film was remade by Laurel and Hardy as LAUGHING GRAVY and that there is considered by many fans and critics to be one of the best movies the two men ever made. This one here isn't quite as good as that film but there are still enough funny moments here to make the film worth watching. The one thing I noticed while watching this is how good a sport both men were and especially during the scenes where they're trying to give the goat a bath. They really get their hands dirty so to speak and these scenes get some of the biggest laughs as does the water fight towards the end.

Turner Classic Movie historian Ben Mankiewicz cites this Laurel and Hardy short as their last silent film. The opening title card states it's 'the dramatic story of a goat', and I guess you could call it that if you want, for me it was just funny. After the Boys make their acquaintance with said goat outside a pastry shop, the animal is immediately befriended by Stan with one of the tasty morsels, thereby making a friend for life, or at least the twenty minutes or so of this picture.Having just watched their 1928 silent "Habeas Corpus", I noted a gag they repeated here when Ollie falls into a huge hole in the street filled with water trying to outrun the goat. I thought it might have been the same location used, but this time the street corner building was occupied by a shop whereas in the earlier film it was just a large drab structure. I suppose it could have been urban renewal.Following the boys to their room in a hotel, the goat becomes an unwanted guest, with constant attempts by the landlord to figure out what all the noise is about. Edgar Kennedy was the perfect foil for these kind of roles, and his effort to proclaim his establishment as a respectable hotel leads to a sight gag of a sailor following one of the tenants to her room down the hall. That was probably pretty risqué stuff for 1929 but it slipped by to the amusement of this viewer.I'm not enough of a Laurel and Hardy student to know if this was one of their better silent efforts, but it was amusing in most respects. If made today, I don't think the PETA folks would have taken kindly to the way the boys manhandled the goat getting him to take a bath, but it didn't look like the animal minded too much. Somewhere along the way it rewrote the rule book on reproductive anatomy, since the short ended with three cute but tiny goats emerging from under a cabinet. Not baaaad.

WHENEVER an idea was successful during those "Golden Days" of the Silent Movies, you could bet your bottom dollar that it would be repeated; although "Reworking" is the term that is used. Of course one could make the argument that this reworking business has never left us, for success in the Movies or TV always leads to a trend; with all competing parties vying to come up with their own version of said hit Movie or TV Program.TO this last premise we strongly disagree; for this is copycatting or plagiarism, plain and simple.THIS, the last Silent Laurel & Hardy Short, surely must have been quite well received; for ANGORA LOVE (Hal Roach/MGM, 1929) was reworked on the Roach Lot, not once, but twice over the next three years. We were treated to LAUGHING GRAVY (Roach/MGM, 1931), in which the Goat was replaced with a cute, little puppy-dog. Also, the weather is transformed into the dead of Winter, in the middle of a blizzard. They also made other line-up changes with substituting Landlord Edgar Kennedy with Landlord Charlie Hall.THE second reworking of the hidden animal premise is the 3 Reeler, THE CHIMP (Roach/MGM, 1932), which substituted a female ape from a dissolved and defunct Circus, to which Stan and Babe were former employees. The Circus paid off its employees with their assets and the Boys received the Chimpanzee as their final payday.BACK to our original 'victim', today's subject, ANGORA LOVE. Recomember? THE short starts off simply enough. The boys encounter the Goat on the street and the Nanny in return follows them back to their rooming house; after Stan feeds a doughnut to her. The comic moments that follow are generated with the interplay between L & H and slow-burn exponent, Edgar Kennedy, their Landlord. The incident's impact is amplified by having the interplay occur at night. And as luck would have it; their room is situated directly above the Landlord's quarters.IN addition to the noise, the bathing of the goat, its odor and Landlord Edgar's suspicions about Laurel & Hardy's having another person illegally in the room; we were most amused by a little throw-away gag, which may well have been missed by the Censors. While admonishing the boys about the noise they'd been making and reminding them of the house rules about any unauthorized person's being in there overnight, regardless of their sex.ITS camera shot is made from inside The Boy's room, over their shoulder. With Edgar in the hall and facing them, he warns; "Remember, this is a respectable establishment!" Just as he says this, a lady clad in evening clothes walks across and behind the Landlord; followed by a uniformed Sailor, who cocks his hat forward as they pass! POODLE SCHNITZ!!