Just perfect...

Good movie but grossly overrated

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A rare example of a three reel short that with less than a reel more could have been considered a "streamlined" feature. "Ollie, I'm scared" is a phrase I'm most familiar with, having remembered it from the Scooby Doo mysteries where actors pretending to be them kept the legend going when youngsters like me discovered them on T.V., an hour each day devoted to these family friendly comedies, followed by an hour of the Little Rascals, aka "Our Gang". I owe part of my love for classic cinema to these shorts, later rediscovered when AMC broadcasted a 24 hour marathon of these films.This one manages to be both chilling and funny, with down on his luck Laurel claiming to be an heir to a murdered miser's fortune, and forced to sleep in a creaky old house that appears to be haunted. Flying sheets flying around appear to be ghosts, scaring everybody including dumb detective Fred Kelsey. The supporting cast is presented to be quite creepy, adding more eerie fun into the mix. Stan and Ollie are the two least likely solvers of murder, but oh how they make it fun!

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)*** 1/2 (out of 4)Laurel and Hardy have been out of work for nearly a decade when they read the paper and see that their luck might have changed. The relative of Laurel's has died and is leaving his estate of three million dollars. The two dimwits find themselves at the will reading and learn that the relative was actually murdered and they're going to have to spend the night.THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE is really a spoof of those "old dark house" movies that were so popular during the silent era and would remain popular throughout the 1930's. This really is a terrific spoof as the two comic legends are in fine form and the screenplay perfectly pokes fun at some clichés like the creepy butler and the fainting woman. The first fifteen minutes mainly has dialogue jokes and some pretty good ones but it's the second half of the film that really comes to life as we get some terrific physical gags including a hilarious one dealing with Laurel sneaking back under the covers. Best dialogue:Hardy: Is your uncle alive? Laurel: Nope, he died of a broken neck. Fell through a trap door. Hardy: Was he building a house? Laurel: No, they were hanging him.

This is one of the most original films Laurel and Hardy made together. In so many of their wonderful shorts, there is a tendency to repeat the same themes again and again, so I was thrilled at this film. Now it isn't the funniest film they ever made, though it is better than average and provided some excellent laughs. The film begins with Stan and Ollie in their usual situation--they are hungry and don't have a job. However, Ollie sees a classified ad seeking to disburse a fortune to a man who Stan happens to be related to! However, just before they walk in to claim the fortune, the police announce that the uncle was murdered and everyone--including Stan and Ollie, are suspects. The rest of the film are the to be expected haunted house gags, but they are done very well. And the conclusion is also done excellently. The film is a nice departure and one I strongly recommend you see if you want a laugh.

The only problem I have with the Laurel and Hardy shorts is that the memory cheats a little , that is watching many many years after I first saw them as a child they`re not as funny as I first remembered due to the technical aspects of film making of the time . The shorts are rather stagey , slightly stilted . But if you can forgive that you`ll have no problem enjoying Stan and Ollie.And I consider MURDER CASE to be just about the best L&H short . Classic moments are the bat hidden in the bed sheet , the picture illuminated on the wall , and the tailors dummy , scenes that had me laughing out loud. The only weak point is - as many reviewers have noted - the cop out ending which I suppose may have been fresh in 1930 but has been done to death by too many lazy writers since then