UCLA has announced an exciting new effort to preserve some of the most beloved comedies of all time. News of preservation efforts are always welcome, as so much of our film history is already lost permanently to time. But when the efforts are focused on a group of films as cherished as those of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the news is doubly exciting.
According to the website, UCLA is undertaking the effort to “restore all of the surviving negatives of Laurel & Hardy at UCLA, most of which have been seriously abused by generations of rereleases.” (Amanda Bradshaw, https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-03-27/celebrating-laurel-hardy)
The statistics about the survival rate of films made before 1950 are always depressing to hear (there are estimates that as much as 50% of all films produced before 1950 are gone for good). But with the efforts of preservation work such as that undertaken by UCLA, those figures can hopefully become more optimistic, and this particular effort can help keep the comedy films of Laurel and Hardy around for generations to come.
Two of the Laurel and Hardy films that are already lost due to decomposition include their 1927 two-reeler, Hats Off, and a 1930 feature, The Rogue Song, in which the boys appeared as the comic relief to Metropolitan opera star Lawrence Tibbett. Both of these films indicate what we have already lost due to a lack of preservation. Hats Off, which William K. Everson called the “Holy Grail” of Laurel and Hardy films, is an especially sad loss, since it involved a plot that many critics have noted served as a kind of precursor to their 1932 Academy Award-winning short, The Music Box.
In Hats Off, Laurel and Hardy attempt to move a washing machine up a long flight of stairs (shot at the same staircase that would later be used so memorably in The Music Box).
Given that lost films are still turning up due to the diligent work of historians and archivists across the globe, there is hope yet that the missing Laurel and Hardy films could one day turn up. But perhaps more importantly, we should be thankful for what does survive, and support efforts to preserve the rich body of work they left behind.
Comedy as timeless as that of Laurel and Hardy will continue to find fans across the world in coming generations, but only if it continues to be made available for viewing.
During the 1960s and through the 80s, their films were frequently revived on television. Despite airings on channels like AMC and TCM, screenings of their work on TV has become much more rare in recent years, and the availability of their films on DVD in the US has included only a handful of titles from their peak years at Hal Roach Studios.
UCLA is to be commended for their efforts to help ensure that the delightful comedies of Laurel and Hardy will be around for many more years to come.
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